Cairns Australia - Hotels & Accommodation

Cairns is a regional city located in Queensland, Australia. Originally settled in 1876 and named after William Cairns (at that time governor of Queensland), it was built to serve miners heading to Hodgkinson River's gold fields. The settlement declined when an easier route was discovered from Port Douglas.
After that, Cairns developed into a railhead and major port for exportation of sugar cane, gold, precious metals and agricultural industries from the surrounding coastal and Tableland regions. The city is rapidly expanding due to tourism industry. In the city and its surroundings can be found accommodation in plenty of hotels and vacation rentals, many of them offering really luxurious accommodation and a good base to organize dive trips.
One of the major attractions in Cairns is the lagoon. There are a few very good resorts for dive trips, so this diving attracts there many enthusiasts of this sport. Since 2006 topless sunbaking is permitted in Cairns since this area is a main travel destination for tourists from the entire world. On the shores of the lagoon are a few exquisite beach resorts dotted with all inclusive hotels.

Dive Trips to Cairns

Due to the large number of vacationers that organize dive trips to this area, tourism plays a major part in the economy of Cairns. Cairns is the fourth most popular destination for international tourists in Australia after Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
While the city does not rank amongst Australia's top 10 destinations for domestic tourism, it attracts a large number of foreign travelers from which many go there to spend dive vacations. The close proximity to the Great Barrier Reef makes Cairns a very popular destination for this activity. The city offers plenty of accommodation in hotels, beach resorts, motels and vacation rentals.
Beside dive trips, other activities in the region include snorkeling, golf, rafting and hiking.