3-Day Cairns Highlights Tour, Australia

Cairns, the capital of Far North Queensland, Australia, is a vibrant, laid-back city with a springlike climate year-round. Surrounded by tropical rainforest, it offers more than 2,000 kilometers of the world’s largest living coral reef system, a captivating coastline, jewel-like islands, silver-sand beaches, and blue ocean waters. Cairns is therefore known as the “Tropical Capital.” It is also the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, a world-renowned diving destination. Cairns is regarded as one of the world’s most desirable cities to live in. Nearby, its natural wonders include scenic Palm Cove, the celebrity holiday haven of Port Douglas, the beautiful rainforest town of Kuranda, and the Great Barrier Reef. The breathtaking scenery and beautiful Pacific coastline are sure to amaze you, making every visitor’s trip to Cairns unforgettable.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest and longest coral reef system. Located in the Southern Hemisphere, it stretches along Australia’s northeastern coast from the Torres Strait in the north to south of the Tropic of Capricorn, spanning 2,011 km and reaching a maximum width of 161 km. It comprises 2,900 coral reefs and islands of varying sizes, creating a highly distinctive natural landscape. At its southern end, the reef lies as far as 241 km from the coast, while its northern end is closer, with the nearest point only 16 km offshore. At low tide, parts of the reef emerge above the water to form coral islands. A convenient sea route runs between the reef and the coast. In calm weather, cruise boats pass through these waters, with the continuous, colorful and varied coral scenery beneath them creating an extraordinary underwater spectacle that attracts visitors from around the world. The Great Barrier Reef was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981.

Norman Outer Reef is surrounded by an endless expanse of seawater. Beneath the surface, coral reefs stretch far and wide, scattered here and dense there, creating water in shades from deep to light. It is the most beautiful part of the Great Barrier Reef in the Cairns region. As you enter the coral zone, colourful fish can be seen through the glass windows, swimming leisurely past the boat. The reefs rise and fall in layers, in shapes like spheres and mushrooms, lotus seed pods and branching trees, and often like gracefully spreading lingzhi mushrooms. The coral comes in orange, red and blue, in countless striking forms, like a crystal palace from legend. Dense schools of little blue fish stream through the reefs, while a large red fish swims calmly up to the window to gaze at visitors. The underwater world of Norman Reef is silent and unlike any other, offering a truly unique experience. The reef communities extend endlessly, linked like strands of lotus root, layered, dense and vivid in colour. Tropical fish in every colour of the rainbow swim alongside large marine fish and other sea creatures, creating a dazzling world that inspires awe.

Kuranda Rainforestation Nature Park is a well-known tourist attraction in Cairns and is one of the sites protected as a World Natural Heritage area. Located in North Queensland, it covers 40 hectares. Its rainforest is home to more than 200 bird species and over 60% of Australia's butterfly species. You can also see living fossil ferns that have existed for 150 million years.

Surrounded by the world’s oldest tropical rainforest, the town of Kuranda sits at an elevation of 330 metres and is the home of the Djabugay Aboriginal people. In the Djabugay language, Kuranda is called Ngunbay, meaning “place of the platypus.” With a reliable water supply and an abundance of rainforest food, the Djabugay people have lived here for tens of thousands of years. The first Europeans settled in Kuranda in 1885, and the area was first surveyed three years later. By 1915, Kuranda Railway Station had earned the nickname “Honeymoon Station,” while the town itself was known as “North Queensland’s health retreat,” as its cool climate offered visitors respite from the heat and humidity of the coast. By the 1930s, Kuranda had become a popular tourist destination, with visitors arriving by train every Sunday. In the 1970s, hippies moved into the rainforest town, and Kuranda began to be known for its alternative lifestyle. These artists formed groups and started markets where they sold their paintings, handicrafts and more. Today, these markets and galleries are hubs where artists showcase their skills to visitors.