Airport
Cairns International Airport
IATA Code: CNSLocation: The airport is situated five miles (8km) north of Cairns.
Time: GMT +10.
Contacts: Tel: +61 (0)7 4080 6703.
Transfer between terminals: A covered walkway connects the Domestic and International terminals (about a five minute walk).
Transfer to the city: There is an airport shuttle bus service to hotels and the city centre and taxi ranks are located directly outside the arrival halls. Most major hotels operate courtesy bus services to and from the airport.
Car rental: Avis, Red Spot, Budget, Hertz, Europcar and Thrifty are represented at the airport and can be found in the international arrivals hall or in the central concourse of the domestic terminal.
Facilities: Shops, restaurants, bars, currency exchange and ATMs, baby-changing facilities, showers and baggage storage are available in domestic and international terminals. Duty-free shops are also available, and mobile phone rental is available in the international terminal. Facilities for the disabled are good.
Parking: Short-term parking, located across from terminal, starts at A$5 for the first hour with a daily limit of A$15. Long-term parking is in a designated area of the Domestic Lot. All parking areas offer 10 minutes free parking.
Departure tax: None.
Website: www.cairnsairport.com
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Cairns
The cosmopolitan, colourful city of Cairns in far north Queensland is a tourist-orientated centre because it is the gateway to two of the world's most awesome World Heritage Sites, the Great Barrier Reef and the 110-million year old Daintree rainforest.
Cairns started life as a small fishing encampment, which received an injection of prosperity in the 19th century when gold was discovered to the north and tin and timber began to be exploited in the nearby Atherton Tablelands. The harbour and fishing operations increased in importance, and tourism arrived in the early 20th century when marlin fishing became popular, and the world discovered the delights of exploring the Great Barrier Reef.
Aided by its pleasant, warm climate the relaxed tropical town has now become a frenzied international tourism centre, flooded with visitors most of the year, its streets lined with souvenir stores, eateries and some first class hotels. The harbour is clogged with streamlined pleasure boats, and the offshore islands bristle with resorts. To cater for tourists the city fathers have even created a man-made salt-water lagoon and sandy beach on the Esplanade to replace the original muddy swamp that crowned Trinity Bay.
