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Travel budget

How much does a trip to Cairns cost?

What a trip to Cairns costs, worked out for your days and your party, with every price traced to where it comes from. And then the part most budgets skip: how to actually pay once you are there.

Food, getting around and sights in Cairns come to A$91–140 per person per day. Accommodation, flights and the airport transfer are on top. Prices reviewed: October 2026.

Full Cairns guide

Your trip

How much money you still need

Days, people and how you like to travel decide almost everything. Flights are left out: they depend on where you start.

6 nights

Counted at the child fares each operator publishes.

Travel style

Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, and one paid sight a day.

Accommodation

We have no sample of hotel prices for this city yet, so we will not guess one. Type what you have seen and the lodging tax is worked out from it.

Adjust accommodation, food and the rest

In local currency. We do not estimate this: nobody knows what you will buy.

Already paid for

You still need, flights aside

A$1,300–2,000

≈ $890 – $1,400 · rate of October 6, 2026

A$91–140 per person per day · 7 days and 2 people

Expected
A$1,300–2,000
Most trips land in here
Set aside
A$2,000
With this you are unlikely to run short
Cushion, kept apart
A$160
10% of the trip
  • FoodA$730–1,100
  • Getting aroundA$28.00–42.00
  • Sights and activitiesA$210–850
  • Nights outA$72–110
  • Lodging tax and odds and endsA$48–100

Of that, in cash: A$0–160

The cash share is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement. Your own bank may charge on top; this page cannot know that.

  • Accommodation is not in this figure. Add your price per night to include it.
  • Flights are not included.
  • You probably will not spend the cushion. Having it to hand covers a night you had not planned, a taxi, or a changed ticket.
Styles

What a day in Cairns costs, by how you travel

Per person per day, two travelling, without accommodation, flights or the airport transfer. A style is not a figure: it is a way of eating, getting around and seeing things, and each one is spelled out below.

Budget

A$60.00–87.00 per person per day

Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.

FoodLocal and cheap
A$41.00–56.00
Getting aroundPublic transport
A$2.00–3.00
Sights and activitiesThe odd paid sight
A$7.50–31.00
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
A$2.50–4.50

Mid-range

A$91–140 per person per day

Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, and one paid sight a day.

FoodMixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
A$52.00–79.00
Getting aroundPublic transport
A$2.00–3.00
Sights and activitiesOne paid sight a day
A$15.00–61.00
Nights outNow and then
A$5.10–7.70
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
A$3.50–7.20

Comfort

A$130–230 per person per day

The best food level we can price, a taxi when it helps, two paid sights a day.

FoodRestaurants most of the time
A$64.00–99.00
Getting aroundPublic transport, and a taxi now and then
A$5.80–6.80
Sights and activitiesTwo paid sights a day
A$30–120
Nights outNow and then
A$5.10–7.70
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
A$5.00–11.00

A style's total is not the sum of the extremes of its lines: nobody has a trip where everything comes out cheap, or everything dear. “Sundries” is an assumption of ours, 5% of food, transport and sights, not a measurement.

By length of trip

How much money for 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 days in Cairns

Per person, two travelling together, without accommodation or flights.

DaysBudgetMid-rangeComfort
3A$180–260
A$60.00–87.00 a day		A$280–440
A$92–150 a day		A$390–690
A$130–230 a day
5A$300–440
A$60.00–87.00 a day		A$450–710
A$89–140 a day		A$640–1,100
A$130–230 a day
7A$420–610
A$60.00–87.00 a day		A$640–1,000
A$91–140 a day		A$900–1,600
A$130–230 a day
10A$600–870
A$60.00–87.00 a day		A$910–1,400
A$91–140 a day		A$1,300–2,300
A$130–230 a day
14A$840–1,200
A$60.00–87.00 a day		A$1,300–2,000
A$91–140 a day		A$1,800–3,200
A$130–230 a day

Add your accommodation in the calculator above: it is the largest line and the one we cannot source yet.

Prices

What things cost in Cairns

Eating and drinking: no official statistic measures what eating out costs here, so these are prices from the menu each place publishes on its own website, and each row says where it comes from. It is a sample, not an average: there are cheaper and dearer places, and tourist areas cost more.

WhatPriceSource
Eating and drinking
Flat white, small, Wharf One CaféA$5.00From the source Oct 2026
Bacon and egg roll, Wharf One CaféA$14.00From the source Oct 2026
Two eggs on toast, Wharf One CaféA$15.00From the source Oct 2026
PJ's burger (Angus beef) with fries, PJ O'Brien'sA$22.00From the source Oct 2026
Chicken parmigiana with fries and salad, PJ O'Brien'sA$24.00From the source Oct 2026
Beef and Guinness pie with mash, PJ O'Brien'sA$24.00From the source Oct 2026
Beef burger with bacon and chips, Wharf One CaféA$26.00From the source Oct 2026
Fish and chips (local barramundi), Wharf One CaféA$26.00From the source Oct 2026
Crocodile laksa, OchreA$29.00From the source Oct 2026
Aussie burger with onion rings and fries, OchreA$32.00From the source Oct 2026
Asahi beer, 450 ml, CaffiendA$9.00From the source Oct 2026
Getting around
Cairns bus, single with two hours of transfers (card or cash on board)A$0.50From the source Oct 2026
Cairns bus, daily ticketA$1.00From the source Oct 2026
Cairns bus, weekly ticketA$5.00From the source Oct 2026
Taxi, 4 km by day, not counting waiting timeA$15.32From the source Oct 2026
Kuranda Scenic Railway, Heritage Class returnA$87.00From the source Oct 2026
Outer Great Barrier Reef day on the Great Adventures platform, adultA$312From the source Oct 2026
Sights
Cairns MuseumA$15.00From the source Oct 2026
Cairns Aquarium, general admissionA$61.00From the source Oct 2026

From the source means we read it where it is set: the operator, the bank, the city or the statistics office. Reported means a guide or the press says so and we have not seen the original. Where sources disagree we show both figures and leave the price out of every sum.

