Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises provides half and full day tours to Green Island and the Great Barrier Reef daily. Owned and operated by a local family company, Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruises have been touring the Great Barrier Reef and islands since 1979 and has recently gained Advanced Ecotourism Certification in recognition of its environmentally responsible operations. The full day tours depart at 9am and return at 5pm: half day tours depart at 11am and return at 5pm. These are provided on the 35m ‘Big Cat’ catamaran. You can also choose to take the ‘Reef Rocket’ a modern, high speed catamaran which will get you to Green Island in just 45 minutes. At Green Island you can swim, snorkel, relax on the beach or walk through the island rainforest. A great day out for the whole family: departs daily from Cairns’ Reef Fleet Terminal.
Cairns and Tropical North Queensland is possibly the best place to enjoy seafood in Queensland, Australia! Located right on the Great Barrier Reef, surrounded by precious mangroves and fish breeding grounds, the bounty of the sea is rich here and absolutely fresh, clean and delicious. There are many restaurants that specialise in serving up fresh seafood, but why not catch it yourself and take it from sea to plate. Cairns Catcha Crab provides that opportunity, with half day crabbing and fishing tours operating daily from Marlin Marina, Cairns. Cairns Catcha Crab tours specialise in mud crab (hence the name) and serve it freshly cooked on the boat as a part of your tour. However, you can also expect to catch a variety of fish and see some amazing scenery on this delightful, calm water tour.
Want a slice of cultural Cairns? Cairns Regional Gallery is one of Australia’s premier regional galleries and is housed in an amazing, heritage-listed building in the city centre. The Gallery opened in 1995 and has four unique exhibition spaces, showcasing a diversity of work, including local artists and touring exhibitions from national and international galleries and museums. The exhibitions calendar is ever changing: it is governed by the Gallery’s charter to showcase the diversity and beauty of Tropical North Queensland’s cultures and unique Pacific-rim identity, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. Fully air-conditioned, the Gallery offers a serene escape from the heat of Cairns and invites you into a creative, restorative space. The shop is excellent and the adjacent Perrotta’s café serves delicious meals and coffees.
Cairns Tropical Zoo occupies six hectares of landscaped tropical gardens on the Captain Cook Highway, just before the turn off to Palm Cove. Home to an amazing variety of native and international animals, this award winning attraction is billed as the ‘ultimate wildlife adventure’ and is the only place you can cuddle a koala on the Cairns Beaches. Open from 8.30am to 4.00pm daily, except Christmas Day, Cairns Tropical Zoo is home to one of Australia’s most comprehensive snake displays, saltwater and freshwater crocodiles, monitors, dragons and lizards. It is also home to koalas, wombats, dingoes, possums, brolgas, emus, pelicans, cockatoos and much, much more. There are a range of shows throughout the day, including the Free Flight Bird Show and Endangered Exotic Species Talk.
Cairns Wildlife Dome is an amazing zoo, in the heart of Cairns city. Perched high above Cairns Reef Hotel Casino, and easily visible to passers by, thanks to its large, glass dome, Cairns Wildlife Dome is a fully-enclosed, all-weather wildlife attraction. You will be simply amazed at what lives in this amazing environment, right in the heart of Cairns city. A colourful variety of birds free fly around the dome, including parrots, cockatoos, lorikeets and doves. On the ground, friendly rainforest wallabies skip through the dome and past the enclosures of some of the other residents, including the mighty freshwater crocodile. Interpretive presentations are held throughout the day including Bird Banter, Reptile Rap and the Furry Friends show.
The Cairns waterfront is dominated by Trinity Inlet, a mangrove-lined estuary providing critical habitat and breeding grounds for many fish species. It is also home to crocodiles and swimming is not advised. You can explore this amazing ecosystem on a half day cruise with the MV Crocodile Explorer. Cruises depart daily at 9.30am and 1.30pm from the Reef Fleet Terminal. A half day MV Crocodile Explorer experience includes: a calm water cruise through Trinity Inlet with bird watching and crocodile spotting, informative commentary on the local wildlife and history, stunning coastal, estuarine and mangrove scenery and exclusive access to a commercial Crocodile Farm. This can also be booked as a full day tour.
Kuranda Scenic Railway is a picturesque, historic railway journey that traverses the mountain ranges between Cairns and Kuranda. Passing under mountains, in hand-built tunnels, and over mountain streams on arching bridges, Kuranda Scenic Railway is as much a pioneering journey as it is a rainforest experience. Learn how it was built on an informative in-carriage video presentation and watch the World Heritage rainforest pass by the windows. The tour includes a stop at Barron Falls, where you can alight from the carriage for photos of this mighty waterfall. The trip operates daily, takes 1.5 hours one-way and can be combined with many other attractions, including Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, for a complete day tour itinerary.
Skyrail is an icon of Cairns and Tropical North Queensland and makes up one part of the cities most popular day tour to Kuranda ‘The Village in the Rainforest’. A 7.5km rainforest cableway operating in the Barron Gorge National Park, Skyrail glides just metres over the World Heritage listed rainforest canopy and has two mid-stations allowing you to explore the forest floor. There are Ranger guided boardwalk tours at Red Peak Station, or you can use the interpretive signage to take your own tour. Barron Falls Station has an interactive, multilingual interpretive centre which explains the World Heritage values of the rainforest and shows you its history and evolution. There are also lookouts over the Barron Gorge and Falls. Skyrail has won multiple Australian, Queensland and Tropical North Queensland Tourism Awards and is a must-do, ecotourism attraction on any Cairns itinerary.
If you want to experience the best, live aboard dive trips to the Great Barrier Reef, Outer Reef and Cod Hole, then Spirit of Freedom is the boat for you. Custom built for long range, comfortable cruising, Spirit of Freedom takes its guests to some of Australia’s most remote and iconic dive destinations. There are 11 guest cabins, all with private bathrooms, a customised dive deck, top deck for sun and relaxation, galley, dining saloon, forward lounge and ship’s bar. With Advanced Ecotourism Accreditation, you know that Spirit of Freedom is committed to protecting the precious Great Barrier Reef, while allowing you to explore the very best places of it including the Ribbon Reefs, Cold Hole and Coral Sea.
TUSA 5 provides luxurious day trips from Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef daily. Custom designed for cruising the Coral Sea, TUSA 5 visits two reefs each trip and provides a range of activities including guided snorkel tours, introductory diving and certified diving (up to 3 dives during the day). Departing daily at 8am from Marlin Marina in Cairns, TUSA 5 provides guests with five hours at the reef and the tour cost includes: morning and afternoon tea, buffet lunch, all snorkelling equipment and tour, interpretive reef presentation and scuba equipment. The vessel has air-conditioned interiors, lounge-style seating, picture windows and flat screens, water level platforms for easy access and open-air sundecks for relaxation.
Cairns is home to Australia’s only resident illusion show, Xtreme Illusions. This Las Vegas-style show is headlined by Sam Powers, a multi-awarded Magician of the Year, ably assisted by glamorous showgirls to present spectacular illusions and mind blowing magic. Running nightly, Monday to Saturday, at the Cairns Reef Hotel Casino’s Velvet Undeground, Xtreme Illusions offers Cairns’ visitors a chance to be transported into a stunning, magical world. Sam Powers has performed in more than 16 countries, appeared on TV before 10 million viewers and impressed international celebrities, including Elton John, Nicole Kidman and Jamie Foxx, with his magical repertoire. You can see the show on its own, or book a dinner and show package which can be tailored to suit your budget by selecting either Café China or the award-winning Tamarind, as your restaurant of choice.
