plan on visit to Cairns after our cruise ends in Sydney in early November

Will be in Cairns Nov 8 - Nov 11 and wondering if it is logistically possible to do the Kuranda Railway and Skyway plus the Army Duck Rainforest on our own without booking in advance. Would we need to rent a car in Cairns or is there another way to get to Kuranda? We like the fact of doing it on our own time instead of being stuck with someone else timetable. Thanks.

Just back from Cairns - great place and you will enjoy your time there although it will be very warm and humid - no problems.

I would hire a car as you will be there for four days and because it is a a small city, public transport is not really an option. You will be able able to organise you travel on the train/skyway when you get there so really nol need to book in advance but it you do book online will save a few $.

Kuranda is easy to DIY as a small town and the train and skyway terminals are right in town (free shuttles also available.

The major tourist season is now as the weather is great so with 3/4 days in town you can book on arrival to find the day that suits you.

A car will also allow you to do a day trip up to Port Douglas (great coastal) and a great market in town if you can go on a Sunday. Also posssible to see Mossman Gorge on the way up/down and even a short detour into the Daintree area if you leave early.

Enjoy

Forgot to add, make sure you have a couple of hours to visit the Cairns Botanic Gardens - a real gem in my view and you will be able to see a great garden/park full of tropical plants and trees beautifully set out - for free.

Great restaurants in the park for breakfast or lunch - one of the better Botanic Gardens I have seen and I have been to many around the world.

Hi, we live in Cairns and are happy to answer any questions we can. The Skyrail / Kuranda rail runs every day, and getting a ticket on site on the day, or through one of the many (many) tourist booths, will be quite easy. The only issue i see with the Army Duck is that the Skyrail does not directly link up with Rainforest Station but I found this link that shows that the Skyrail people can hook you up (https://www.skyrail.com.au/cairnstours) - hope this helps. You can drive to the Skyrail, and catch the gondolas up to Kuranda, and then catch the train back down (and do the Duck thing whilst up at Kuranda). If you take a hire car, park at the Skyrail, and they will transfer you from the train station back to the Skyrail. The Skyrail runs all day, but the train back (and that is best option I think) are fixed times (try the gold class if you want to splurge).

As Bpos indicated the Botanical Gardens / Flecker Gardens area is a lovely couple of hours walk, and if you feel real energetic you can take the Red Arrow walk (its part of an exercise trail in the same location) for some more rainforest experience right in town (but its is a little bit of work and has some steep step portions).

With anything to do with tours you can book up to the night before, and with many fixed attractions you can just rock up and get in. A car would be handy if you want to explore on your own, or miss the tourist peak times. With only 3-4 days there is much to do in the rainforest, on the reef or local Islands, and up at the tablelands - more than enough to fill your time, just depends how you want to fill your days (sitting around the pool and having a BBQ are just as valid options).

If there is anything else we can help with.......

Lynn and Carl

On one trip we went up to Kuranda on the gondolas, then the afternoon train back to Cairns. We booked on the day. When we got to Kuranda, we went to the railway station (next to where you get off the gondolas) and reserved our seats on the train. The seats are allocated numbers and obviously it is better to have a window seat. The train has bench seats with an aisle along the right-hand side (as you face forward) of the carriage (can I call it the 'starboard' side?). The best seats are facing forward on the left-hand side ('port' side?).