The third stop on our virtual tour is in my favorite Australian city, Cairns. Yes, Cairns beats Sydney in my book. I know, call me crazy, but there is a good reason why I fell in love with Cairns immediately. First and foremost, the climate. Cairns has a very tropical climate and anywhere with a tropical setting automatically wins a place in my heart. What can I say? I am a sucker for humidity, rainforests, palm trees, beaches, and the sun roasting my skin. Apart from the climate, Cairns is one of the most inviting places in Australia. What do I mean by inviting? The locals are your classic laidback, surfer, “carpe diem” type of crowd, which makes you feel like anything goes, which for the most part it does. The following are my top three things to do while visiting Cairns.
1. Visit the Great Barrier Reef
The first item on my to-do list is the most obvious of all. If you travel all the way to Queensland how are you going to skip on seeing the world’s largest reef system? There are many different ways to visit the reef, one of them being scuba diving and snorkeling. My very first scuba diving experience was in the Great Barrier Reef. I am a swimmer and have been snorkeling plenty of times before but I had never truly experienced the beauty below the surface until I went scuba diving. I loved it so much that I became a certified diver and have been on countless scuba excursions since then.
When I went I used the company Tusa Dive for my introductory scuba experience. They provide both scuba and snorkel excursions. If you prefer not to scuba dive but are comfortable with snorkeling and want to get up close and personal with the reef then definitely check them out.
For more information on Tusa Dive company and their pricing check out their website here: https://www.tusadive.com/
2. Visit Cape Tribulation
In the name of transparency, I will admit that I had never heard of Cape Tribulation. When I was planning my trip I did what everyone does- I googled places to see in Cairns. One of the areas that continuously popped up was Cape Tribulation. After looking at photos of Cape Tribulation, I decided I had to see it. Port Douglas is about an hour drive from Cairns and apart from it being a beautiful beach, it is also part of the Great Barrier Reef so for those who do not want to adventure into snorkeling or scuba diving this is another excellent option to see the reef without even getting your feet wet! Why is Cape Tribulation on my list? Port Douglas and 4-mile beach are gorgeous beaches that are surrounded by a beautiful, green, and lush rainforest, which brings me to my third thing to do while in Cairns.
3. Visit the Daintree Rainforest
When looking for ways to visit Cape Tribulation, I came across a tour that takes you to Port Douglas, 4-mile beach, and Daintree Rainforest on the same day. I am so glad that I opted for this tour because I feel like I got my money’s worth times ten. First of all, for those who do not know (like I didn’t), the Daintree Rainforest is the oldest continually surviving rainforest in the world. It may not be the biggest (the Amazon) but it is the oldest. While walking through the rainforest I felt like I was in Jurassic Park. The views felt like they were from another world. I could have spent an entire week in the rainforest alone.
The other reason why I feel like booking this tour was the best is because the tour guide that I had was incredible. Extraordinarily informative but also had a very approachable and laid back personality. Basically, he knew his facts but knew how to laugh when people told jokes. The tour company’s name is Uncle Brian’s, and I will 100% book another tour with them when I return to Cairns.
To check out Uncle Brian’s tour and pricing information, visit their website by clicking here: https://unclebrians.com.au/cape-tribulation-1-day-tour/
The Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation, and the Daintree Rainforest are the best things to do while in Cairns and are each something I will recommend to anyone that is planning a visit to Cairns. You seriously cannot go wrong with any of these, and I can almost guarantee that you will wish that you would have spent more time in Cairns after your visit. Please don’t take my word for it though, get out there and explore Cairns for yourself!
Your virtual tour guide,
Janel
Interested in checking out more posts on Australia?
Check out my guide for Sydney, Australia by clicking here: https://janelhaswings.com/your-guide-to-sydney-australia/
See what to do while visiting Adelaide by clicking here: https://janelhaswings.com/top-5-things-to-do-in-adelaide-australia/
Check out my gallery below to see more photos from my beautiful experience.
Port Douglas 
4-mile beach 
Daintree Rainforest 
Daintree Rainforest Lookout
