How To Spend One Week In Cairns & Tropical Far North Queensland

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Want to know how to spend one week in Cairns? Explore Tropical Far North Queensland? Want to live your best life?! You’ve come to the right place! Though I had never been to tropical north Queensland before I had always been curious of what to expect! Having recently returned from one week in the FNQ I can safely say it’s paradise & I am dying to return!

With so much to do up north, you really need to work out how busy you want to be & how many things you want to see and do. However one week in cairns was a perfect amount of time to see the highlights and have some much needed R&R.

Where to Stay for one week in Cairns

So, first things first, where should you stay up in Far North Queensland?!

Whilst we flew into Cairns airport (from Melbourne), we did not want to stay in a bigger city, but instead stay in a smaller quieter more beautiful town with easy access to beaches. Where else but Palm Cove? Palm Cove is located 25 kms north of Cairns and is named after the beachfront being lined with palm trees. And it was everything.

Palm Cove has a lot of holiday rental properties. Whilst you may stay in a resort hotel, I find staying in local rental houses a lot more fun – and cheaper! Being able to cook most breakfasts and dinners really helps to keep costs lower, whilst having your very own pool adds a touch of privacy!

We stayed with Northern Exposure Realty in the most amazing house equipped with everything we needed plus a pool, spa, waterfall and a bridge over the pool area from one side of the house to the other! Waking up every morning and walking about 10 steps from the bed to the pool was amazing.

Palm Cove itself has a lot to offer so make sure you set aside a few days of your week for relaxation in and around Palm Cove. The beach stretches as far as the eye can see, meaning walks/jogs along the beach are a good activity (although best in the mornings before it gets too hot!). Palm Cove has a dedicated swim area where you can safely swim all year ’round. Unfortunately, the coastline can be littered with poisonous jelly-fish so its best to swim in the safe areas to avoid getting stung!

Palm Cove beachfront strip has a handful of local fashion shops to peruse as well as around 12 restaurants from pub-grub to fine dining. As there’s so much to offer in Palm Cove, you would not need to eat elsewhere during your trip. We did eat one night in Cairns after our Fitzroy Island day trip, and one night in Port Douglas for my mum’s birthday.

A few places in Palm Cove I recommend are:

Chill Cafe which serves the best coffee in the area as well as amazing brunch! Your morning coffee has never been so picturesque.

NuNu which serves outstanding cocktails – my favourite was the Bush Lemon Margarita!

Portofino Italian restaurant for delicious wood-fired pizza! This place also had a really fun seating set up and great views down the beach.

Choc Dee which do some of the most amazing Thai food I’ve ever eaten! It’s part of 4 upscale restaurants, open-air and exquisite service. Definitely definitely eat here!

One Week In Cairns Itinerary:

Day One:

• Relax in Palm Cove
• Dinner at Choc Dee in Palm Cove

Day Two:

• Morning walk in Palm Cove
• Breakfast at Chill Cafe
• Kuranda Skyrail
• Cocktails in Palm Cove
• Dinner in Palm Cove

Day Three:

• Great Barrier Reef Day Trip
• Take out Fish n Chips for dinner at rental house

Day Four:

• Lazy Pool Day & Palm Cove exploration
• BBQ for dinner at rental house

Day Five:

• Fitzroy Island Day Trip
• Dinner in Cairns in evening

Day Six:

• Cape Tribulation
• Dinner in Port Douglas in evening

Day Seven:

• Lazy day by the pool

Day Trips for one week in Cairns

Now we need to discuss the day trips! So if you have 7 days up in FNQ, you’ll want to do around 3 day trips, maybe 4! We did 4 day trips with 3 chill-out days, which was the perfect amount of relaxing and exploring!

Great Barrier Reef

The top activity to do in the FNQ is heading out to the world famous Great Barrier Reef! Whilst there have been reports lately that the reef is dead, it’s not. Actually, it’s thirsty! With the rise in sea temperatures, it’s harder for the coral to take in nutrients, which turns the coral white. So unfortunately, while the current climate is what it is, you may not see too much colour at the reef.

We did see a lot of white coral, but we also saw pretty colours as well as some stunning fish and sea turtles!

There are many companies which run tours to the GBR so just do your research and pick one that you think organises a good day out. Our tour left from Cairns marina, where we spent about an hour on board a large ferry riding out to Moore Reef. During this time, the marine biologists speak about the reef life and what will happen when you arrive.

Once at the reef, you have about 4 hours of swim time, which is plenty! We spent almost all of this time swimming as far out as we could go, finding cool fish to look at everywhere! During the 4 hours you will also need to stop for lunch, which is served buffet style. There is so much food it’s almost unbelievable, so don’t run to the buffet as soon as it opens if you are enjoying your swim – they will not run out!

As we enjoyed swimming so much, we decided against taking a ride on the submarine. However it is a great way to introduce yourself to what’s in store if it’s your first time snorkelling at a reef!

Fitzroy Island

Getting to Fitzroy Island – take the Fitzroy Flyer ferry from Cairns to Fitzroy island in 45 minutes. We took the 9am ferry and the 5pm ferry back to maximise our time on the island. Getting to the island on the first ferry of the day made sure we had our pick of places to relax, along with being able to take photos before there were more people on the island! However, Fitzroy island ferries only run a few times per day, so there are a limited amount of people on the island.

