Skyrail Rainforest Cableway: Day Trips and Tours from Cairns

Queensland and the surrounding areas are all gorgeous in their own right but it’s important to see them in the right way, and in the right environment. There are methods of travel that stretch far and wide across the entire state and all of them are fascinating in their own right, but arguably, only one does enough to take your breath away every time: the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.

High up in the skies you’ll be able to take a trip that is quite literally unlike anything you’ve ever seen before with monuments and stunning regions being viewable from the first minute until the very last.

So buckle up, because we’re going to run through some of the very best Skyrail Rainforest Cableway tours from Cairns.

Here's everything you need to know about Rainforest Cableway, one of the best day trips from Cairns.

How long does it take to reach Skyrail Rainforest Cableway from Cairns?

Cairns is a fairly central hub in its own right but there are still plenty of destinations that take quite a while to reach as a direct result of Queensland being so unbelievably large. Therefore, we think it’s pretty valuable to have something like the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway right on the city’s doorstep.

Travelling by car is the best way to reach the starting point of the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway with the majority of tourists from Cairns heading to the Smithfield terminal. It’s not going to take long at all to get there and can probably be done in around 15-20 minutes depending on traffic, with the actual distance being around 13.5km.

What is the typical itinerary of a day tour to Skyrail Rainforest Cableway?

The great thing about Skyrail Rainforest Cableway tours from Cairns is that they can quite literally be anything you want them to be. They can be minimalistic whereby you only do the actual Cableway itself, or you can try and incorporate a whole range of other activities into your day - which is pretty feasible considering how much is actually on offer.

The Cableway could probably be done a lot quicker than it actually is but they tend to slow the speed down to allow people to really take in everything they’re seeing. Between the Smithfield terminal in Cairns and the Kuranda terminal on the Atherton Tableland, there’s a gap of around 7.5km.

There are certain amenities that can be enjoyed on-board to really enhance the overall experience including lunch and drinks, but in general, day tours to the Skyrail are like an open book.

What are the most popular tours at Skyrail Rainforest Cableway?

Skyrail Rainforest Cableway tours from Cairns can include just about anything that is within a 50km proximity, such is the wonderful diversity available in and around the city. Today, though, we’re going to take a quick glance at a few specific ideas that are bound to get your engine running.

Barron Falls

When looking out from the scenic deck to the rest of the Barron Falls down below, the Gorge really does come across as something we’ve never seen before. In real life or in the movies it’s an absolute dream destination, and our aim is to draw more attention to it.

Diamond View

The Diamond View is a simple luxury but an incredibly elegant one - the bottom of your gondola is completely made of glass, meaning you can get an entirely new perspective on what it is you’re seeing. It’s a little bit terrifying, but there’s a lovely thrill that comes along with it.

Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park

We’re taken on a one-way trip back to the past in order to really see how Aboriginals have lived for thousands upon thousands of years. There are demonstrations, guided tours and immersive interactions that will completely shape your mindset.

Are there any combo tours including other places to visit?

In short? There are combo tours every which way you look and examining every single one of them should be on your to-do list.

These three, in particular, are great fun in our book, but there’s plenty of research to be done through self-teaching too - so the fun never ends!

Kuranda

There’s the Scenic Railway, the Rainforestation Nature Park within the heart of Kuranda, and the village itself that has a whole host of bustling markets and shops just waiting to be explored. Honestly, Kuranda is so versatile that you could do a whole day here and still have plenty left to see.

Port Douglas

As one of the ports (pun not intended) used to reach the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Port Douglas is a fabulous place to check out. There are great restaurants, cool bars, Daintree and so many beaches that you won’t know what to do with yourself.

Herberton

The colours, the culture, the heritage - Herberton Village leaves us wanting to move there within five minutes of being in its presence. This is just such an astonishingly charming location and we really do think it’s a hidden gem of the highest order.

Travel tips

• If you tend to be a little bit nervous about heights but still want to try and push through, read books and prepare yourself through a range of different exercises and techniques that can help to ease the stress levels. This is a really special experience and if you aren’t able to enjoy it to its full extent, then a feeling of regret may follow.
• There are beautiful spots to see from pretty much everywhere but in terms of the specifics, Red Peak is the highest station at a whopping 545m. If you know when the approach is coming, you’ll be able to see for miles and miles across this phenomenal part of the rainforest.
• There’s a lot of intrigue surrounding the rainforest but there’s also a lot of concern that, with the way the planet is going, we won’t be able to enjoy it in its current form for much longer. As a result of that The Skyrail Rainforest Foundation has been set up to fund in-depth research, in case anyone out there is interested in making a donation - no matter how big or small.