The rooftop Wildlife Dome closed in October 2023 and the old Tropical Zoo went in 2016. What is left is better, and scattered.
Searches for a Cairns zoo run all year, and the reason nobody answers them properly is that the answer is awkward: there is not one. Not in the city, and not in the sense of a single large zoo with everything in it.
What there is instead is five or six specialised wildlife parks scattered between Port Douglas and Kuranda, one aquarium in the city, and some of the best free wildlife watching in Australia. Here is the whole landscape, with the current prices.
Two closures explain the gap, and both still show up in old guidebooks and blog posts.
Cairns ZOOM and Wildlife Dome was the rooftop wildlife enclosure at the casino in the middle of town, and it is gone. The operator's own notice reads: "With deep regret, we announce that Cairns ZOOM & Wildlife Dome is no longer in operation. Our final day of operation was on Sunday, October 8th, 2023." If a page tells you there is a wildlife dome in Cairns, that page is at least three years out of date.
Cairns Tropical Zoo at Palm Cove closed in 2016. Its animals were moved to other parks in the region, including Hartley's, Kuranda Koala Gardens and Birdworld, which is part of why those three are as good as they are.
So the practical answer to "where is the Cairns zoo" is that you drive 25 minutes north or 25 minutes up the range, and you choose which animals you care about.
The question is usually asked as "where is the Cairns zoo". The honest answer changes the plan.
If you only do one wildlife park, do this one. It is at Wangetti on the Captain Cook Highway, about 40 minutes north of Cairns, roughly on the way to Port Douglas.
$50 adult, $25 child aged 4 to 15, $125 for two adults and two children. Open 8:30am to 5:00pm daily, closed only Christmas Day and Cairns Ironman.
What makes it work is that it is built around a schedule rather than around enclosures, so a visit has a shape to it:
| Time | What is on |
|---|---|
| 9:00am | Crocodile farm tour and cassowary feeding |
| 10:00am | Snake show |
| 11:00am | Crocodile feeding |
| 1:00pm | Crocodile farm tour |
| 2:00pm | Snake show |
| 3:00pm | Crocodile attack show |
| 4:00pm | Cassowary feeding |
| 4:30pm | Koala talk |
Hartley's own published daily programme. Arrive by 10:30am and you can catch most of it in a single visit.
The practical advice: arrive around 10:30am and you pick up the snake show, the crocodile feeding at 11, the farm tour at 1 and the attack show at 3, with lunch in between. Arrive at 3pm and you have paid $50 for a walk around.
It also solves a problem for anyone who wants to see a saltwater crocodile without going up a river to find one. Crocodiles here are wild and they are genuinely dangerous, which is exactly why a boardwalk over a lagoon full of them is the sensible way to look at one. Our guide to crocodiles in Cairns explains where the wild ones are and where you must not swim.
Hartley's pairs neatly with a Kuranda day or with a run north to Port Douglas, because it sits on the same highway. Our Kuranda and Hartley's day tour does exactly that pairing and takes the driving out of it.
Kuranda is the village above Cairns, 25 kilometres up the range, and it has three separate small wildlife attractions within a short walk of each other. That clustering is the point: you can do koalas, birds and butterflies in one morning without getting back in a car.
Kuranda Koala Gardens is $24 adult, $12 child, $60 for a family of four, open 9:30am to 4pm. It is one of the few places in Queensland where you can hold a koala for a photo, which carries an extra cost, has conditions and has limited daily availability. If that is the reason you are going, ask about it on arrival rather than assuming.
Birdworld and the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary are the other two, and both are small, indoor-ish and quick. They are best bought as a combination rather than separately:
| Kuranda combination | Adult | Child | Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Koala Gardens only | $24 | $12 | $60 |
| Friends in the Rainforest | $43 | $21.50 | $107.50 |
| Koalas and Butterflies | $46 | $25.50 | $117.50 |
| Kuranda Wildlife Experience | $66 | $35.50 | $167.50 |
| Kuranda Explorer | $70 | $35 | $175 |
Kuranda Koala Gardens' own published package prices. The Explorer covers all three of the village parks.
The honest read: if wildlife is the reason you are going up to Kuranda, the Kuranda Explorer at $70 adult and $35 child covers all three parks and is the one that makes sense. If wildlife is a bonus on a day that is really about the railway and the cableway, buy Koala Gardens alone at $24 and skip the rest.
One 2026 planning note. Skyrail is running a shortened loop between Kuranda Terminal and Barron Falls until 25 October 2026, five days a week with boarding from 10:00am to 3:30pm, and shuttle buses between Smithfield and Kuranda. That changes how a Kuranda day is put together, and our Kuranda day trip guide has the current version.
