Location: Cairns Region
Top Things to do in Cairns Region
Top 10 Free Things to do in Cairns Region, Queensland
The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional centre of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shire of Douglas.
Restaurants in Cairns Region
1. Palm Cove Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,154 reviews
Reviewed By 71lynw
Nice clean beach on one side with Beach patrolled flagged area and the fishing jetty at the end great spot Amazing sunrises from the beachfront
2. Barron Gorge National Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 55 reviews
Reviewed By WorldTravla7 - Cairns, Australia
Lake Placid is an easily accessible tourist/recreation area in Barron Gorge National Park just a few minutes drive from Smithfield. It’s not actually a lake, but part of the Barron River - the river bulges out on either side to form a large lake like body of water (Lake Placid) before thinning again heading up into Barron Gorge towards Kuranda. For this reason crocs have been known to make their way upstream and therefore swimming is not recommended as the signs point out (there was a Croc attack on a stupid local swimmer in January 2021). There is a nice & easy short walk that takes you a few hundred metres along the lake through rainforest but it doesn’t continue to the end. Adjacent to Lake Placid is an excellent pizza restaurant called Alessandro’s which offers fantastic ambience and traditional pizza & there is a convenience store selling groceries and takeaway nearby. Also nearby is the drive up to Barron Gorge where you can check out some amazing views and cross the bridge over to Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station. Well worth a visit.
3. Ellis Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 60 reviews
Reviewed By leonp303 - Noosaville, Australia
A rare find on the Captain Cook Highway. A swimming enclosure with Lifesavers. Beautiful water and a really great Tavern across the road for lunch. Well worth a stop for a couple if hours.
4. Cairns Esplanade Lagoon
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,647 reviews
Escape the heat at one of Cairns' best known landmarks, the Esplanade Lagoon. Set on the Cairns foreshore overlooking Trinity Inlet, the 4800 sq metre saltwater swimming lagoon offers locals and tourists a year round safe swimming location. Saltwater is pumped from the inlet and filtered through a state of the art filtration and chlorination system, to meet Australian Standards. The kids can enjoy the sandy edges, build sand castles and play in shallow water. On the other side of the Lagoon, visitors 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 Lagoon is open 6am-6pm Thursday - Tuesday, Midday-6pm Wednesday all year round.
Reviewed By nikkichutney - Melbourne, Australia
Absolutely fabulous definitely recommend if you are holidaying in Cairns and near the Esplanade you’ve got to swim in the lagoon at least once a day to cool off. The people of Cairns are very lucky to have this lagoon here.
5. Cairns Botanical Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 146 reviews
Tropical Gardens
Reviewed By KathyM134
Wonderful gardens with a great display of orchids and butterflies in the Conservatory. We attended the free botanical talk - on every day at 10 am - which was really interesting and informative.
6. Atherton Tablelands
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 654 reviews
Reviewed By D6035PRkathyd
This was a really enjoyable area to explore by car at a leisurely pace. We did not get as far as we hoped, but thoroghly enjoyed Crater Lakes National Park (including the tea house on Lake Barrine), Yungaburra's walk along Peterson Train in search of a platypus sighting, Emerald Creek Ice Cream and the Cathedral Fig Tree.
7. Rusty's Market
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 402 reviews
Reviewed By mazzaintazza - London, United Kingdom
Colourful, buzzing, great range of fruit and veg, plus the odd live singer, cafe with awesome breads and cakes, and a few jewellery/craft stalls. A must do, even just to take photos. Four avocados for $2! Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday only.
8. Muddy's Playground
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,419 reviews
Muddy's playground is open every day of the year between 9am and 7pm (including public holidays and weekends). Sections of Muddy's are closed for maintenance on Tuesday and Thursday mornings until noon. Even when maintenance works are being carried out, Council aims to have at least half the playground available for use. Muddy's is a modern, fun, safe, splash playground and parkland. It incorporates active, passive, interactive and educational facilities with a combination of play equipment. Muddy's playground is themed "Life in Trinity Bay" and the playground includes water play areas plus a flying fox, sound chimes, track ride, rope bridge, slides, play houses, story telling areas, see-saw, trick track and puzzle games. Please note that the disabled-use Liberty Swing uses the MLAK national keying system. For access please ask at Muddy's cafe. Muddy's has two toilet facilities one at the north end of Muddy's near the cafe and one at the southern end of Muddy's. Muddy's has barbecues, picnic tables and an on-site cafe.
