Cairns, a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, is small enough to comfortably walk around. Cairns is a safe city with an area which encompasses a total of about 10 city blocks. Cairns City is located about 2,400 kilometers from Sydney housing a population estimated around 122,731 people. There are different activities that one can indulge in, in Cairns; The Great Barrier Reef, located in Brisbane, can be reached in less than an hour by boat. An interesting feature of the Cairns is the famous esplanade which includes a swimming lagoon with adjoining barbecue areas.

CLIMATE

Cairns is located on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula and experiences a warm tropical climate. The Cairns climate is known for its wet seasons with tropical rains which fall throughout December to April, with a comparatively dry season from May to November, though showers are frequent for most of this period.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Cairns in Queensland is the only place in the world where two World Heritage-listed sites — the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest. Cairns is a tourist’s delight being the gateway to these natural attractions, as well as man-made tourist destinations such as the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. International tourism to the Great Barrier Reef boomed making Cairns the fourth-most popular destination for international tourists in Australia, according to Tourism Australia. The city attracts a significant number of Australian holiday makers to a superb location between the Great Barrier Reef and the dark hills of the Atherton Tableland. Cairns is filled with beautiful streets and parks filled with exotic tropical flowers. The Esplanade along the bay is a perfect location for beach lovers (topless allowed), with the long 5km walk and the barbecue to go with it.

AIRPORT

Cairns International Airport is Australia’s seventh busiest domestic airport and sixth busiest international airport. Cairns Airport is Australia’s leading regional airport, providing air links to a range of domestic and international locations and flights to major Australian cities, tourist destinations, and regional destinations throughout North Queensland. The airport consists of a domestic terminal, a separate international terminal, and a general aviation area.

Car rental options at the Cairns airport are: Avis, Europcar, Redspot, Thrifty, Hertz and Budget.

TRANSPORT

Cairns is an important transport hub having a reasonably good public transport systems consisting mainly of buses. Sun Buses offer frequent services covering most areas with fares proportional to the distance of the journey. Cairns is served by long-distance coaches to Brisbane, operating under the name of “Tropic Wings Coach Tours” .The local taxi company is called Black and White Taxis, available 24 hours per day. Cairns is the terminus for Queensland’s North Coast railway line, with adequately efficient rail network services.