Cairns for backpackers: reef, rainforest and work
The end of the East Coast run — and a great place to find work and sell your car.
Updated 12 October 2026
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Why Cairns
Cairns is the base for the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree. It’s in Northern Australia, so tourism and hospitality jobs in many Cairns-area postcodes can count toward your specified work — check the exact postcode.
Check a Cairns postcodeWhere to stay
Most hostels are walking distance from the Esplanade lagoon. Many offer work-for-accommodation or help finding hospitality shifts.
Reef and rainforest
- Outer reef day trip for snorkelling or an intro dive.
- Learn to dive — Cairns is one of the most popular places in the world to get certified.
- Daintree and Cape Tribulation.
- Kuranda by scenic rail or Skyrail.
Stay safe in the water
Box jellyfish (stingers) are around from roughly November to May. Swim inside stinger nets at patrolled beaches, wear a stinger suit on the reef, and never swim where there are crocodile warning signs.
Staying safe in AustraliaKeep reading
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