What each food level is made of

A food level is not a number we chose. It is two lists of dishes from the table above, a cheap day and a dear one, and the price is the sum.

Bare minimum: convenience stores and counters
From Flat white, small, Wharf One Café + Bacon and egg roll, Wharf One Café (A$19.00) to Flat white, small, Wharf One Café + Two eggs on toast, Wharf One Café + Bacon and egg roll, Wharf One Café (A$34.00).
Local and cheap
From Flat white, small, Wharf One Café + Bacon and egg roll, Wharf One Café + PJ's burger (Angus beef) with fries, PJ O'Brien's (A$41.00) to Flat white, small, Wharf One Café + Two eggs on toast, Wharf One Café + Bacon and egg roll, Wharf One Café + PJ's burger (Angus beef) with fries, PJ O'Brien's (A$56.00).
Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
From Flat white, small, Wharf One Café + Bacon and egg roll, Wharf One Café + Chicken parmigiana with fries and salad, PJ O'Brien's + Asahi beer, 450 ml, Caffiend (A$52.00) to Flat white, small, Wharf One Café + Two eggs on toast, Wharf One Café + Fish and chips (local barramundi), Wharf One Café + Beef and Guinness pie with mash, PJ O'Brien's + Asahi beer, 450 ml, Caffiend (A$79.00).
Restaurants most of the time
From Flat white, small, Wharf One Café + Beef burger with bacon and chips, Wharf One Café + Chicken parmigiana with fries and salad, PJ O'Brien's + Asahi beer, 450 ml, Caffiend (A$64.00) to Flat white, small, Wharf One Café + Two eggs on toast, Wharf One Café + Crocodile laksa, Ochre + Aussie burger with onion rings and fries, Ochre + Asahi beer, 450 ml, Caffiend × 2 (A$99.00).
Getting around

Which ticket pays off

A pass is only cheaper past a certain number of rides. This is that number, worked out from the published fares.

  • 1-day pass at A$1.00: it pays off from 2 rides a day at A$0.50 each.
  • 7-day pass at A$5.00: it pays off from 2 rides a day at A$0.50 each.

A pass only counts on the lines it covers. Check which ones before you buy.

Accommodation

What the night costs, and the tax on top

There is no open source of hotel prices, and we have not sampled this city yet. So the calculator asks you for the price you have seen instead of printing one that looks plausible.

Lodging tax

No lodging tax is charged here. From the source Oct 2026

Which area to stay in Cairns: the neighbourhood comparison

Saving

What saves money in Cairns, and what does not

Each line is a subtraction done with the prices on this page. No tricks: just the sum.

What saves

  • Eating “Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner” instead of “Restaurants most of the time”: A$12.00–20.00 less per person per day.
  • Eating “Local and cheap” instead of “Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner”: A$11.00–23.00 less per person per day.
  • Eating “Bare minimum: convenience stores and counters” instead of “Local and cheap”: A$22.00 less per person per day.
  • “PJ's burger (Angus beef) with fries, PJ O'Brien's” (A$22.00) instead of “Aussie burger with onion rings and fries, Ochre” (A$32.00): A$10.00 less each time.

What does not

  • The 1-day pass (A$1.00) on fewer than 2 rides of A$0.50 a day: it costs more than paying for each ticket.
  • Sharing a taxi: “Taxi, 4 km by day, not counting waiting time” costs A$15.32, which split 4 ways is A$3.83 a head. A ride on public transport is A$0.50.
Questions

Questions about money in Cairns

How much money do you need for a week in Cairns?

For seven days, A$640–1,000 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included.

How much money do you need for 3 days in Cairns?

For 3 days, A$280–440 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included.

What is a realistic daily budget in Cairns?

Per person per day, without accommodation or flights: A$60.00–87.00 on the “Budget” style, A$91–140 on the “Mid-range” style, and A$130–230 on the “Comfort” style.

Can you travel to Cairns on a budget?

The cheapest style we work out is “Budget”: A$60.00–87.00 per person per day, without accommodation or flights. Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.

How much does food cost in Cairns?

From A$19.00 per person per day (“Bare minimum: convenience stores and counters”) to A$99.00 (“Restaurants most of the time”). The price table has what each dish costs.

How much does transport cost in Cairns?

A ride on public transport costs A$0.50. “Taxi, 4 km by day, not counting waiting time”: A$15.32. The 1-day pass costs A$1.00 and pays off from 2 rides a day at A$0.50 each.

Is there a lodging tax in Cairns?

None on record as of October 2026.

How much cash should you carry in Cairns?

For a week on the “Mid-range” style, about A$0.00–82.00 per person, two travelling. It is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement.

Is it better to use cash or card in Cairns?

By card: in general.

Do you tip in Cairns?

Restaurants: optional. Hotels: optional.

Sources

Where every figure comes from

Each price on this page carries its source. These are all of them. Prices reviewed: October 2026.

The rest of Cairns

In the app

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