8 Of The Best Group Tours From Cairns For Sightseeing

Discover the best sightseeing group tours in Cairns with this guide, including duration, prices and what’s included!

Whether you want to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef, explore the magical rainforest or visit waterfalls and mystical caves, Cairns offers plenty of opportunities to get out into the best spots in Far North Queensland.

Visiting the Daintree Rainforest, seeing a reef shark during a dive day and ascending into the mountains to explore Kuranda were all highlights of our visit to Cairns. And you don’t have to have your own wheels to get there, with plenty of guided tours and packages to help you see the sights. These tours are also a particularly great option for solo travellers, as you’ll join a ready made travel group and have everything all planned out for you!

Based on what we did, I’ve hand-picked the best sightseeing guided tours in Cairns that offer value for money and a great all-round experience.

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Overview: The best Cairns group tours

• Great Barrier Reef snorkel and dive tour – best for exploring the marine wonderland of the Great Barrier Reef
• Daintree and Cape Tribulation – best for rainforest exploration and wildlife
• Atherton Tablelands – best for nature and incredible waterfalls
• Kuranda Village – best for culture and heritage – with some stunning scenery thrown in too!
• Green Island – best for luxurious island relaxation
• Fitzroy Island – best for island exploration
• Rainforest Canyoning Adventure tour – best for active travellers and adventure seekers
• Chillagoe Caves & Outback Queensland – best for off the beaten track

Great Barrier Reef

Seeing a white tip reef shark on the Great Barrier Reef goes down as one of the best wildlife experiences I’ve had to date. Visiting the reef is a huge draw for visitors to Cairns, and there are numerous boat tours offering snorkel and diving experiences to explore the world’s largest reef system.

The tour I’m recommending ISN’T the tour we did, because there were a few issues with ours that let the experience down. Regardless of this, diving and snorkelling on the reef was a big bucket list activity for me – and if we were going back, this is the tour we’d look at booking.

While this boat is much larger and offers less of an intimate experience, the boat’s size means that it’s a little easier to deal with the choppy waters. This tour offers six hours on the reef, visiting two sites with diving and snorkelling opportunities.

The first is the ‘Wonder Wall’ on the outer edge of Upolu Reef. The second spot, Upolu Coral Cay Reef, is home to colourful fish, turtles. At both spots, you’ll get the chance to ride on a glass bottom boat and/or observe the underwater ecosystem on a snorkelling tour. If you’re interested in scuba diving, certified and intro dives come at an additional cost.

Daintree and Cape Tribulation

This tour hits the highlights of the Daintree National Park, from a scenic drive along the Captain Cook highway to the tropical sands of Cape Tribulation. The Daintree was one of my highlights of our Sydney to Cairns road trip, so if you’re only booking one day trip from Cairns – make it this one!

A wildlife river cruise is included as part of the tour – find out more about that in my Daintree crocodile cruise review! You also visit the Madja boardwalk, where your guide will explain more about the fascinating ecosystem that surrounds you. We also spotted a crocodile from the boardwalk on a riverbank, so keep a look out if you’re all about the salties.

On the way back towards the ferry, you’ll also swing by the Daintree Ice Cream factory for an included treat. Looks like a tropical paradise hotel, serves up the most magical exotic fruit ice creams!

Atherton Tablelands

On our way out of Cairns, we spent a day exploring the waterfalls of the Atherton Tablelands. Here, the tropical rainforest of Queensland blends into grassland and wetlands at 700m above sea level. The Tablelands are particularly well-known for having a large number of waterfalls, considered some of Australia’s best.

On this full day Tablelands tour, you’ll start out by heading up into the mountains via stops at the enormous Cathedral Fig Tree and Lake Eacham, a volcanic crater lake. Have a dip, or simply walk around and soak up the calm atmosphere.

You’ll stop for lunch in the small town of Malanda, before heading to Millaa Millaa falls, part of the Tablelands waterfall circuit. Look to the creek to the right of the falls to see if you can spot some turtles!

At  Josephine Falls, you can cool off from the Queensland heat by sliding down rock boulders into refreshing pools. Finally, you’ll visit Babinda Boulders, a natural pool that’s home to fascinating Aboriginal legend. Make sure you pack swimmwear and towels, as there are plenty of opportunities to get in the water!

More ways to experience the Atherton Tablelands

Kuranda Scenic Railway & Skyrail

I’ve previously shared how you can do the Kuranda Scenic Railway independently. But for the inclusions you get, I’d say this tour is good value if you’re looking to have everything planned out for you.

Firstly, you’ll ascend 327m above sea level on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, a 37km stretch of track that’s weaved its way through the mountain landscapes since the 1880s. On board commentary shares the history of the line, and you won’t want to draw your eyes away from the waterfall and bridge views from the windows!

In Kuranda, you’ll experience both nature and culture, from wildlife park visits to an Aboriginal dance ceremony. A particularly unique inclusion on this tour is a ride on the World War II Army Duck, a 6WD amphibious vehicle that takes you out onto the river for some wildlife spotting. Lunch is also included.

Finally, you’ll make your way back via the spectacular SkyRail cable car, soaring over the top of the tropical rainforest of North Queensland!

More ways to experience Kuranda

Green Island

If you’re looking to explore Green Island in your own style, this tour’s for you! Catamaran transfers are provided, but during your time on Green Island you can pick and choose what activities you want to take part in.

The tour also gives access to the island’s day use facilities, including a pool exclusive to Great Adventures guests.

If you’re keen to get out into the water around the island, you can choose from either a glass bottomed boat tour OR snorkelling equipment hire for the day.

Fitzroy Island

Just 45 minutes from Cairns by ferry, Fitzroy Island is a tropical paradise waiting to be explored! The majority of the island is a national park, featuring enticing woodland, tropical beaches and vibrant rainforest.

Similar to the Green Island boat trip, this Fitzroy Island tour is primarily self-guided. Once you’ve taken the ferry across, you can choose to take up optional activities, including a glass bottom boat tour, or hire some snorkel gear and explore the rich marine life around the island’s shores.

A range of walking trails cater to all abilities – from the easy Secret Garden Track to the more challenging Lighthouse Road or Summit Track.

Chillagoe Caves & Outback Queensland

Sure, there’s plenty of rainforest and beach to see around Cairns – but for something a bit different, head inland to the Chillagoe-Mungaga Caves National Park. The limestone caves here are estimated to be some 400million years old. The area also has historical industrial sites including the remains of the Chillagoe Smelters.

Crossing the McAllister Ranges, you’ll head through rolling hills and rural towns until you reach the national park for a cave tour with a local guide (no previous caving experience necessary). Lunch is included at a local outback Australian pub, before you visit Granite Gorge Nature Park, home to wild rock wallabies.