Kuranda Scenic Railway Day Trip from Cairns

Cairns, Australia

Experience the rainforest beauty of Far North Queensland on a scenic day trip from Cairns. Ride the historic Kuranda Scenic Railway and choose from a variety of options including the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, Tjupakai Aboriginal Cultural Park or the popular Rainforestation Nature Park.

Learn about Tropical North Queensland's pioneering history on a leisurely train journey to Kuranda 'the village in the rainforest'. Relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery as you wind your way through the rainforest. A short photo stop is made at Barron Gorge and as you cross Stoney Creek Bridge, before arriving in Kuranda.

There is free time in Kuranda to do a little shopping at the heritage markets, grab some lunch in one of the many restaurants/cafes (additional cost) or have a wildlife encounter at Birdworld, Australian Butterfly Sanctuary or Kuranda Koala Gardens (entrance fees not included).

There are many options available to choose from for your Kuranda day trip so you can do as much or as little as you like. Choose from:

• Rail/Rainforestation/Sky - Travel to Kuranda on the Scenic Railway, visit Rainforestation Nature Park, return on Skyrail (10 hours)
• Rail/Sky - Travel to Kuranda on the Scenic Railway, return on Skyrail (8.5 hours)
  
• Sky/Rail - Travel to Kuranda on Skyrail, return on the Scenic Railway (10 hours)
  
• Rail/Sky/Tjapukai- Travel to Kuranda on the Scenic Railway, return on Skyrail, visit to Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park (9 hours)
  
• Rail/Sky/Tjapukai/Lunch - Travel to Kuranda on the Scenic Railway, return on Skyrail, visit to Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park with buffet lunch (10 hours)
  
• Coach/Scenic Railway - Travel to Kuranda by coach, return on the Scenic Railway (7.5 hours)

USD $145.89

Review by: Betty T	April 2012
Throughly enjoyed the trip. We did not spend all of the time alloted in Kuranda, we got the skyrail at 2.30 instead of 3.30 and spent more time at the two stops on the way down.

Review by: Carolyn K	April 2012
Wonderful day,well organised and coach drivers such fun,helpful and informative...really appreciated all the hard work.

Review by: Valerie H	March 2012
Great day out- well organised Good value

Review by: 9903234	March 2012
Well organised and very enjoyable day - although group was enormous!!! There were at least 50 in it!!

Review by: NEIL B	February 2012
Geat day out

Review by: Edward L	December 2011
Disappointing. The train ride up to Kuranda, and the Sky Rail back to Cairns, are excellent, but Kuranda itself is a tourist trap with few photo ops and a gauntlet of eating places, stores and tourist traps you must navigate to get to even those few. I e-mailed the local tour operator with a suggestion to improve his "boarding pass" as he calls it, to avoid the present misleading front, which suggests it gets you into all Kuranda sites without further charge while on the reverse it says differently. He called me at my hotel, not to apologize and say the document would be improved, but to argue with me. Not worth the price or even half of it, just buy the one way rail ticket and one way sky cable ticket and go up and straight back.

Review by: Catherine	November 2011
we found the trip very interesting and loved the sky rail back

Review by: Gabrielle H	November 2011
Very good tour would definitely recommend this tour if you are going to cairns. Lots to do at Kuranda even if you don't go to the rain forestation park.

Review by: Sonia N	October 2011
The skyrail was great and we really enjoyed the experience. It was a shame the train was not running due to fire. My party along with others were taken back to Cairns by coach. I have sent an email with regard to a refund for this part of the trip.

Review by: Al	October 2011
The whole family took this tour, Mum, Dad, two teens and our toddler. We caught the rail up, spent the time looking through the local market and shops. Stop off for a lovely lunch and caught the rail back. The day was lovely and the locals are extremely friendly. It is rather old and not quite as modern as I thought it would be but that seemed to add to the ambience of the area even more. It was relaxing and because we didn't have to drive anywhere (our coach picked us up from the train station and returned us to our holiday unit) - we manage a bottle of wine over lunch!! How good is that. Great day out for all, I bought jewellery, the teens got some funky bracelets/anklets, baby got to see the dinosaur and got some toys and Dad squeezed in a massage. Everything is there from good food to tarot cards....how cool!! _br/_ I highly recommend this for a day out for the family as it seems to be just long enough to keep the kids amused.

Review by: John M	September 2011
Upgraded to gold class and loved every minute of it. The train up was relaxing and very enjoyable. The rest of the tour was just as great.

Review by: Erin M	September 2011
Fantastic Day trip! The Falls are BEAUTIFUL. Kuranda is full of wonderful things to do, see and eat! And the Skyrail is a MUST DO! It was just the best experiance :)

Review by: HIEN V	September 2011
The first part of the tour was a little bit slow. Otherwise it was a good tour.

Review by: Jacqueline S	September 2011
Enjoyable trip. Though it was shorter than we were expecting as voucher said it was a 10 hour day. We were picked up at 8.45 and returned at 4.30. A longer period in Kuranda would have allowed us to do more. There was quite a lot of time spent waiting at the railway station for the transfer to the gondolas.

Review by: Brenda W	August 2011
Our trip was wonderful, we thoroughly enjoyed the whole day and would highly recommend the trip

Review by: ming	August 2011
Very good trip, view is nice over there, time is a bit hurry in the wildlife park, skyrail is very nice, not enough time to follow the guide to explain about rainforest. Only 15 minutes at each stops. It is good fun day.