Nudey Beach is Australia’s Best Beach of 2017, and you can see why! It’s absolutely STUNNING. However, please know – it’s not your typical beach! In fact, what you think is sand is actually washed up coral. Therefore, it is not the kind of beach you want to lay on, or even walk on! We snorkeled for a few hours at Nudey Beach, before walking back to the main beach of the island, which is sandy.

NOTE: The hike to Nudey Beach takes roughly 20 minutes through rainforest which is both awesome and exhausting. Make sure you are feeling well as the high humidity within the tropical rainforests can really wear you out!

If there’s one thing you do at Fitzroy Island, let it be snorkeling! We saw turtles, tons of colourful fish and reef sharks, and actually had a better day snorkeling as the water is very calm, than we did at the GBR. When we were visiting it was jellyfish season, so we made sure to hire the full body suit on the island as well as snorkel masks and flippers.

Whilst we never saw a jelly, we heard around the island that a lady had been rushed away to seek treatment for her own jellyfish stings – as she wasn’t wearing the suit. So – never swim during jellyfish season without the suit! You might not see them, but they can really harm you!

Swimsuit details below

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Cape Tribulation & the Daintree Rainforest

Cape Tribulation is located 110 kms north of Cairns and within the Daintree Rainforest and is where the rainforest and stunning beaches come together. This part of the world is extremely uninhabited, with just 400 people living in the vast region.

On our drive up to Cape Tribulation Beach, we stopped to go on a Daintree River Cruise with Bill Belcher’s Daintree River Cruises where you can spot dangerous salt-water crocodiles. 

As the Daintree is off the grid and quiote uninhabited, I’d advise to take your own lunch and snacks with you! However, if you don’t want to lug sandwiches with you, there are a handful of eating options, including the infamous Mason’s Store & Cafe. The Menu at Mason’s is long, and includes crocodile burgers (and also plenty of ‘normal’ lunch options!). Make sure you read through the whole menu, as there is a welcome note the length of an A4 page. It is basically complaining about life up in the Daintree and how Mason’s life is so difficult running the cafe. Our group all had a good laugh about this, as we found Mason to be extremely irritable whilst placing the most basic of orders.

I actually recommend this place though – the food is good, the portions are enormous and there is a fair chance you’ll get a good laugh along the way! Next door to Mason’s is a natural clear fresh watering hole. Another MUST eat is the Daintree Ice Cream Company. Don’t leave the Daintree before treating yourself to some of this yummy ice cream! 

Also in the Daintree was one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to – Cape Tribulation Beach. Here you can have the beach completely to yourself, even though it actually has a small parking area for tourists! The pearly white sand and crystal clear water, with the rain forest backdrop is completely paradise.

Kuranda Skyrail

Close to Cairns Airport is the Skyrail, a cable-car running 7.5kms through the rainforest, ending in Kuranda. The Skyrail is a MUST-DO experience as the cars glide just axcross the top of the tropical rainforest, with 2 stops along the way to explore the rainforest. If you have one week in Cairns then you should definitely make sure to fit this into your week!

The journey one-way takes about 70 minutes (2.5 hours return). Though it can take longer depending on how long you take at the stops along the way. The first stop on the journey takes you to Red Peak, where you can go on a guided walk with a ranger. For us, this was highly informative and essential to making the day as great as it was!

The second stop along the journey is at Barron Falls & Gorge. The view points are breathtaking here, so make sure you take a look around before continuing to Kuranda!

For us, once getting to Kuranda, our most important task was buying some ice cream! The weather up in Cairns is extremely clammy, especially within the rainforest, where it rained numerous times whilst we were travelling through it. Ice cream was needed.

Kuranda, which is a lovely and well-maintained town, is a great place to hang out for a few hours. With a few pubs, cafes and restaurants for lunch, and a really good local art and crafts market you will be sure to pick up some cute gifts!

For one week up in the tropical far north Queensland, I really think these are the best activities to do. Spend your remaining few days relaxing in a pool, on a beach, reading a book, swimming in the ocean or eating ice cream for breakfast!

What to wear for a week in Cairns

When it comes to the FNQ, you are probably going to spend most of your week in bathing suits! Make sure you have at least 2, if not 3 suits for one week in Cairns. Every morning we swam in our pool, and then got ready to go out, wearing the dry suit. If I had only one suit I’d have been walking around in a wet swimsuit all week!

Before heading to Queensland, I got a brand new swimsuit from UK Swimwear which I fell head over heels for the moment I received it! I really love the sporty look, and find I can also wear it with a cute skirt on top for a daytime outfit!

Another item I loved having whilst up in Queensland was the 180°Anti-fog Anti-leak Full Face Snorkel Mask! I used this at the Great Barrier Reef and snorkelling at Fitzroy Island. This snorkel mask is so handy because it doesn’t fog up and you can see so much clearer underwater! Highly recommend picking up one of these!

Lastly, the weather is amazing ALL THE TIME up in Queensland! With all that sun, I was constantly wearing my favourite accessory – the Quay Australia Cherry Bomb sunglasses! I seriously love the design, and that the rims are the same colour as the glass. AND they are polarised so fashion can also have a safety purpose 😉

Items! (clickable)

Let me know if you have any questions about Tropical Far North Queensland and spending one week in Cairns and I’ll do my best to answer!

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About Lesley

Australian expat, married to a Dutch guy, living in Amsterdam. Previously lived in London for 3 years, too! Lover of travel, coffee, brunch, beaches, fresh flowers, and family. Now a new mum, navigating life with a baby!