Any Melbournians won’t need much convincing to get out of the city in those colder months, and few destinations have the same allure as Cairns in Queensland. We planned a five-day escape to sunny Cairns in June, but quickly found that there is really no wrong time to visit this tropical city. We’ve documented what we did and where so that you can also plan a perfect holiday in Cairns that every Melbourne family needs to experience once!
Day 1: Arriving in Cairns ☀️
Hiring a car in Cairns
Touching down in Cairns and being met with that warm breeze and sunny skies was unbelievable – and only a Melbournian facing the colder months would be able to relate! Knowing we had big plans for the week, we had hired a car through East Coast Rentals in Cairns. We were collected by their shuttle and taken straight to their garage for a quick checkout with their friendly team. Adding other drivers to the rental car was a breeze (which is not often the case for car rentals) so we were able to show pictures of driver’s license of the potential driver who had not arrived in Cairns yet – super convenient!
Checking into Crystalbrook Bailey
The Crystalbrook Collection has a huge presence in Cairns CBD, with Crystalbrook Bailey, Crystalbrook Flynn and Crystalbrook Riley. We had three nights in Cairns before heading to Kuranda so we thought we would stay somewhere nice. To our surprise, it was more affordable than we thought – at $259 a night in Cairns peak season. The one-bedroom apartment room we booked was spacious, modern and exactly to our needs as a travelling family and we found the central location to be very convenient for all the activities we had planned for our first day and beyond. Parking was added for $12 a day which is unheard of in Melbourne! You can read more about our Crystalbrook Bailey review here!
Immersing in Cairns Aquarium
Cairns Aquarium was at the top of our list of things to do, as it had such a great reputation and our little one had a keen fascination with creatures under the sea. We headed to the Cairns Aquarium in the afternoon and were told to allow about 60-90 minutes to get through it all at a comfortable pace. We were able to see some of the Great Barrier Reef’s most precious sea life (like the Sunfish, clownfish, manta rays and more) and there was loads of seating scattered throughout the aquarium for us to slow down and watch the creatures move through the water. There were also some pre-recoded videos to watch and extensive information in each section of the aquarium. We were not expecting to see a reptile enclosure within the aquarium, so seeing lots of bright and big snakes and lizards was a real treat for our curious toddler. You can check out our full review of the aquarium here!
Visiting the cuddly Koalas & Creatures centre
Now that we had seen the fish and reptiles, we were keen to visit the Koalas and Creatures Centre and meet the much-loved koalas who live there. The Cairns Koalas and Creatures experience is your chance to get up close and personal with some of Australia’s most interesting native wildlife. The experience is encapsulated in a small venue, making the experience feel all the more personal. There are three koalas to say hello to, the beautiful trio of LuLu, Nellie and the patriotic Pavlova. In your interaction with the three cuddly koalas, you can also learn all about their habitats, behaviour and history in our beautiful country. Our little one loves Blinky Bill and Back to the Outback, both of which feature koalas – so seeing them up close was an exciting moment. There are also rainbow lorikeets, blue tongue lizards and a viewing experience in one of the rooms in the centre where kids and parents can learn more. You can check out our full review of Koalas & Creatures here!
Day 2: On board the Sunlover Reef Crusie 🐠
Stepping aboard the Sunlover was one of the most exciting experiences we had on this trip, with the enormous catamaran welcoming hundreds of visitors each day to experience the outer reef and inshore reef. We had booked in for the Reef & Fitzroy Island Day Tour and the on-board team was so helpful and knowledgeable. We had been told by a friend to get some sea sickness medication which the three of us took, and so we did not encounter any sickness thankfully – but the size of the catamaran definitely afforded the passengers a stable and enjoyable boat trip. We started off with a 1.5-hour catamaran journey to Sunlover Moore Reef Pontoon which has the Great Barrier Reef’s only water slide. Dad loved this but our little one was a little timid to try, but most of the kids got involved and absolutely loved it. There was also the option to do snorkelling, diving and glass-bottom boat tours.
The next stop is Fitzroy Island for a 3-hour stopover including lunch, and gave us the chance to cross Fitzroy Island off our must-visit list which was awesome! The option was to explore the rainforest trails, swim with turtles and relax on white coral beaches. We were headed to the rainforest in the coming days, so we opted to hang out on the beach and swim. There is nothing like this in Victoria, or anywhere in Australia, making it the ultimate family holiday.
