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Cairns Aquarium, Cairns

4.3
#4 of 20 in Parks in Cairns
Aquarium · Hidden Gem · Zoo / Aquarium
Cairns Aquarium, the first public aquarium built in Australia in 18 years, is home to more than 16,000 specimens and 10 ecosystems. The $54 million, 7,800sq m, three-level facility in Queensland holds 71 tanks including Australia's largest freshwater tank with 400,000 litres of water, a deep sea tank and the world's first true tidal motion tank.

It has 10 lifelike and recreated habitats and is the only aquarium of its type to display endangered or rarely seen endemic species such as the emerald tree monitors, Jardine River painted turtles, ribboned pipefish and scalloped hammerhead sharks.

The aquarium is also an interactive research and education centre and is home to the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre.
A visit to Cairns Aquarium represents just the start of the adventure when you use our Cairns day trip website to plot your vacation.
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Tours to Cairns Aquarium

FROM $234 BOOK WITH VIATOR Cairns Aquarium Dive with the Sharks
Duration: 2 to 3 hours
Tours from $234 »
FROM $106 BOOK WITH VIATOR Cairns Aquarium Family Tickets
Duration: 2 to 3 hours
Tours from $106 »
FROM $98 BOOK WITH VIATOR Cairns Aquarium by Twilight with 3 Course Dinner
Duration: 3 hours
Tours from $98 »

Cairns Aquarium reviews

Rate this attraction
TripAdvisor traveler rating
TripAdvisor traveler rating 4.5
1,331 reviews
Google
4.4
TripAdvisor
  • By G6936NRjulieg
    Very well set out Aquarium - with loads and loads of fish species to view, as well as snakes, lizards and coral. Well worth the visit.  more »
  • By tdawbrey
    What a great way to spend a day with an aquarium visit in Cairns and lunch onsite. It helped us get familiar with the snorkeling/dive trip we took the next day in the SeaStar from the nearby marina...  more »
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Google
  • By Sandy McClintock
    Large glass-fronted tanks with well lit exhibits. The building is on several levels so must be very strong! The lighting is better than on the naturally lit reef. The restaurant has good food. Well done guys.
  • By Bethan Morris
    Very well thought out and laid out aquarium. Highly educational and interesting talks given throughout the day, well worth attending. Plenty of opportunities for added extras you can pay for such as behind the scenes tours etc. The turtle rehab centre looks great for example and is very reasonable. They feed the animals in the exhibits at many of the talks which is really fascinating. We zipped through in 3.5 hours but you could easily spend more time.
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