Route · AU

Brisbane to Cairns

1 operator run this water, from 2 h 14.

Getting from Brisbane to Cairns

Somewhere to stay in Cairns partner Left luggage in Cairns Everywhere from Brisbane Everywhere from Cairns

Every way across

One row per operator and speed. Where a service is sold as fast and its average does not clear 45 km/h, the word appears in quotation marks — the boat is fast craft, the crossing is not.

American Airlines, British Airways BNE → CNS 1391 km non-stop 320 333 737 in the air 3 h 44 est. rate not held 621 km/h average

Other ways to reach Cairns

If this crossing does not suit, these quays also reach Cairns without a change. It is the question a single-route page cannot answer about itself and an atlas can.

Townsville – Cairns 51 min Qantas

Coen – Cairns 1 h 04 Aero Condor Peru

Kowanyama – Cairns 1 h 04 Aero Condor Peru

Pormpuraaw – Cairns 1 h 07 Aero Condor Peru

Normanton – Cairns 1 h 08 Aero Condor Peru

Lockhart River – Cairns 1 h 09 Aero Condor Peru

Aurukun – Cairns 1 h 14 Aero Condor Peru

Weipa – Cairns 1 h 17 Aero Condor Peru

Bamaga – Cairns 1 h 26 Aero Condor Peru

Mount Isa – Cairns 1 h 29 Aero Condor Peru

And other ways to reach Brisbane

Hervey Bay – Brisbane 47 min Qantas

Bundaberg – Brisbane 52 min Qantas

Gladstone – Brisbane 1 h 03 Qantas

Roma – Brisbane 1 h 03 Aero Condor Peru

Port Macquarie – Brisbane 1 h 04 Qantas

Rockhampton – Brisbane 1 h 09 Emirates

Williamtown – Brisbane 1 h 16 Jetstar Airways

Emerald – Brisbane 1 h 19 Qantas

Charleville – Brisbane 1 h 22 Qantas

Sydney (Mascot) – Brisbane 1 h 26 American Airlines

Where else these quays go

Also from Brisbane

Adelaide · Alice Springs · Apia · Auckland · Bangkok · Barcaldine · Biloela · Blackall · Bundaberg · Burnt Pine · Canberra · Charleville · Christchurch · Dallas-Fort Worth

Also from Cairns

Adelaide · Alice Springs · Auckland · Aurukun · Bamaga · Benoa · Coen · Darwin · Dunedin · Fitzroy Island · Gold Coast · Green Island · Horn · Kowanyama

Which months this runs

Season not heldwe can say when we looked, not which months run

Our records for the Brisbane–Cairns crossing were read on 11 August 2026 and describe the network as it ran that week. We hold no month-by-month variation, so this page cannot tell you whether a crossing runs in February.

If you are travelling well outside August 2026, confirm with the operator before you plan around it.

What we do not know

No fares. Not for this crossing, not for any crossing, not for any mode.

No departure times. No rate is held for this pair either, so we cannot say how often it runs.