transport & getting around cairns

• international flights to cairns
• getting to cairns & australia
• how long does it take to get to australia?
• getting to cairns – domestic flights
• how long does it take to get to cairns?
• useful numbers for cairns airlines
• public transport in cairns
• getting around cairns city
• australian customs & quarantine
• australian visas & documents

Getting around the Cairns region is relatively easy.

international flights

Cairns International Airport operates regular flights from major cities around the world. However direct flights can be quite expensive so most visitors travel via Sydney, Melbourne or Perth and Darwin.

getting to cairns & australia
international flights

An island continent, Australia is surrounded by ocean and therefore the only way to visit is via plane or boat.

Almost all visitors will have to enter the country via a major capital city, usually Sydney, Melbourne or Perth. About half of all visitors enter via Sydney’s Kingsford-Smith International Airport.

There are direct flights to Cairns from major Asian cities like Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.

how long does it take to get to australia?

• It takes about three hours to fly from New Zealand to Australia.
• It takes between 7 and 11 hours to fly from Asian countries to Australia.
• It takes about 15 hours to fly from the west coast of the United States of America to Australia.
• It takes about 18 hours to fly from South Africa to Australia.
• It takes between 13 and 16 hours to fly from South America to Australia.
• It takes more than 24 hours to fly from Europe to Australia.
• based on direct flights only

Due to the long travelling time, most visitors choose to break their journey in Singapore, Dubai, Thailand or Malaysia.

After Sydney, visitors also arrive, in descending order, in the cities of Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Only a few travellers enter the country directly at Cairns, Adelaide, Darwin, the Gold Coast, Norfolk Island, Newcastle or Broome (WA).

getting to cairns – domestic flights

Cairns International Airport operates regular and numerous flights from the major capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth as well as Darwin, Adelaide, Hobart and Brisbane arriving in the Domestic terminal.

how long does it take to get to cairns?

• It takes about 3 hours to fly from Sydney to Cairns.
• It takes about 2.5 hours to fly from Brisbane to Cairns.
• It takes about 3.5 hours to fly from Melbourne to Cairns.
• It takes about 8.5 hours to fly from Perth to Cairns with a stop over in Brisbane.
• It takes about 6.5 hours to fly from Adelaide to Cairns with a stop over in Melbourne.
• It takes about 2.5 hours to fly from Darwin to Cairns.
• It takes about 6.5 hours to fly from Hobart to Cairns with a stop over in Melbourne.

useful numbers for cairns airlines

>> Click here for all Cairns airport departures and arrivals

customs & quarantine

As an isolated region with economic dependence on its agriculture, Australia operates under very strict customs and quarantine laws.

There are even restrictions on carrying fruit between various states around Australia.

Australia is free of many diseases and insect pests which is why animal and vegetable product imports, including wood, are highly controlled.

All incoming visitors must pass a customs check. No fruits, vegetables, meat or other food products are allowed into the country unless they are factory produced or on an approved list – chocolate, for example, is acceptable.

As long as visitors declare all such products there is no penalty.

There are a number of prominent signs at every airport outlining the import restrictions.

Declared products will be confiscated and destroyed or held in quarantine.

Should a visitor not declare restricted imports there are very heavy penalties including fines of thousands of dollars and a possible jail term.

Since the increase in airport security due to the threat of terrorism, customs has become even more stringent with every piece of baggage being examined.

There is almost no possibility of smuggling restricted items into the country.

For more information go to the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service website at www.daff.gov.au/aqis

Medication, baby foods and accepted items are able to be brought into Australia.

As a multicultural nation, almost all food stuffs, including ethnic specialities, are available in the capital cities and most major towns.

Tourist destinations, like the Cairns region, offer specialist produce stores.