Reviewed By KittyO25
This place is just fantastic. Well maintained and just great for kids of all ages. Would most definitely recommend to all families
9. Trinity Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,157 reviews
Reviewed By 425leighg
My wife, 4yr old daughter and I have been staying at the Coral Sands Beach Resort for 10 nights as part of a longer trip to Australia. My review should be taken in the context that it is not peak season and outside of school holidays too. The esplanade is clean and well kept with a good mix of people walking and jogging and taking in the lovely views. There are toilets pretty much at either end of the esplanade with various bbq and seating areas as well as water fountains along the esplanade. There is also a play park which appears well kept and maintained for those times when getting wet isn't an option but fun/entertainment is still required. There is also a foot rinse behind the lifeguard's hut. There is parking along the front although I don't know if they are free or permit controlled. The beach itself is lovely sand with numerous trees and shady areas at the top of beach for the perfect mix of sun and shade. It had enough people to create an atmosphere but everyone had more than enough space. The views, as other reviews have stated and shown, are quite stunning and there are very few cafes along the front (3 spread along the length that I could see) so it's nicely unspoilt and relaxed as well as beautiful. There is quite a steady slope into the sea although we only went in the stinger net/ life guard controlled area. The waves are frequently a good size which the kids and grown ups alike enjoy. The slope means that within a few metres of being in the water you can comfortably stand to waist to chest depth. This provided a good positon to hold our daughter as went through the waves together. Sometimes letting her float over them and sometimes lifting her over the much bigger ones. Of which there were quite a few. As a visitor I can't really comment with any qualification on the stinger net/Saltie aspects other than to say that I felt safe enough to enjoy the sea within these best efforts to keep everyone safe. The only challenge comes when trying to get said daughter out of the water when holding on to me. The force from the waves can be a challenge to making a dignified exit but no more. All in all about perfect. A lovely beach, unspoilt, well kept, friendly and easy to access. Enjoy, I wish it was within a few hours flight of home as it could have become a new favourite beach.
10. Josephine Falls
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 494 reviews
Reviewed By emmmjones
Even though the navigator said the road to the parking area is unpaved, it actually was covered. Very easy to access with an RV. Easy parking, with toilets right before you step on the paved walking path to the falls. Leave most of your belongings in the car, I'd say. People who visit the falls doubtfully are there to steal your things, but you never know! I would recommend leaving your shoes in the car, you won't need them here. There are several different swimming spots, at the bottom, in the middle and at the top, but the top was actually closed from public for safety. We walked about 5 minutes from the parking area to the bottom pool, all of it paved so you can access it with strollers even (wouldn't recommend it, though people with babies carried them in chestbags), with the path ending at a sort of a small balcony with a few stepps. From the balcony you open a metal gate, which then leads you to the big rocks. This is where it gets tricky. The rocks -most of them- are dry and not slippery, but there is not actually any path to the water or good spots to leave your belongings, so leave them in the car! We left our cellphones, expensive sunglasses and car keys under our hats and clothes on one of the rocks and they were fine. We could keep an eye on them the entire time, though had someone decided to steal them, there is no easy, fast access out of the water. You have to climb over big rocks to even get near the water, and then carefully sit and find your step because there are some big slippery rocks right beneath the surface (don't fall!). So if you have any movement disabilities, accessing the water might be extremely difficult! It is not until you get more towards the middle of the pool that you can swim freely, because it does get deep. But it is absolutely clear, refreshing water and just a delightful experience, one of the best on our two week roadtrip! During our visit it was 33 C and sunny, so the swim was perfect! After accessing the water, you can climb up the rock surface on the other side of the water, since the water fall has made it really smooth, and sunbathe, or slide down the water fall back in. Definitely the highlight of our Cairns visit!
