Cairns, Queensland — Travel Tips
Getting There By Air
Cairns International Airport (CNS)
Tel: (07) 4080 6703.
Website: www.cairnsairport.com.au
Cairns International Airport is located 6km (3.7 miles) north of the city center. It is Australia's fifth busiest in terms of international passengers.
Airport facilities: Duty-free shopping, food outlets, ATMs, currency exchange, post-office, showers, baby care facilities, baggage storage, porterage service and short- and long-term parking are provided. Car hire is available from Avis, Budget, East Coast, Europcar, Hertz, Red Spot and Thrifty.
Transport to the city: Sun Palm Australia Coach (tel: (07) 4087 2900; www.sunpalmtransport.com) meets all flights and operates a service to hotels and the city center as well as to Cairns' pristine northern beaches (including Palm Cove), Port Douglas, Mission Beach and Cape Tribulation. Taxi ranks are located outside the arrival halls. The average fare to the city is A$18. Limousines are also available.
Getting There By Road
Cairns is connected to Townsville, Airlie Beach and Rockhampton to the south by the Bruce Highway (1), and to Port Douglas to the north by the Captain Cook Highway (44). The road from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown is for 4-wheel drives only.
Emergency breakdown services
RACQ (tel: 131 905).
Driving times to the city
From Townsville - 5 hours; Airlie Beach - 11 hours; Rockhampton - 18 hours; Port Douglas - 45 minutes.
Coach services
Operators running daily long-haul services between Cairns and Brisbane, via Townsville (5 hours) and Rockhampton (18 hours), include Greyhound Australia (tel: 1300 4739 46/GREYHOUND or (07) 4051 5899; www.greyhound.com.au) and Premier Motor Service (tel: 133 410; www.premierms.com.au).
Smaller coach companies, including Coral Reef Coaches (tel: (07) 4098 2800; www.coralreefcoaches.com.au), Sun Palm Transport (tel: (07) 4087 2900; www.sunpalmtransport.com) and Country Road Coachlines (tel: (07) 4045 2794; www.countryroadcoachlines.com.au) run services to northern destinations such as Port Douglas (1 hour), Cape Tribulation (3 hours) and Cooktown (6 hours).
Getting There By Rail
Cairns has limited rail links.
Rail Services
All services operate out of Cairns' Bunda Street station at Cairns Shopping Center.
Rail Operators
Traveltrain (tel: 1800 TRAINS (872 467); www.traveltrain.com.au) runs the Tilt Train and Sunlander to and from Brisbane, via Townsville and Rockhampton. Traveltrain also runs the Kuranda Scenic Railway (tel: (07) 4036 9333; www.kurandascenicrailway.com.au) which operates daily to and from Kuranda, and The Gulflander and Savannahlander trains, which explore the outback, west and southwest of Cairns.
Getting Around in Cairns, Queensland
Public Transport
The only public transport available in Cairns is the public bus service, run by Sunbus (tel: (07) 4057 7411; www.sunbus.com.au). Buy tickets on buses or at the Cairns City Place Transit Mall on Lake Street between Shield and Spence Streets. All buses can either be caught at bus stops or hailed at any point along the route. Discounted daily, weekly and monthly passes are available, and a return is usually transformed into a daily ticket.
Buses ply most of Cairns, and head all the way to Palm Cove (1n, 1x and 2a). Bus 7 heads to Flecker Botanic Gardens. Popular beaches, including Holloways Beach and Yorkeys Knob, can also be reached by bus (1c, 1d and 1h) via Smithfield. Numerous services run out to the western and southern suburbs hourly, including buses 8, 5, 5A, 6 and 6A, which run west to the Raintrees Shopping Center, and buses 1, 1A, 11, 12 and 13, which all run south to Edmonton.
Taxis
The sole provider of taxis in Cairns is Black and White Taxis (tel: (07) 4048 8350 or 131 008).
Car Hire
Most of the car hire companies in Cairns are located on Lake Street, between Florence and Aplin Streets, or at the airport. These include Avis (tel: (07) 4051 5911; www.avis.com.au), Budget (tel: (07) 4051 9222; www.budget.com.au), East Coast Car Rentals (tel: (07) 5592 0444; www.eastcoastcarrentals.com.au) and Hertz (tel: (07) 4051 6399; www.hertz.com.au). It is advisable to book in advance, particularly for 4-wheel vehicles.
Bicycle Hire
Bicycle hire is daily or weekly, though sometimes it's only slightly more expensive to hire a bike for a month than it is for a week. Bike Man, 99 Sheridan Street (tel: (07) 4041 5566; www.bikeman.com.au) and Cairns Scooter and Bicycle Hire, 47 Shields Street (tel: (07) 4031 3444; www.cairnsbicyclehire.com.au) both rent out bikes.