Day 3: Catching the Skyrail Cableway to Kuranda 🌳
After a long day on board the Sunlover Reef Cruise, we were looking forward to sitting back and taking in the rainforest canopy views from the Skyrail Cableway. We checked out of the Crystalbrook Bailey Hotel and called a taxi to take us to the Cairns Cableway terminal located at 6 Skyrail Drive, Smithfield. This was about a 15-minute drive from the Cairns CBD. Depending on where you are staying in Cairns, your hotel may offer a free bus transfer – but the taxi suited us as we took our time at the buffet!
Skyrail Cairns tickets and timings
To enjoy the Skyrail Rainforest cableway, you will have to buy your tickets ahead of time. There is a counter at the Smithfield terminal but that is where you should proof of purchase and get your printed tickets. When we arrived, there were loads of tour groups and large group bookings and I would not like the odds of simply buying a ticket on the spot as this is a high-demand attraction. The first cable car departs at 8:30 am, seven days a week. The last departure is at 1 pm for one-way and round-trip rides – so keep that in mind if you are planning a morning out and about in Cairns before heading to the terminal. You can book your tickets here, and will have the option of buying Skyrail Rainforest Cableway OR the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway and Kuranda Scenic Railway. As we were headed to Kuranda for a few days, we opted for the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway tickets only but look forward to taking the Kuranda Scenic Railway in the future.
We had tickets for the Diamond View experience, which meant we were seated on cable cars that had a glass bottom – allowing us to get a full 360-degree view of the rainforest. The standard tickets have a solid floor and you cannot see through the bottom. The friendly team at the Skyrail Cairns terminal said to allow 90 minutes for a standard one-way Skyrail experience and 2 hours for a one-way Diamond View experience. For a return/round trip, they said to allow 2 and a half hours and whatever time you wish to spend in Kuranda Village.
Exploring the rainforest stops
Each time you hop on the cable car, the staff will tell you how long until your next Skyrail stop is away to get off. It’s generally about five to ten minutes, which goes surprisingly quickly as you soar over the rainforest canopy. The first stop on the Rainforest Skyrail was Red Peak. At this stop, you can jump into a ranger-guided boardwalk tour and visit the Rainforest Discovery Zone. The path is easy to traverse and the modern boardwalk snakes around the enormous trees that are hundreds of years old. Allow 20 minutes to enjoy this stunning stop with fern gardens, climbing palms, butterflies, birds and even some wildlife. It’s easy to believe that this is one of the most ancient pockets of rainforest on Earth.
The next stop is one that needs no introduction – Barron Falls. Barron Falls is a location of deep significance to the First Nations community and has been an important part of their storytelling for thousands of years. We were told that the wet season is a great time to see Barron Falls (December to March), but what we saw was nothing short of unbelievable. There is an Edge Lookout where you can see the waterfall and the surrounding environment, so allow 20 minutes at this stop to take it all in. Have a read of our full Cairns Skyrail review here!
Arriving to The Billabong, Kuranda
The final stop on the Skyrail Cableway was the Kuranda terminal. This terminal is a beautiful and bright sight, with a great gift shop and store attached where you can purchase a photo of your group on the cable cars. The Kuranda Railway Station is nearby and Kuranda Village is only a short walk from the terminal and this is where you will find a great mix of cafes, pubs, markets and shops. We had a friend collecting us from the terminal and so we were picked up and went to a cafe in Kuranda Village for a coffee and chat. When we were ready to leave Kuranda Village and wifi reception – we headed to our next accommodation, The Billabong Kuranda. A huge difference from the luxury of Crystalbrook Bailey, but exactly what we were looking for now we were in leafy Kuranda. We spend the rest of our day exploring our incredible accommodation, which you can read more about here!
Day 4: Exploring Kuranda’s winged wonders 🦋
Nothing beats waking up in nature, especially when our accommodation was open to the elements and all the birds and kookaburras started their morning early. After spending the afternoon getting to know the accommodation and its natural beauty, we were ready to spend the day at Kuranda Village. We had breakfast at The Petit Cafe which was delicious – and reminded us of our amazing breaky spots back home in Melbourne. The menu was allergy-friendly which was great to see and fueled us for the day ahead.
