What is Cairns? Where is Cairns? Which are the things to do in Cairns? Normal questions, if you hear for the first time the name of Cairns. Nevertheless, this should not happen ! As you are an avid traveler, you should know some basics about Cairns, as it is one of the major tourists target in Australia, behind much bigger cities as Sidney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

Cairns location in Australia

Cairns location in Australia

Cairns lies in the Australian state of Queensland, in eastern part of the country. It is 1000 km away from Brisbane and 2400 km from Sidney. There are good trains for journeys from Cairns to Brisbane and Sidney ( don’t you miss a long, but good and comfortable train travel? You have this opportunity in Cairns,Australia.) Cairns lies in the tropical part of Queensland, in the north of the state. All around are some rain forests where you can go hiking and exploring, e.g the Atherton tablelands and the Paronella Park, as also Daintree forests.

Panoramic view of Cairns to Yarrabah peninsula

Panoramic view of Cairns to Yarrabah peninsula

But the absolute must to this very long city (52 km) is the Great Barrier Reef. It is only one hour sailing from the city and offers tremendous possibilities for scubbing, diving, snorkeling. The Great Barrier reef , in case you already forgot, is one of the most important ecosystems on the Earth, comparing to the Amazonian rain forest. It is very long and hosts billions of species of living creatures, and some of them are still not researched or discovered. A tour to the reef offers tremendous possibilities of watching wildlife or swimming etc. But I must warn you: among these many creatures there are sharks included! These magnificent tours start usually at the Cairns Marina and last between one day and one week. You are supposed to eat during the tour mostly seafood, and the same should happen to the Cairns restaurants. You can find some really tasty dishes, and you are going to ask for the second portion.

Cairns esplanade

Cairns esplanade

Don’t miss the Cairns esplanade where you can walk, swimming in the lagoon (an interesting swimming pool actually) or go shopping, as Cairns hosts some shopping paradises. Hotels in Cairns are to hundreds, for every taste and budget, starting from backpackers hostels to exquisite accomodation. Visit Cairns, you will not regret it! So many millions of people from over the world do that, and are happy and come back to Cairns. The way Cairns reinvented itself as a tourist spot after WWII is an example of succesful marketing, in my opinion. Visit Cairns and tell me if you agree with me.

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