Flights to Cairns from Adelaide: Which airlines fly the route?

Flights from Cairns to Adelaide are available with Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Qantas. The Adelaide to Cairns flight time is around three hours, with fares costing from $99 one way.

Travelling from Adelaide to Cairns by road is going to take you an awfully long time. Hence you might want to look into flights to Cairns from Adelaide instead.

Cairns brings Great Barrier Reef snorkelling cruises, World Heritage-listed rainforest adventures, glass bottom boat tours at Green Island and the Kuranda Scenic Railway into the mountains. To choose from a wide range of memorable Cairns tours and experiences, look here. To pick the Cairns accommodation best suited to you, book here.

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.

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Adelaide Airport is reasonably well connected to the rest of Australia, but doesn’t get the same sort of traffic that Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne get. Therefore, you might get a little worried that flights to Cairns from Adelaide require a change of planes in one of the bigger cities.

Fret not, however. Enough people want to go swimming on the Great Barrier Reef and exploring the World Heritage rainforests to make a direct Adelaide to Cairns route viable.

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.

Direct flights to Cairns from Adelaide

Three airlines offer direct flights to Cairns from Adelaide: Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar. That competition means that ticket prices on the route aren’t quite as expensive as the distance might suggest. Jetstar offers one way fares on the Adelaide to Cairns route for as little as $99, although these tickets don’t include checked-in luggage. If you want to put a bag in the hold, Adelaide to Cairns fares start at around $122 one way.

**15 fabulous Adelaide experiences to supercharge your visit**

DOLPHINS 🐬: Swim with wild dolphins, kayak with the resident bottlenose pod or watch them on a dolphin cruise.
FOOD AND WINE 🍷: Indulge on Adelaide food tour including Adelaide Central Market. Or try a wine discovery tour with tastings at the National Wine Centre. Or the ultimate Penfolds Magill Estate experience with full estate tour & Grange tasting.
WILDLIFE 🐨: Spot koalas on a guided Morialta nature hike. Or walk from Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty with entrance to Cleland Wildlife Park.
CRUISES ⛵: Watch the sun set on a twilight coastal cruise, get to know the city on a Torrens River cruise or take a high tea cruise aboard the Popeye.
SPORT 🏏: Dare to take on the Adelaide Oval Roofclimb or enter the fabled scoreboard on the behind-the-scenes stadium tour.
ACTION 🚵‍♂️: Descend Mount Lofty on a downhill mountain bike tour or kayak along the Torrens River.

Cairns to Adelaide flight time

Flights to Cairns from Adelaide last around three hours.

Once in far north Queensland, there are plenty of things to do in Cairns – even in the wet season. The Cairns Aquarium, Cairns Esplanade Lagoon and Cairns Botanic Gardens are highlights of the city itself. If you just want beach time, head slightly further north to Kewarra Beach or Trinity Beach.

Tour options include the Ocean Freedom cruise to Upolu Cay, a trip to a underwater observatory on the Great Barrier Reef and Green Island snorkelling tours.

Skyrail Rainforest Cableway from Cairns to Kuranda in far north Queensland — The Skyrail Rainforest Cableway to Kuranda is one of the best things to do in Cairns. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

Alternatively, use the city as a base and pick up a hire car in Cairns. That allows you to explore the Atherton Tableland. Options here are delightfully varied, and include mango wine tasting at Golden Drop winery in Biboohra, spotting platypus in Yungaburra or climbing Mount Bartle Frere.

Pick your perfect Adelaide day trips

Barossa Valley tours: 1. Wine-tasting with lunch 🍷. 2. Food and wine tour. 3. Small group wine tour with exclusive VIP tastings.
Kangaroo Island in a day – including sea lions 🦭, koalas 🐨and national parks.
Adelaide Hills tours: 1. Sights plus Murray River lunch cruise combo. 2. Small group cheese, chocolate & wine tour with Hahndorf German village.
McLaren Vale tours: 1. Small group wine tour with lunch. 2. Hop-on hop-off wineries tour 🍷. 3. Food and wine indulgence tour, including the gloriously weird d’Arenberg Cube.
Victor Harbor and southern highlights tour – including the Granite Island horse-drawn tram.