Cairns
The City
 The
City of Cairns is the the premier regional city in Australia, and
the world's safest tropical city. It is located about 1700km from
Brisbane and about 2500km from Sydney by road..
Listed by the World Heritage Society and acclaimed
as amongst the world's most wonderful assets are the Great Barrier
Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforests. These year round natural attractions
are truly memorable and inspiring.
The "new Cairns" is serviced by a modern
railway station, coach transit station, a large rail freight terminal,
a privately owned public bus transport system subsidised by the
State Government and a taxi company with a fleet of 140 vehicles.
The flourishing Cairns International Airport is
the nation's sixth busiest in terms of combined international and
domestic passenger movements.
Getting there
 By
Air:
Qantas
(tel. 13 13 13 in Australia) has direct flights throughout the day
to Cairns from Sydney and Brisbane, and at least one flight a day
from Darwin and Uluru (Ayers Rock). From Melbourne you can fly direct
some days, but most flights connect through Sydney or Brisbane.
Sunstate Airlines (book through Qantas)
also flies several times a day from Townsville, and Airlink
(book through Qantas) has flights from Alice Springs and Uluru.
 Virgin
Blue (tel. 13 67 89 in Australia) flies to Cairns direct from
Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. Several international carriers
fly to Cairns from various Asian cities, and from New Zealand. Virgin
Blue and Jetstar
offer cut price flights throught the year.
The airport is only 10 minutes from the city centre,
making Cairns the most convenient of meeting locations. Cairns has
international, domestic and general aviation terminals of the highest
standards.
I
want that flight - compares Jetstar, VirginBlue and Qantas -
with all the taxes and charges included
By Bus
 McCafferty's
(tel. 13 14 99, or 07/4051 5899 for Cairns terminal) and Greyhound
Pioneer (tel. 13 20 30, or 07/4051 5899 for terminal) buses pull
into Trinity Wharf Centre on Wharf Street in the center of town.
Buses travel from the south via all towns and cities on the Bruce
Highway, and from the west from Alice Springs and Darwin via Tennant
Creek on the Stuart Highway and the Outback mining town of Mt. Isa
to Townsville, where they join the Bruce Highway and head north.
- Sydney - Cairns: 45 hours
- Brisbane - Cairns: 29 hours
- Darwin - Cairns: 41 hours.
By Car
 From
Brisbane and all major towns in the south, you'll enter Cairns on
the Bruce Highway. To reach the northern beaches or Port Douglas
from Cairns, take Sheridan Street in the city center, which becomes
the Captain Cook Highway.
The Lagoon
 The
4800 sq metre saltwater swimming lagoon offers visitors an all year
safe swimming location, set on the Cairns foreshore overlooking
the Barrier Reef and Trinity Inlet. Saltwater is pumped from the
inlet and filtered through a state of the art filtration system,
to meet Australian standards.
The kids can enjoy the sandy edges, build sand
castles and play in shallow water. On the other side, others can
lounge on the timber decks in moderate shade.
Shady trees, landscaped gardens and open spaces
all contribute to the leisurely atmosphere on the Esplanade.
The Diving
 Cairns
and the Great Barrier Reef represents some of the finest and most
exotic scuba diving and snorkeling in the world. Whether your interests
lie with diving and snorkeling day
trips, live
aboard cruises and extended diving expeditions to the Ribbon
Reefs and Cod
Hole, learning
to dive, or advanced
diver training for certified divers, North Queensland's Great
Barrier Reef, and Dive Directory, can meet all of your diving holiday
needs.
Courses
 Certified
Divers
The Accommodation
 If
you are coming to Cairns on a visit don't leave your accommodation
to the last minute. Depending on what time of the year you will
visit Cairns you could get here and not find a single bed to sleep
in. As there are numerous hotels in Cairns we have selected a few
for you to choose from. The hotels are chosen for their facilities,
price, locations and they must be clean.
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