Cairns

Car Hire in Cairns, Australia

Cairns has transformed from a sleepy sugar land into a stylish Far North Australian city that is increasingly popular with international tourists because it is the gateway to the irresistible Great Barrier Reef and the 135-million-year-old Daintree Rainforest, the Earth’s oldest. A car hire in Cairns, Australia would put you within quick driving distance of these attractions, plus great flexibility to move around the cosmopolitan city centre.

Around the Esplanade on Car Hire in Cairns

Cairns has mudflats instead of beaches (due to dredging for shipping), but these have been transformed into a multi-million-dollar waterfront attraction brimming not only with marshland wildlife but also with plenty of glitzy hotels, top-tier restaurants, a clothing-optional swimming lagoon and an international crowd.

The Cairns central business district is relatively compact but the urban sprawl runs for 52 kilometers north to south. A car hire from Cairns will bring you to Holloways Beach, Trinity Park and Clifton Beaches to the north and around the city for dozens of 19th century heritage-listed buildings found mostly along Abbott and Lake Streets.

Cairns is notably famous among Japanese tourists, and the city has in fact made special effort to cater to them with Nihongo signs on restaurants, bars and hotels. This translates to getting introduced to Japanese cuisine while on your Australian adventure.

Find Cheap Car Hire in Cairns

For a Reef-to-Rock Route

If you want to get a dose of nature just outside the city doorstep, drive your car hire from Cairns to Barron Gorge National Park, one of the many national parks which are part of the Wet Tropics Rainforest of Queensland, less than an hour to the east. To the north stands the ancient Daintree Rainforest, a birder’s mecca and habitat to the oldest plant species in the planet and many others that are not found elsewhere. As there is no public transport directly going there, your best option is to hire a car in Cairns for a three-hour drive to and from.

You would not want, of course, to miss the Great Barrier Reef which is what most people come here for. Dive business is brisk in Cairns, and you can choose day-trips to the reef or week-long live-a-board’s if your time and budget allow.

Hiring a car in Cains lets you explore the reef-to-rock route with as minimum hassle and maximum enjoyment as possible. From the Great Barrier Reef, you can head southeast to the Atherton Tablelands, 100 kilometres away. This verdant plateau not only produces the best dairy products and freshest fruits in Queensland, but is also home to many scenic lakes and falls, and a thriving Chinatown.

There are plenty of international car hire companies to choose from, including Hertz, Thrifty, Budget, Avis and Europcar hire cars; as well as a number of local hire cars in Cairns. Given these many options, finding the cheapest car hire in Cairns, Australia is a breeze, when you book online, with one way car rentals in Australia available to other Australian cities including Townsville, Brisbane and Sydney.