Short answer: beyond the reef, Cairns has Tully River white water rafting, tandem skydives at Cairns or Mission Beach, a rainforest bungy tower and Giant Swing, the Kuranda Scenic Railway and the Daintree. May to October is the dry season, and the Tully runs year-round either way.
Everyone arrives in Cairns for the reef, and fair enough. But the reason people end up staying a week is everything behind the city: a rafting river that runs year-round, two of the best skydive drop zones in the country, a bungy tower in the rainforest, a heritage railway up a gorge, and the Daintree, where the oldest rainforest on Earth runs straight down to the sand. This is the list of Cairns adventure activities that have nothing to do with a snorkel, with what each one is actually like and what it costs.
Tully River white water rafting
The Tully is the best commercial rafting river in Australia and it is not close. Two hours south of Cairns, it drops through rainforest gorge in a run of Grade 3 and 4 rapids, and because a hydro scheme releases water upstream, it runs reliably all year rather than only after rain. Tully town is famously one of the wettest places in the country, which tells you something about the river.
A full day looks like this: early pick-up in Cairns, a safety briefing and paddle school on the bank, then around five hours on the water with a guide steering and shouting commands from the back of your raft. You will get thrown around, you will probably fall out at least once, and there is a lunch stop in the rainforest halfway down. No experience is needed; you need to be able to swim and be happy getting dunked.
Tully River Rafting (Cairns Return Transfers) is from $239 and takes about 12 hours door to door. Wear quick-dry clothes and shoes that strap on (no thongs), and leave the phone on the bus unless it is in a proper waterproof case.
Skydiving: Cairns or Mission Beach?
Far North Queensland has two drop zones within reach of a Cairns hostel, and they offer different views.
Cairns lands you close to the city with the Coral Sea, the mountains and the cane fields spread out beneath you, and it is the quicker option: around three hours including transfers. The Cairns Tandem 15,000ft Skydive (With Transfer) is from $349.
Mission Beach, about two hours south, is the one with the beach landing. You free-fall over the reef and the islands, then the canopy opens and you float down to land on the sand with the rainforest behind you. It takes a full morning or afternoon with the drive, and it is the one people cross the country for. The Mission Beach Tandem 15,000ft Skydive (With Cairns Transfer) is from $379 with the transfer from Cairns included.
Both are tandem, both from 15,000 feet, which gives you around a minute of free-fall. Book the earliest slot you can: morning air is calmer and weather cancellations are less likely. If you want to combine the Tully and Mission Beach, they are in the same direction from Cairns and some travellers do them on consecutive days from a Mission Beach hostel.
Bungy and the giant swing
The Cairns bungy tower stands 50 metres up in rainforest just north of the city, with a view out over the forest to the coast. It is a purpose-built tower rather than a bridge or crane, and the jump styles range from a straightforward swan dive to the sort of thing where you ride a bike off the edge.
Next to it is the Giant Swing, where you are winched up and released to swing out over the forest at speed. Plenty of people who cannot face the bungy love the swing, and the two together are the standard combo. The Bungy Jump + Giant Swing Combo with Media includes the photos and video, which you will want because no one will believe you otherwise. Allow around two hours.
Kuranda Scenic Railway and Skyrail
This is the slow, scenic day, and it is a good one to put after a big night. The Kuranda Scenic Railway opened in 1891 and climbs from the coast up through Barron Gorge to the rainforest village of Kuranda, through 15 tunnels and past waterfalls with a stop at a lookout over Barron Falls. The trip up takes a little under two hours in heritage carriages with the windows open.
You come back down on the Skyrail, a cableway that glides for seven and a half kilometres over the rainforest canopy with two stops where you walk boardwalks through the forest and look down the gorge. Doing the train up and Skyrail down (or the reverse) is the standard loop, with a few hours in Kuranda for the markets, the lookouts and a coffee in between.
The Kuranda, Scenic Railway, Skyrail incl. Return Cairns Transfers is from $209 with the morning train, afternoon Skyrail and transfers sorted. It is not an adrenaline day, but it is the one most people remember most clearly.
Cape Tribulation and the Daintree
North of Cairns the road passes Port Douglas, then the Daintree River, where a cable ferry carries you across to the far side and the sealed road ends at Cape Tribulation. This is the Daintree Rainforest, among the oldest continuously surviving rainforests on the planet, and the only place where two World Heritage areas, the rainforest and the reef, meet on the same beach.
A day tour from Cairns covers a lot: Mossman Gorge on the way up, a Daintree River cruise looking for estuarine crocodiles, boardwalks through the mangroves and forest at Cape Trib, and the beach where the forest meets the sea. The Cape Tribulation Day Tour is from $209 for an 11-hour day. Keep an eye out for cassowaries, the big flightless birds that live in the Daintree, and do not swim anywhere other than the designated croc-free spots your guide points out.
If you have the days, Cape Trib is also worth a night or two in a jungle hostel: no phone signal, a lot of frogs, and the beach to yourself in the morning.
Koalas (and holding one)
Queensland is one of the few states where you are allowed to hold a koala, which is why it is on so many lists. Breakfast with the Koalas, from $79 is the easy way to do it: an hour with the koalas and other wildlife over breakfast, with the chance to be photographed holding one. Pair it with Kuranda if you want a full wildlife day.
How to fit it all in
Most backpackers give Cairns four to seven nights at the end of the East Coast. A sensible order:
- Reef day first (it is weather dependent, so give yourself a spare day to move it).
- Tully rafting or a skydive on day two, while you are still fresh.
- Kuranda on the morning after the big night out.
- Cape Tribulation as a full day or an overnight.
- Bungy whenever you are brave enough.
If you want the whole coast done for you with Cairns at the end, the semi-guided itineraries on our East Coast Australia page finish here with the headline tours already booked. The land and air days above are compared side by side on our Cairns day tours page, and everything else in the region is on our Cairns & Tropical North page.
FAQs
What is the best time of year for Cairns adventure activities?
May to October is the dry season: lower humidity, clearer skies, best conditions for skydiving and Kuranda. November to April is hot and wet, with afternoon storms and the possibility of road closures up north after heavy rain. The Tully runs year-round either way.
Is Tully River rafting safe for beginners?
Yes. The vast majority of rafters have never been in a raft before. Guides run a full safety briefing and paddle practice, you wear a helmet and life jacket, and the rapids are graded so that a raft of first-timers can run them with a guide steering. You need to be a confident swimmer.
Cairns skydive or Mission Beach skydive?
Mission Beach for the beach landing and the island views, Cairns if you are short on time. Both are 15,000 feet tandems with similar free-fall time.
Can you do Kuranda and Cape Tribulation in one day?
No. They are in different directions and each is a full day. Give them separate days, and put Kuranda on the one where you want an easier start.
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