A Weekend In Cairns

I'm off to Cairns this weekend to visit friends who have just moved there, and I can't wait! I know the city reasonably well, as I did my 3-months farm work an hour away and it's a great little place for a holiday! Known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and famed for its backpacker vibes, this small city in northern Queensland has it all, and then some! With an average yearly temperature of 28 degrees you’ll rarely be disappointed by the weather (unless a cyclone hits, which is a very real possibility) and with the reef, rain-forest and amazing beaches on your doorstep you’ll spend most of your time outdoors. There’s literally SO much room for activities!  Not only is Cairns the perfect place to explore some of Australia’s most amazing natural wonders, it’s also got a buzzing nightlife and social scene – making it the perfect destination for a getaway!

The City

Cairns is one of Australia’s smallest cities, but the compact city centre has enough bars, shops and restaurants to keep you busy and it’s all within walking distance. Head to the Esplanade for the best selection of bars and restaurants. This street also runs parallel to the lagoon – a man-made swimming area on the waterfront which is decked out with a mini beach and BBQ areas which are free to use. If you fancy cracking open a cold beer at the lagoon be careful – not only is drinking in public frowned upon in Australia, it’s illegal (this can be easy to forget, coming from England where drinking in public is a-ok).

As Cairns is a popular destination for backpackers and a tourist hot spot the nightlife is awesome. The Pier Bar is a nice place to head for happy hour drinks (between 5-7) and also serves decent food. Gilligan's is the place to head for a great night out. The club is massive, with different levels, a roof terrace, swimming pool and outdoor area; plus the music is great and drinks are reasonable (for Australia). Always remember to bring your ID though, their door policy is very strict and they make no exceptions. If you’d rather a less hectic evening, head to The Courtyard, it’s a lovely little bar opposite the lagoon and serves the most delicious cocktails!

Top tip: head to Rusty’s Market on Grafton Street. It’s an amazing fruit and veg market, plus a few other random food stalls. Everything is great quality and really cheap. It’s a great place to head to on a hangover – the juices and smoothies there are unreal!

Day Trips

The Great Barrier Reef will always be the most obvious day trip to take from Cairns and is something you have to do! There are endless tour companies offering similar excursions to the reef and many also offer scuba diving for an extra cost. The GBR is amazing and I couldn’t recommend visiting it more – I’ve been twice cos I’m such a keen bean, even though seeing fish in the water freaks me out. Ew. Yes they look amazing and beautiful, but you never know when they might touch you. I’d recommend going with Sightseeing Tours Australia. Their reef trip is only $109 for the day (7:30am – 5pm); you visit 2 different reefs, all food is included and you can also snorkel and do boom netting for no extra cost! While the reef is the most famous day trip to take from Cairns, there are also countless other things to see within an hour’s drive of the city. Pretty much all the tour companies offer day trips that cover off several waterfalls/ jungle walks in one trip – these are great if you're limited on time, but isn't something I'd recommend. Hire a car and explore yourself, you’ll get way more time at each place and not have to share it with 50 other people. My two favourites would be:

Josephine Falls – 1hr 10 mins south of Cairns.

After a short walk through the jungle you’ll find the beautiful Josephine Falls. The impressive waterfalls are amazing to witness and you can also go swimming in the pool at the base of the falls. If you swim across the pool and climb the rocks on the opposite side, you can slide back down into the pool – sounds more dangerous and painful than it actually is!

Etty Bay – 1hr 20 mins south of Cairns.

Etty Bay was my local beach while I was living near Cairns doing my farm work. The best thing about it is that 90% of the time you’ll have the place to yourself. There’s a netted off section of the sea where you can go swimming – don’t go outside of this area though as the beach is home to salt-water crocs, bull sharks and killer jelly fish. If you walk down the beach to the left and climb over the small rocky section, you’ll find an even smaller beach and this will always be deserted. It’s super cute and really chilled. There’s also a small café where you can grab food, and it does the most amazing potato wedges!

Have you been to Cairns? What do you love about it?