Cairns Nightlife: Places and Districts to Go Out in Cairns
- Cairns Information
- Eating & drinking in Cairns
- Night life in Cairns
- Getting around in Cairns
- Things to do in Cairns
- Where to stay in Cairns
- Cairns street map
Famed for its stunning sandy beaches and, of course, the Great Barrier Reef, the only thing that Cairns needed to make it pure backpacking heaven was a bustling, vibrant nightlife... And sure enough, right on cue, that’s exactly what it delivers.
Cairns nightlife centers on the couple of blocks surrounding Shields St, where a range of bars cater, almost exclusively, for the backpacking crowd. Many of the bars throw bouncing backpackers’ parties while some of the larger hostels have outrageously wild bars in-house.
The whole area of Spence St, Sheridan St and Grafton St is a great place to start with if you're looking to get a feel for the city's nightlife and meet a few fellow travelers. There are plenty of laidback pubs where you can start the evening over a cheap meal and a beer before settling on your 'local'.
And the extent to which the vast majority of its nightlife is crammed into one area is precisely what makes Cairns such a great place for a night out. Because all of its bars and clubs are in such close proximity, the streets ripple with energy most nights of the week.
The scene tends to focus more on a raucous, heavy drinking good time than any attempt at sophistication – and it’s no worse for it! Having said that, the city also has an excellent live music scene, and many of the city’s bars frequently lay on live indie and rock bands.
An important thing to remember about clubbing in Cairns is that clubs are not permitted to allow anyone through their doors after 3am. So if you’ve popped out for a breath of fresh air or a cigarette, remember that the bouncers won’t let you back in!
If you’re looking to push the boat out (quite literally, in fact) a day’s sailing, fishing or relaxing on the glass-bottomed boat around Fitzroy Island can be finished off in style by partying into the early hours at its popular beach club.
Cairns is famed for the sheer effervescence of its nightlife. With the amazingly warm welcome it extends to the many gap year travelers and backpackers that come through, it’s invariably a place find that they find themselves extremely reluctant to leave.
