Cairns Lastminute Hotels & Travel Guide
Cairns is the International gateway to Tropical North Queensland. It is a vibrant cosmopolitan city with warm, sunny tropical days tempered by cooling onshore breezes. Cairns is the ideal starting point for travelers, with 600 tours departing the city daily.
Stroll along the famous esplanade or satisfy your tastebuds in one of the city's many multi-cultural, diverse and award-winning restaurants. Cairns provide access to World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforests along with the Australian Outbacks.
Along its tree-lined streets Cairns boasts great shopping malls, quality hotels, and cosmopolitan restaurants, cafes and nightclubs.
Another pleasant surprise is how close and accessible everything is in Cairns. The airport is only a few minutes drive from the city centre and visiting cruise liners and yachts moor at a marina and wharves only a block away.
Shopping
There is no shortage of opportunities for shopping in Cairns. Enjoy every shopping experience from the large shopping centres to the souvenir shops of the night markets, where you will find arts and crafts, jewelleries and clothings. For fruits and vegetables, head to Cairns Rustys Markets and discover the freshest local produce from organic to exotic tropical fruits. The market is located on Sheridan Street.
Head to Cairns Central Shopping Centre and you will find Myers, Target and Woolworths. The centre has over 180 stores and open 7 days, it also has cinemas, banks, post office and restaurants. All you ever needs is under the one roof with three hours free undercover parking and is serviced by local tranportation such taxi and bus connections.
Dining & Entertainment
Dining is a high point in Cairns and local restaurants are amongs the best in Australia and have a wide range of dining experiences you can enjoy. Head to the Esplanade and the Pier, you will find a great variety of fast food and elegant restaurants. There is a style to suit everyone from seafood, Indian food, Mediterranean food to a real Aussie BBQ steak.
Around the city area you will find pubs and nighclubs for your nightlife entertaiments. If you like to gamble a little, visit the Cairns Reef Casino and gamble away.
Accommodation
Cairns has a wealth of quality accommodation on offer, from backpackers accommodation to an international hotels or resorts, the selection is enormous and it can be a daunting task for visitors to the region. Here at lastminutehotels.com you can select your last minute accommodation and hotels bookings easily.
Kuranda
Kuranda is about 30 kilometres north west of Cairns. Kuranda’s difference in altitude, together with its much smaller size, gives it a completely different feeling from Cairns, its city neighbour.
Kuranda is a floral extravaganza under siege from the surrounding rainforest. Everything in the town seems to be green, moist and wrapped in scarlet bougainvillea. You will find Birdworld with many exotic species of Australian and overseas birds, including the cassowary. You will also find there a Butterfly Sanctuary, the largest in Australia, with some 2,000 butterflies. There are also various rainforest walks of greater and lesser lengths and there is a bat rehabilitation home on the edge of town.
Most visitors to Kuranda choose to travel there by train or Skyrail cable car. Several times a day the Kuranda trains leave Cairns for the dramatic climb through tunnels of greenery, past Barron Falls and finally to Kuranda Station. This is a must-do experience for anyone visiting Cairns.
Find and book your Train Tours in Kuranda online and enjoy one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Far North.
Kuranda Markets
Re-known for its extraordinary number of artists and craft workers, Kuranda Market is the centre for a thriving arts and crafts community.
Open daily 9:30am to 3:30pm, the market offer local products, imported souvenirs, art and craft, jewellery, gemstones and clothing. The market also features animal attractions and eaterires.
Animal Attractions
Cairns Tropical Zoo – Cairns Tropical Zoo is a “hands on” wildlife experience. The philosophy at Cairns Tropical Zoo is that personal interaction with animals encourages a greater understanding of native wildlife and promotes the need to preserve their natural habitats. Cairns Tropical Zoo is about 20 minutes drive north of Cairns close to Palm Cove. Cairns Tropical Zoo is set in 6 hectares of gardens. Lots of opportunities to interact with the animals. The Cairns Zoo also has a night zoo which includes an Aussie BBQ. Book your Tropical Zoo experience online.
Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures – Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures has a daily crocodile feeding session and crocodile cruises. Hartley’s also has other animals you can learn about, such as snakes, koalas and the endangered cassowary. Located 40 minutes north of Cairns on the Captain Cook Highway. Book your Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures online.
Cairns Rainforest Dome – The Cairns Rainforest Dome is a wildlife exhibit encased by a 20 metre high glass dome on the rooftop of the Reef Hotel Casino. Approximately 60 species of rainforest animals are able to wander freely throughout the enclosure that replicates their natural environment. Book your Cairns Rainforest Dome online.
