Transport and getting around in Cairns
Cairns is home to a busy international airport
Cairns International Airport (domestic and international terminal) is 7km from the CBD and provides air links to a range of domestic and international locations.
Cairns Airport is the seventh busiest airport in Australia in terms of passenger movements.
It takes around 6 hours to fly to Jakarta or Denpasar in Indonesia, under 7 hours to get to Singapore with a direct flight, and less than 8 hours to fly to Japan.
Cairns Airport has many direct domestic city and regional connections
Cairns is a two-hour flight from Brisbane and just over three hours to Sydney and Melbourne.
You can fly direct to all Australian state and territory capitals from Cairns.
Direct routes also operate from Cairns airport to at least 15 regional towns and areas, including the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Mount Isa, Gove, Groote Eyelandt, Townsville and Mackay.
As a result, Cairns is a base for visitors and fly in fly out (FIFO) workers headed towards Cape York, the Gulf of Carpentaria and Papua New Guinea.
The airport’s general aviation precinct is a base for freight consolidation businesses, rescue fire fighting services, avionics, maintenance, charter flights, engineering, aviation skills training and more.
Transport and getting around in Cairns
With a large network of integrated transport services, it’s easy to get around the Cairns region.
Getting here is simple too. We have all transport options covered with busy air, sea and road hubs for people, freight, cargo and trade.
Seaport
The Port of Cairns is a multi-purpose regional port that caters for bulk cargo, luxury cruise liners, fishing fleets and reef passenger ferries.
- Australia’s busiest international cruise ship terminal
- Home to the HMAS Cairns naval base
- Among the largest commercial fishing fleet bases in Australia
Rail
Queensland Rail operates regular passenger services between Brisbane and Cairns on the Spirit of Queensland . The winding Kuranda scenic rail also operates between Cairns and nearby Kuranda, a rainforest village about 30 minutes drive from Cairns.
Road and public transport
Parking is inexpensive in Cairns ($1.80 an hour on weekdays and Saturday mornings) and plentiful ... there are more than 6400 metered parking spaces across Cairns, with 4700 of these in the CBD.
Local's tip: keep an eye out for a centre park in the city - they're free!
Public bus services in Cairns are provided by Sunbus under contract to the Queensland Government. Sunbus operates throughout the city, running from the northern beaches to the southern suburbs via the CBD. Private bus lines operate services covering Port Douglas, Kuranda, the Atherton Tablelands, and Innisfail / Mission Beach.
Long-haul coaches come and go several times a day in Cairns.