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See The Top Places in Cairns, Australia in 3 Days
If you’re visiting Australia and New Zealand on a 3-week itinerary, I’d recommend setting aside 3 days for sightseeing in and around Cairns. This is a great area to explore after you’ve finished spending a few days exploring Sydney and the Blue Mountains; Cairns is located to the north on Australia’s east coast.
What’s in Cairns, Australia? A lot. In the vicinity, you’ll find a cultural center dedicated to indigenous peoples, snorkeling and diving around a world-class reef, as well as dramatic landscapes, rainforest walks, and waterfalls.
Below is a short list to help you plan and prioritize your sightseeing in the Cairns area.
Cairns, Australia – Must Do Experiences
- Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park
- Great Barrier Reef
- Atherton Tablelands
- Crater Lakes National Park
- Mount Hypipamee National Park
Read on for additional details about a great Cairns, Australia itinerary.
In-Depth Itinerary: Cairns in 3 Days
Day 1: Arrival in Cairns – Esplanade Boardwalk and Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park
If you’ll be traveling in from Sydney, I’d recommend taking an early morning flight that gets you into Cairns by 9:30 a.m. This flight usually takes a little more than 3 hours.
Upon arrival in Cairns, take a cab to your hotel. The hotel room probably won’t be ready yet, so drop off your luggage and go for a walk on the Esplanade Boardwalk by the sea. It’s lined with cafes and restaurants, so you can get some breakfast at one of them.
Overview of Tjapukai
When you’re ready, take the bus to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. The bus should take a little over half an hour to get to the park and the ride will cost you a few dollars.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In 2022, the park was temporarily closed because of COVID-19, but this will be a worthwhile place to visit when it reopens and COVID-19 is less of a threat. It’s never too early to start planning, though. The info below is a general outline for what you can do when you can come back:
Once you’re at Tjapukai, buy your entry ticket and admire the serene natural setting amid trees, water, and mountains.
One of the first things you can do is observe a demonstration of the didgeridoo musical instrument. This was a European term, but the tribe that created the instrument called it a yigee yigee. The instrument is made from a long stretch of tree trunk hollowed out by termites. Beeswax makes a smooth seal on the smaller end for playing. The wood must be wetted about once per week to keep it in good shape.
Then you might try boomerang throwing and spear chucking. The spears have an interesting wooden handle that curve back toward the far end to give the thrower more power.
The park will also conduct a weapons demonstration, which features several different models of boomerangs. Some are designed to fly bigger arcs. Also present are heavy clubs for whacking prey or for use in corporal punishment.
Another notable spectacle is the traditional Aboriginal dance show with a module on making fire with sticks and dry grass.
Finally, there will be a presentation on traditional foods and medicines at the women’s hut. One of the staff members will show how poisonous foods can be made edible by straining the poison out for days in water.
Another demo shows how a type of leaf produces something like shampoo when added to water and rubbed against the skin. Some of the other leaves on display smell like lemon and perfume.
On your way out, take a look at the souvenir store. This is your chance to buy a boomerang. It might be harder to get through airport security if you buy one of the spears.
Take the bus back to your hotel and check in. You might enjoy a nice and reasonably priced seafood dinner at the Night Markets.
Day 2: Great Barrier Reef Day Trip
Overview and Pricing
A day trip to the Great Barrier Reef with a company like Seastar Cruises will be a highlight of your time in Cairns. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip to visit this UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the biggest coral reef system on the planet. How big is the Great Barrier Reef? It’s nearly 135,000 square miles (350,000 square kilometers). That’s seven times the size of the United Kingdom!
When I took this trip, I sailed aboard a modern and impressive catamaran called Seastar, with two decks, a kitchen, bathrooms, and air conditioning.
The daylong excursion isn’t cheap. Expect to pay around $250 per adult. However, the trip provides a lot for your money, including lots of time in the water, guided snorkel tours, and delicious hot and cold food. You’ll see two terrific places: Michaelmas Cay and Hastings Outer Reef. I thought the experience was worth every penny.
Wake up early to get to the pier meeting point on time. Climb aboard, and you’ll receive your snorkel masks and fins shortly after setting sail. Then you’ll muster on the main deck to listen to some introductory remarks. One of the ship’s mates told us the captain gets lonely sometimes and loves to have visitors, especially children who like to press all of the buttons on his control panels.
