Do you need a car in Cairns, Queensland? | Cairns car hire costs
You can rent a car in Cairns from the city centre or airport. Car hire cost in Cairns can be less than $40 a day, but is not necessary.
Cairns in far north Queensland is one of Australia’s main tourism hubs. It is the major gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and topped 10 million visitor nights in 2018/19. Of course it’s possible to rent a car in Cairns.
Trip-booster! 8 great day trips from Cairns to power-up your holiday
- Kuranda combo package – take the Kuranda Scenic Railway up and the Skyrail cable car down.
- Green Island tours with beach time, glass bottom boat and snorkelling. (Or pick a Fitzroy Island trip instead).
- Moore Reef day tour – with underwater observatory, snorkelling gear, glass bottom boat & semi-submersible cruises.
- Great Barrier Reef snorkelling cruise – with snorkelling stops at two excellent spots on the Reef.
- Cape Tribulation rainforest day tour – with Mossman Gorge Aboriginal cultural experience and Daintree River crocodile-watching cruise.
- Atherton Tableland waterfalls and rainforest tour – including wildlife-spotting and a swim in a volcanic lake.
- Outback 4WD tour – visiting Chillagoe Caves, Aboriginal rock art and Granite Gorge.
There are dozens of options for car hire in Cairns city centre. These include major international chains such as a Hertz, Avis, Europcar, Thrifty and Enterprise.
Rent a car at Cairns Airport
It’s also easy to rent a car at Cairns Airport, which is only around 6km north of the city centre. The big boys have car rental desks at the airport, too, and are joined by lesser known Red Spot and Firefly.
If you’re looking to save money, there are also several options just south of the airport. Theoretically, the likes of Bargain Car Rentals, Apex Car Rentals and East Coast Car Rentals can offer cheaper deals by saving money on the prime airport real estate.
However, the real bargains can come due to Cairns’ place at the end of the east coast backpacker route. Many backpackers hire a car or campervan to travel between Sydney and Cairns over a few weeks or months.
The majority of backpackers start in Sydney, rather than in Cairns, which leads to a glut of cars accumulating in Cairns. Car hire companies want to get those cars back to the major east coast cities, so sometimes offer cheap one way deals from Cairns. Search for relocation rates for the really cheap car hire. But be aware that you might have to complete a journey in an uncomfortably quick timeframe.
Save time queuing – Book these Cairns attractions in advance
- From the air: Outer Reef helicopter flight | Sunrise hot air balloon ride | Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.
- At night: Sunset dinner cruise | Pub and club tour | Aquarium by Twilight experience.
- For wildlife: Birdworld Kuranda | Kuranda Koala Gardens | Cairns Zoom and Wildlife Dome | Cairns Aquarium | Rainforestation Nature Park
- For culture: Cairns Museum tickets | Street art walking tour | City and surrounds highlights bus tour.
- For thrills: AJ Hackett giant jungle swing | High speed jet boat tour | Barron Gorge white water rafting | Mulgrave River tubing.
Do you need a car in Cairns?
You can rent a car in Cairns, but should you? Well, you certainly don’t need to. The city is geared towards tourism, and most tour operators will offer hotel pick-up. You don’t need to drive to Tully to go rafting on the Tully River, and you don’t need to drive to Port Douglas for reef trips departing from there.
However, you might wish to rent a hire car to explore the areas around Cairns at your own pace. Maybe take an Atherton Tableland road trip, stopping to see Millaa Millaa Falls, Windin Falls and Mount Bartle Frere in the Wooroonooran National Park, Lake Eacham or the Cathedral Fig in Danbulla National Park? Then spot a platypus in Yungaburra, drink mango wine in Biboohra and hold a koala in Kuranda?
Daintree in a Cairns hire car
Or, alternatively, head north into the World Heritage rainforests on a drive from Cairns to Cape Tribulation. Get your wildlife park fix at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures or Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas. Then do a crocodile cruise on the Daintree River, keep an eye out for cassowaries and do a reef trip from Cape Tribulation. Queensland beach town Cape Trib is where Captain Cook hit the reef. You may have better luck.
It’s also important to note that Cairns isn’t one of those cities where a car is a nuisance. You really don’t want a car in Sydney or Melbourne – it’s more trouble than it’s worth. But Cairns is a city of wide streets and plenty of parking.
Car hire cost in Cairns
Car hire cost in Cairns is certainly not prohibitive. On advance bookings, Australia Travel Questions found economy cars such as a Kia Picanto for under $40 a day. You’ll probably want something bigger, though – and $45 a day can get you a standard car such as a Toyota Corolla.