The Australian Butterfly Sanctuary
Forget the butterfly sanctuaries you have seen in Australia before – because The Australian Butterfly Sanctuary is one is the biggest and it’s home to the most diverse range of butterflies. There are an impressive 1,200 tropical butterflies that you can do your best to spot all of as you walk the boardwalk around the garden. The atmosphere is almost dream-like – stunning greenery and a comfortable warm tropical temperature that is ideal for breeding. Our little one loved the butterflies, but also found the caterpillars to be a big hit – there are almost 4,000 of them in the laboratory connected to the sanctuary. In that laboratory, you can join a tour to learn more about these impressive insects and the work that the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary does. We couldn’t believe that the team ‘hand-raise’ the caterpillars onsite until they are released as butterflies into the aviary daily – what a cool job!
Birdworld Kuranda
Not that we had made friends with the butterflies of Kuranda, it was time to level up to birds. Birdworld Kuranda was a great afternoon out, and we were surprised to see more than 350 species of birds live in the beautiful enclosure. There was even a Cassowary, which our little one was a bit afraid of – but we thought was fantastic to see up close. If you take your little one here, you’ll find that they know more bird species than you think – with our toddler naming a Cockatoo, Galah, Parrot, Lorikeets and more.
There are four different packages to choose from when you get tickets with the lead-in package giving you access to Birdworld and exploring the enclosure on your own, right through to the more expensive option which gives you exclusive access to up-close areas, guided tours, and you even get to meet a wombat and hold a koala partner company Kuranda Koala Gardens. Given we had just experienced the Cairns Koalas & Creatures Centre days before, we just opted for the Birdworld-only ticket and had so much fun. We got loads of great pictures and even got to hand-feed the friendly birds.
Day 5: Splash and play at Muddy’s Playground 💦
After a day and a half of fun in Kuranda, it was time to head back to Cairns! We headed straight back to Kuranda terminal and jumped back on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway to the final leg of our family holiday. As you can imagine, the weather was perfect for every day we were in Cairns and we were determined to enjoy the weather and outdoors before we were back in cool Melbourne so the plan was to stay somewhere right near the famous Muddy’s Playground, which we found at Cairns Plaza Hotel.
Cairns Plaza Hotel
Cairns Plaza Hotel is perfectly positioned opposite Muddy’s Playground, making it easy to spend the morning there, grab lunch at Muddy’s Cafe, head back across the road to the hotel for a nap, and then head back out for an afternoon splash. We booked a room with two Queen beds side-by-side, where our family would collapse after our busy days out and about in Cairns. Another great advantage to this hotel was their off-road car park where we were able to park the car safely. The Esplanade can be super busy, especially the closer you get to Muddy’s so having that looked after was amazing. You can read our full review of Cairns Plaza Hotel here!
Muddy’s Playground and Muddy’s Cafe
Where to start when describing Muddy’s Playground. Well, for one thing – there is simply nothing like it in Melbourne. It is a public, fully outdoor water playground for babies, toddlers and children with ample seating and shading for it to be an activity for the whole family. There are fountains coming from the round, overhead rainwater features and a fun path that takes you from one end of the playground to another. It’s not uncommon to see kids kitted out in their swimsuits or children passing by who aren’t in their swimwear, but ready to get in the water and have a splash. The way Muddy’s water playground is designed, it’s easy to keep an eye on your child and parents can easily be out there with their child and get as wet or dry as they like.
When your child (eventually) tires of the water, there is also some modern playground equipment. There are swings and slides, but also some intricate play equipment that you don’t see very often – which makes it appeal to children up to their tweens. There are a bunch of picnic tables, BBQ amenities and different kinds of formats to sit, congregate and celebrate. On the few times we ventured across the road to Muddy’s, we saw lots of birthday parties and family celebrations happening.
Now, if you are a foodie – listen up. Muddy’s Cafe is absolutely awesome, and when you consider the many hundred people they serve each day and night, the fact they can keep such a high standard is so impressive. This place was so busy every time we went, with people eating in and getting takeaway from an extensive menu of pub classics with some modern Australian quality and flair. We were lucky enough to stop by for breakfast and dinner due to the proximity to our hotel – and we will be recommending this spot to all our Melbourne friends who are planning a Cairns visit.
We hope we have inspired you to visit Cairns for your next family holiday, as there are just so many incredible things you can do with children. Whether you have a weekend of 5 days like we did, here are some ideas to planning a great QLD escape. You can also check out our other travel destinations.