If you don’t have good sea legs and experience nausea on small boats, you may want to spend a few dollars on some seasickness pills as a preventive measure. I did, and thought it was well worth the investment. One of the other passengers who did not threw up about half an hour later.
Michaelmas Cay
First you’ll visit Michaelmas Cay. When I visited, the waters at Michaelmas were placid. The ship will anchor some distance from a sandy island filled with thousands of birds. You’ll take speedboats to the shore. Very few tour groups are allowed out here to protect the fragile cay.
Once at the shore, you’ll do some snorkeling. You also have the option to scuba dive, but these are very shallow waters, and the reefs are quite close to the surface of the water in many places. I don’t see much reason to dive. You can easily stand here to adjust your snorkeling mask if necessary, too.
You’ll see the difference between the coral out here and in other places. The views are spectacular and I would highly recommend bringing an underwater camera like the one I used for the photos in this blog.
You’ll see a variety of fish. During my excursion, I observed colorful parrot fish, clown fish, long needlefish, something that looked like a lion fish, as well as plenty of others I couldn’t identify.
After you’ve had your fill of Michaelmas Cay, enjoy a tasty lunch on board. It’s very good, with hot dishes, cold cuts, breads, fruit, and salad.
Hastings Outer Reef
After lunch, you’ll make your way to Hastings Outer Reef. When I was there, the waters were much more choppy than at Michaelmas Cay.
The coral does quite well here. You can experience coral caves, coral overhangs, coral canyons, and coral bays.
In addition, you’ll see plenty of fish. Here you may see schools of small fish, parrot fish, turtles, giant clams, and damsel fish, among many others.
You’ll probably also take an enjoyable glass bottom boat ride here.
Are There Sharks in Great Barrier Reef Waters?
If you’re worried about sharks in Great Barrier Reef waters, you’re not alone. The reef is vast. So of course, there are sharks in such a huge space.
Luckily, you’re unlikely to run into any that will cause you a problem in the places you’ll visit on this type of snorkeling excursion. There are small reef sharks out and about, but they’ll probably stay out of your way. Most sharks you’ll encounter are probably more scared of you than you of them. We don’t have any reports of human fatalities from reef shark attacks in the Great Barrier Reef, and reported shark attacks are few and far between.
You can minimize your risk of shark attacks by taking common-sense precautions. For example, don’t go spearfishing in the water on the Great Barrier Reef, because the blood from a wounded fish will attract sharks. Obviously, don’t get in the water yourself either if you have an exposed bleeding wound.
Return
After a full and memorable day, your ship will return and you should be back at the pier by around 4 p.m or 5 p.m. Make your way back to your hotel. Be warned, you may be sore that night or the next morning from the swimming, especially if you were in choppy waters. Consider taking some Ibuprofen or Tylenol.
Day 3: Atherton Tablelands
Barefoot Tours
For your final day in the Cairns area, I’d recommend taking a bus tour across the Atherton Tablelands with Barefoot Tours. This place is located about an hour to the southwest of Cairns. A bus tour is a great way to see the top sights efficiently with your limited time.
Lake Eacham, Crater Lakes National Park
After breakfast, you’ll board the bus at around 7:30 a.m. and be on your way. It’s a long and winding road to Lake Eacham, part of Crater Lakes National Park. The lake was formed as a volcanic crater more than 10,000 years ago. You might want to take something for nausea if you get motion sickness. When I did this tour, one member of our group threw up on the way.
You’ll arrive at Lake Eacham at about 9:30 a.m. You can go out for a swim, but don’t expect the water to be too warm.
Alternatively, you might opt for the 3-kilometer hike around the circumference of the lake instead. The path is largely quiet. You’ll come across a lookout over the water, which is a popular hangout for turtles. You’ll also probably see the occasional black Australian turkey with a red face and perhaps an Australian goose.
Informative plaques line the walking path explaining what’s what. For example, the “wait a while tree” is covered with spines and has berries and a soft pulpy core full of water.
Lake Eacham was once filled with a unique fish called the Lake Eacham rainbowfish. Unfortunately, some people decided to introduce the barramundi fish to the lake in an attempt to improve fishing there.
