Cairns: 3 Perfect Days for a First Trip

Looking for tropical weather, the ocean, and fresh seafood all wrapped up with an Aussie aesthetic? Cairns is where you’ll want to be! However, you might want to aim to be there during the dry season (May to October) rather than the wet season (November to April).

In the dry season, you’ll experience slightly cooler temps, but you shouldn’t be sweating up a storm as soon as you step outside. It also does rain and is humid during this time of year, but it’s significantly less than its wet-season counterpart. My Swedish and German ancestry is not built for the heat and humidity, so I visited in June.

Approximately 40 minutes northwest of Cairns in Tropical North Queensland, situated at the top of the mountain range, this village is surrounded by the world’s oldest living tropical rainforest. You can access the village via the Kuranda Scenic Railway, Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, or by driving through the Barron Gorge. 

I would have taken the scenic railway if I had moved a little faster in the morning. Unfortunately, they were all booked! Instead, we rented a car, which did give us maximum freedom. There was plenty of parking in the city center.

The village is full of great shops, restaurants, and activities that keep you busy for half or a full day! If you are going to drive, don’t forget that Australia drives on the left side of the road.

Australia’s largest butterfly aviary and exhibit! Featuring over 1,200 to 1,500 free-flying tropical butterflies, including rare species like the Cairns Birdwing and Ulysses butterflies. They also release new butterflies every day and hold the 1987 Guinness World Record for being the largest butterfly sanctuary. That’s pretty darn cool!

The main exhibit feels like a large indoor butterfly garden. You can also visit their Fairy Garden, where, if you’re lucky, you might see a butterfly hatch! Also indoors is the breeding center, where you can see releases and learn about conservation efforts.

Outside, there’s a nice walk and a cute photo opportunity to give yourself butterfly wings! Before you head out, there’s a small exhibit with pinned butterflies in cases. This is also where you can see their Guinness World Record on the wall.

A tropical rainforest aviary featuring one of Australia’s largest collections of over 350 free-flying birds! There are 60 species that roam freely, including macaws, lorikeets, cockatoos, and an endangered cassowary! His name is Jimmy, and he is behind a fence, so don’t worry about coming directly face to face with the deadliest bird in the world.

You will want to cover any earrings with tape because the birds have apparently been known to remove them from your body as souvenirs. Or better yet, just take them out while you visit. You are given a piece of literature to help identify different species, and my second favourite Australian bird is now the curlew. There are a few of these walking about, and they followed us around. Plus, when you get back to Cairns, you can also see them near the Esplanade, which is super cool!

Watch out not to become a bird toilet. I didn’t see this happen to anyone, but it is a risk with so many of them flying around.

A boutique wildlife attraction offering close encounters with native species, including koalas, wallabies, wombats, quokkas, and freshwater crocodiles. There’s also an exhibit on nocturnal animals, including the Giant Billby!

You can feed kangaroos and wallabies for free! During my visit, there was a three-month-old red wallaby, and she was simply one of the cutest little things I’ve ever seen in my life. Photos with animals, like the koalas, have an extra fee and can be purchased with your entry ticket.

To save some money, you can buy a combo ticket to all three sanctuaries! Just note their closing times so you don’t miss any.

This is an indoor market in Cairns City with souvenir vendors, massage parlours, artisans, and restaurants! The restaurants open earlier in the day, around 10:30 am, while the shops open in the late afternoon, around 4 pm.

I didn’t personally purchase any souvenirs here (backpacking lifestyle makes that tricky), but I did enjoy my spicy cold noodles from Noodle Party and my croissant taiyaki with matcha cream from Wafflin’.

Right outside the back side of the Night Market is this ferris wheel overlooking the ocean! It’s about a 5-7 minute ride, and you can buy a ticket online or at the box office. I did my ride at night, which had some really cool views with so many things lit up. I’m sure it’s great during the day, too!

A 4,800-square-meter free saltwater swimming pool located in the heart of Cairns City! Since swimming in the ocean in this part of Australia carries a high risk of encountering crocodiles, this is a great alternative to cool off.

The pool is super clear and clean, surrounded by beautiful palm trees! I seriously cannot believe it’s free. There is a lifeguard on duty.

For most, this is the main reason for travelling to Cairns in the first place! I booked an all-day boat tour with Down Under Cruise and Dive and absolutely loved it (except for the seasickness part).

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system on the planet, stretching more than 2,300 kilometres along Queensland’s northeast coast in the Coral Sea. Made up of over 2,900 reefs and around 900 islands, it covers an incredible 344,400 square kilometres. It’s so massive that it’s the world’s largest living structure and can even be seen from space.

It was an incredible day, and the biggest cannot-miss here!

Since there’s no way you’ll encounter every possible fish when visiting the Great Barrier Reef, the aquarium is a great way to see so many others native to the area! It is home to more than 15,000 animals displayed in 10 ecosystems. 

There are many presentations on the different ecosystems that are super interesting to listen to! I caught part of the river fish and the entire one on the Reef, which was cool because it was the day after I visited. Another thing that I thought made this aquarium stand out was an exhibit on fossils of ancient marine creatures!

I recommend buying your ticket online. There isn’t a discount, but then you can bypass the line of people purchasing at the desk, which saves you time.

This is one of my favourite botanical gardens in Australia! It’s not massive, but it’s a great free thing to do, and I love the section you walk down into, where you’re totally surrounded by trees. You can’t see the outside at all. It feels very peaceful.

The garden features a diverse collection including over 100 species of palm trees, orchids, and rainforest plants. 

Cairns is an Australian tropical paradise and the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. You could easily spend weeks here, branching out to all the different islands. My main reason for visiting was the Reef, which totally blew me away. Not sure I could handle this climate during the wet season, but I absolutely hope to be back.