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While Australia is really a realm of innumerable awe-inspiring natural wonders, the world-famous Great Barrier Reef is one thing that can take beauty and awesomeness to a totally new level. Even though there are lots of spots to take in this artful handiwork of nature, Cairns is among the most popular destinations. Obviously, there are other fine spots to see this natural leviathan. One of these is Port Douglas, 41 miles away from Cairns for the northern sides—an attractive, small town that’s cooly laid-back—and that has beautiful pristine beaches with stunning vistas that stretch towards the horizon.
Then you will find Whitsundays, many islands, and a dozen other spots sitting on the 2,300-kilometer stretch of the largest reef system on the planet. However, few spots can hold a candle to Cairns, the standard gateway towards the Great Barrier Reef. Here’s a travel guide that’ll help make your visit to Cairns a breeze.
How you can Access Cairns In Order To See The Great Barrier Reef
First, it would be well to map the place of Cairns. The town of Cairns is incorporated in the state of Queensland, certainly one of Australia's six states and the second largest after Western Australia. As the capital of Australia is Canberra, an independent enclave inside the state of New South Wales, the capital of Queensland is Brisbane. More than 80% of Queenslanders live in the towns and cities that line the coastal strip around the eastern side from the Sunshine State. The remainder are dispersed on an impossibly vast outback dotted with a few spectacular landscapes which are just like insanely attractive. Cairns is a beautiful, sprawling city—a good 863 miles from Brisbane—contributing to 1, 500 miles from Sydney, the most famous and populous Australian city. The town of Cairns sits on the peninsula between an imposing mountain range around the west and the endless blue of the Coral Sea on the east.
Related: Great Barrier Reef: 25 Little-Known Things That'll Make Us Want To Visit
The far-off location of Cairns means something: unless someone is really a lot motivated, and it has the energy—and of course, time, driving to Cairns from the from the large cities is an energy-sapping affair. It’ll take one 27 hours from Sydney—along with a good 30 hours from Melbourne. While there are many awesome things to see and do in Australia, to meaningfully explore this type of vast country will require more than a few days or weeks. Now here’s the best and quickest means to access Cairns: Have a flight direct to Cairns International (CNS), a busy international airport just Ten minutes north from the city of Cairns. The airport has domestic flights to all the main Australian cities. On the international front, it has direct flights to Papua New Guinea, Guam, Hong Kong, Japan, Nz, and Singapore, through Darwin.
Currently, there aren't any direct flights from the United States or Europe to Cairns. If your are traveling from London, Singapore Airlines seems to be an excellent option as it has only just one stop-over. Obviously, there are direct flights from the United States to Cairns but with a number of stop-overs. Those planning to travel should check out Skyscanner for many of the cheapest flight deals. Even though it's possible to chance on the $478 flight, the average cost in the US to Cairns is $1, 540 —based on the popular flight search engine Kayak.
Once someone lands at the Cairns Airport, he or she can easily wend his way to the city center by using a taxi or perhaps a ride-share. This should be between $18 to $22, or AUD (25-30). Apart from a taxi or perhaps a ride-share, there's also shuttle services that one can use. There are lots of luxury (and not so luxury) accommodation facilities within and around the city of Cairns. These vary from high-end hotels and lodges to budget hostels and camping sites. Bookings.com is an ideal site to check out hotels while Hostelworld.com does it for additional affordable hostels. For a beach experience, many stunning islands lavishly dot the coastline. The northern sides of Cairns are particularly a sea-side treasure. Palm Cove, only a 15-mile trip northwards—is a awesome spot on earth. But downtown Cairns continues to be perfect since the convenient location puts travelers in the centre of all action. And almost all tours towards the Great Barrier Reef leave from the Cairns Marina located in the city’s Central Business District.
- What Is the greatest Time To Visit Cairns To determine The truly amazing Barrier Reef: The truly amazing Barrier Reef isn't just seen but experienced, and also the ideal time with this is throughout the dry season that runs from May to October.
Related: 5 Reasons Why Melbourne Is the greatest Australian City (& 5 Why Sydney Is)
Remaining in Cairns? Take a look at These Money-Saving Tips
Here’s the reality. Australia isn't a cheap destination. According to NationMaster, restaurant costs are 27% greater than those in america. Consequently, one should eat at restaurants rarely. An excellent option is to go out to Woolworths or any other supermarket for some delicious snack, sandwich, or other simple meal. And besides the Great Barrier Reef, you ought to search for a hardly any other free but interesting activities to complete within the town—like a visit to the Cairns Art Gallery.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of nature’s finest handwriting. And when Cairns may be the gateway, a travel guide must be a detailed companion.
