A Food-Lover’s Guide to Cairns

With a tropical climate, abundant rain, nearby ocean, and cooler highlands inland, Cairns is not short on fresh produce. At restaurants, fresh fish and seafood tend to be the stars of the show, and there are many fun food-focused tours and activities available in the area. Read on to whet your appetite.

Must-Try Dishes

Australians are known to have perfected the art of serving coffee, and in Cairns you can top off this experience by sipping a locally produced brew with breakfast. In response to the city's hot climate, consider getting a tropical fruit-flavored gelato too.

For a more substantial meal, try some fresh fish or seafood such as Moreton Bay bugs, mud crabs, oysters, and prawns. Cairns cuisine is heavily influenced by Italy and Southeast Asia, so you can find many ways to enjoy the freshly caught seafood.

End the day with local liquor— whisky, rum, beer, and wine are all produced in the Cairns and Far North Queensland area. There are plenty of bars, pubs, and clubs in Cairns to sample. A local specialty is wine made from the tropical fruits that grow in abundance here.

Must-Do Experiences

• Join an Aboriginal-led tour of Cairns to learn how the local indigenous peoples traditionally catch, cook, and prepare their food.
• Tour a coffee and tea plantation in the highlands east of Cairns.
• If you like the idea of catching your own food, charter a boat or join a group fishing tour.