Review by: Connie V	August 2011
wonderful trip for anyone of any age. good staff and lots of information

Review by: Robert S	August 2011
We went up on the skyrail and back down on the train. Skyrail was excellent, the stops in the rainforest well worthwhile. Kuranda is an odd mix of tack and quality, but generally pretty uninspiring. And, really, don't bother with the Koala Gardens! _br/_ The train ride down takes in some spectacular vistas.

Review by: Warwick D	July 2011
Fantastically planned day full of options to meet your needs. saw loads and highly recommend to others.

Review by: Scott G	June 2011
Wish we could spend a little more time in Kuranda for the exhibits and shops. Otherwise terrific!

Review by: Susan H	June 2011
Excellent trip, well worth it. Easy hotel pick up, could have been a bit more clear on the "return to the hotel" part, but still was easy enough. Overall, good organization, full of info, beautiful scenery._br/_ Thank you.

Review by: M S	June 2011
Very pleasant trip. However, it would have been a lot cheaper to buy a bus ticket to Kuranda and a train ticket back from Cairns without joining a coach tour

Review by: Sue O	May 2011
Excellent, interesting history, makes an appreciation of the journey. Great scenery, a Cairns 'must do' You haven't lived if you haven't done it. Liked Kuranda a lot.

Review by: Susan B	May 2011
we were picked up 7.30am and taken to Freshwater train station, you have free time. There is a coffee cart where we go breakfast and coffee, and you are able to take it on the train. Also at the station is Musuem and Gift shop, the prices are a bit on the over priced side. We boarded at 9am, and it is a nice ride on a clear day you can see out to Green Island. You also get to get out of the train for a 10 minute photo stop at Barron Gorge. And board again and on to Kuranda Station which you arrive at 11am ish. We then got the shuttle to the main street and walked back stop in little shops along the way, doing this way you avoid the going up hills. We went into Butterfly Sanctuary, which was good maybe a little over priced but we joined a guided tour and learnt a bit more. My brother went into Birdworld and said it was not worth it. He also did the markets, and found some interesting items. On this tour most of the time is un-guided, so make sure you are on the skyrail to come back down at the time you are told too, which was 1.45pm, we boarded it at 1.30pm, there is 2 stations you can get out along the way, which we didn't worry about as it meant a lot of walking but enjoyed the skyrail trip. at each station you get 20 minutes only and you need to re-board.... also you need to change cars half way down. at the bottom there is another Gift store and toilets and refreshments. The bus will meet you at 3.15pm we were back at our hotel at 4pm

Review by: Robyn D	May 2011
Fantastic day, packed full of activity. Value for money

Review by: Patti	May 2011
This was one of several tours on a 29 day Australia, South Pacific Islands and Hawaiian vacation -- this tour was, by far, the most enjoyable!

Review by: gregory_wallwork	April 2011
had a great day the time at kuranda was a bit long but the train trip was every thing i expected it was wonderful

Review by: Malcolm R	April 2011
All staff excellent and most helpful

Review by: Jonathan T	March 2011
Train ride was excellent, have your cameras ready as there are some great waterfalls. The train stops at Barron Falls so you can take some great photos.

Review by: Linda M	February 2011
This was a 5 star excursion ....we upgraded to gold class and it was wonderful! The mountains and rainforest were so very beautiful with waterfalls and tunnels along the way. Would do this one again!

Review by: Arie K	February 2011
Nice trip - too bad for the monsoon that got us soaked and delayed our return. But that is the weather to the rain forest during wet season

Review by: Edwin L C	January 2011
The Kuranda Scenic Railway Day Trip was superb in every way. It one of our favorite trips of our 24-day visit to Australia / New Zealand. The people at all of the stations were very congenial and helpful.

Review by: Roger B	November 2010
Train was good but our particular seats (on aisle facing backwards) not too good. The skyrail was excellent.

Review by: Glenn P	October 2010
Had a great trip, would have been better if it wasn't raining.

Review by: Deborah R	October 2010
what a great day

Review by: Deborah R	October 2010
what a great day!

Review by: Michael P	October 2010
overrated

Review by: Yves F	September 2010
Very nice trip and combination with the forest station. In this case we had no time to walk through the village or to go in a shop for handcraft

Review by: Barry K	September 2010
You provided what we asked for. However we realised we could have done the same trips for considerably less if we had booked directly whilst in Cairns - therefore a little disappointing.

Review by: John B	September 2010
Outstanding and great value! Amazing views!

Review by: Lee-anne W, Australia	July 2010
Very enjoyable.

Review by: Gregory C, United States of America	June 2010
Very well run tour. Everything was on time and enjoyable. The scenery was fantastic. Highly recommend this tour.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	June 2010
Really spectacular. I had never been on a train ride that was so thrilling, and so spectacular. The people in the village of Kuranda was very friendly and accomidating.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	June 2010
DO the skyrail first so you can relax on the train on the way back! Great trip!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	May 2010
We had a very nice day in Kuranda even though the railway had suffered a mud slide so we could not use it. We used the tram both ways. Thoroughly enjoyed the Kuranda activities and the time allowed as almost perfect. Good lunch too!

Review by: Robert O, United States of America	April 2010
Fantastic views and comfortable ride

Review by: Michael K, United States of America	March 2010
A fun day with lots of beautiful scenery.

Review by: Christine W, United Kingdom	March 2010
Really enjoyed it.

Review by: Kathryn F, Australia	March 2010
A very scenic train trip, well worth doing - bus pickup was on time and very helpful and informative. Plenty to do in Kuranda - the birds and venom zoo a must see too. Very beautiful train back to Cairns, and Barron Falls in full fall was a treat. Highly recommended tour.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	February 2010
A great day tour that includes excellent scenery, Australia cultural history and well paced.