The barramundi quickly devoured all of the Lake Eacham rainbowfish in the mid-1980s. The authorities then realized that some scientists had illegally taken some of these rainbowfish from the lake a number of years prior to this. The authorities chastised the scientists, then asked for these fish back to repopulate the lake. So they reintroduced rainbowfish to the lake.
Unfortunately, the barramundi were still in there. They devoured the new rainbowfish in a matter of months.
Morning Tea and Lunch
At around mid-morning, you can finish up your swim or your hike and have morning tea. This may consist of fruit, cookies, and coffee.
Next you might stop in a local village to pick up lunch. The one we visited was like a living history museum—filled with buildings that looked like they were from the 19th century, but they were clean and well maintained. One had an amusing sign that read, “Ye Olde Hair Cutting Shoppe.” One good meal option involves buying a couple of gourmet pies filled with beef, mashed potatoes, and peas. There’s a nice restroom here as well if you need to use the facilities.
Mount Hypipamee National Park
Proceed to Mount Hypipamee National Park. The park is known to contain formidable giant cassowaries, but I saw none during my visit. What you are just about guaranteed to see is still impressive—a gigantic and deep volcanic crater called Mount Hypipamee Crater, covered with a thick layer of moss. One member of the group hefted a large stone onto it, and when it landed it made a sound like a thunderclap.
If you see a tree swarming with Australian bees, don’t be worried—they don’t sting. Our tour guide joked that they made only a fifth as much honey as regular bees because they were Australian and thus lazier.
Descend down the dirt path to Dinner Falls. This is a striking waterfall that flows into a large pool. Don’t drink the water at these falls, though. They flow through cow pastures first before they get to you.
You can have lunch in the parking lot. The campground may be filled with turkeys fighting for territory and perhaps the table scraps from tourists that go with it.
After lunch, you’ll do some more driving and may stop at an overlook that offers a great sweeping view of a valley covered in trees and grasses, with mountains rising above them in the distance.
Stop for a while at Millaa Millaa Falls, the largest and tallest of the four waterfalls you might see that day.
Around mid-afternoon, you may depart for an even better waterfall called Ellinjaa Falls, which has a series of streams cascading over what looked like a rough mountain in a secluded spot encircled by trees. It’s a grand view.
Drive past fields of tea and banana trees on your way to the final sight of the day, Josephine Falls. En route, you may see an unstaffed stand with bags of tea for sale. You drop money off and take a tea bag. A sign reminds the viewer that the area is under video surveillance to deter thieving.
Our tour guide offered us strips of dried banana, which tasted like fruit roll-ups. Humanity has selectively bred bananas so they no longer have seeds, which technically makes them berries. If you do a little digging on banana farming, you’ll see that it’s just about the worst kind of farming you can do. It’s mind-numbing and back-breaking labor.
Particular strains of bananas can only grow in particular spots. They are vulnerable to disease that can be introduced by foreign crops, so no foreign bananas are allowed in the country. You may have noticed upon arrival in the country that Australia takes extraordinarily strict measures as part of its border and customs control. On a related note, to get rid of crop damaging beetles, the British and Australians once decided to introduce Brazilian cane toads. The toads didn’t eat the beetles and infested the country. The toads were good at breeding and getting in the way, and not much else. They were toxic too. Eventually they dealt with the problem by freezing the toads, removing their poison sac, and serving them as meals.
This is a long way of saying, watch out for unintended consequences. Solving one problem can often create another one if you’re not careful.
Back to the tours. You’ll arrive at Josephine Falls late in the afternoon. This area has multiple levels of cascades tumbling over rocks. Hike up the mountain and look at it from different viewing platforms. The falls have a natural water slide on a large smooth rock.
Enjoy some afternoon tea, then get on the road for your return trip. You should be back at your hotel by evening.
Onward from Cairns
There you have it. That brings this Cairns, Australia itinerary to a close.
If you’ve already visited Sydney, you’ve seen many of the highlights of the east coast. A good onward destination from Cairns is the Red Center, where you can find noteworthy sights at Uluru (Ayer’s Rock), King’s Canyon, and Alice Springs.