Also at Kuranda, on the Kennedy Highway, and a different proposition to the village parks. It bundles three things: a Koala and Wildlife Park, the Army Duck amphibious rainforest tour, and the Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience. Open 9:00am to 3:30pm daily.
| Rainforestation ticket | Adult | Child 4 to 14 | Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Nature Package, all three | $71 | $43 | $185 |
| Rainforest Discovery, two of three | $59 | $36 | Not offered |
| Army Duck only | $34 | $21 | $89 |
| Koala and Wildlife Park only | $23 | $14 | $60 |
| Pamagirri only | $34 | $21 | $89 |
| Exclusive Koala Experience | $31 | $25 | Not offered |
Rainforestation's own published prices. Child rates apply ages 4 to 14 and family means 2 adults plus 2 children.
The Big Nature Package at $71 is the only version worth buying if you are making the trip, because the individual tickets add up to more than the bundle and the Army Duck is the distinctive part. Buying the wildlife park alone at $23 makes sense only if you are already there for something else.
If the cultural experience is what interests you, note that the Pamagirri experience here is a park-based programme. The Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk at Mossman Gorge is a different kind of thing, on country, with Kuku Yalanji guides.
The only one of these in the city, at 5 Florence Street, and the answer to a wet afternoon or a hot one.
$61 adult aged 15 and over, $35 child aged 3 to 14, $48 concession with a seniors, student, pension or carer card, free for infants 2 and under, and $173 for two adults and two children. Open 9:30am to 3:30pm every day of the year, last admission 2:30pm, and the aquarium's own guidance is to allow two hours.
Two hours indoors, flat the whole way through, air-conditioned, in the middle of town. On a 34 degree afternoon or during a downpour that is worth a great deal more than it is on a perfect day. It is also the sensible pick for anyone who wants to see reef fish but is not going to get in the water.
Watch the closing time. A 3:30pm close with a 2:30pm last admission catches people out constantly, because it is much earlier than most city attractions.
At 1 Port Douglas Road, so this one is for people either staying in Port Douglas or making a day of the drive north.
$50 adult, $30 child aged 4 to 14, $130 for two adults and two children. The distinctive part is the immersive habitat design, where you walk through the enclosures rather than past them.
It also runs the region's best animal encounters, and these are worth knowing about even if you do not book them: Breakfast with the Birds and Koalas at $90 adult and $59 child, Swim with the Salties from $172.25 per person for ages 8 and up, and croc feeding at $160 for ages 16 and up.
If you are choosing between here and Hartley's on price, they are the same $50 for adults but Hartley's is cheaper for children at $25 against $30, and Hartley's daily show schedule gives a visit more structure. If you are staying in Port Douglas, the drive settles it.
Rainforestation, Wildlife Habitat and the Kuranda parks are run by the same group, which means there are combined passes. Whether they are worth it is arithmetic.
| Pass | Adult | Child | Family | Worth it if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multi Park Package | $115 | $69 | $299 | You will visit three or four of the four parks once each |
| Annual Pass | $170 | $100 | $440 | You live here or you are staying a month |
| Locals Annual Pass | $136 | $80 | $352 | You are a local, with proof |
Published prices, covering a single visit to each of four attractions in the case of the Multi Park Package.
The maths for a visitor: Rainforestation Big Nature at $71 plus Wildlife Habitat at $50 is already $121, so the Multi Park Package at $115 pays for itself the moment you intend to do two of the big parks and anything else. If you are only doing one park, it does not.
For a family of four the gap is wider. Big Nature at $185 plus Wildlife Habitat at $130 is $315 against a $299 Multi Park family pass, and that still leaves two more parks unused on the pass.
Worth saying plainly, because it is the part a wildlife park cannot sell you: some of the best animal watching in this region costs nothing.
About 90 minutes south, a small beach where wild cassowaries genuinely walk out of the forest onto the sand. Not guaranteed, but more likely than most people expect. Keep your distance and do not feed them.
On a reef or island day you have a good chance of a wild green turtle, and it is a better encounter than any enclosure. Turtles are a routine sighting on outer reef trips rather than a lucky one.
The Cairns Esplanade mudflat is a serious birdwatching site, with migratory waders in the southern summer. Free, five minutes from most hotels, and busiest with birds when the tide is out.
Early morning or dusk at the right creek on the Atherton Tablelands, and it costs nothing but patience. Our wildlife guide ranks everything by how likely you actually are to see it.
Not everyone's idea of wildlife, but the flying fox colonies leaving the city trees at sunset are one of the more memorable things you will see here for free.
Our Kuranda and Hartley's day pairs the railway or the cableway with the crocodile park and includes the transfers. Tell us your dates and we will check availability, usually within the hour.
Check availability →There is no zoo in Cairns and there has not been one since the rooftop Wildlife Dome closed in October 2023, so plan around that rather than turning up expecting one. Hartley's Crocodile Adventures at $50 adult and $25 child is the best single wildlife park, and it rewards arriving by 10:30am so the show schedule works for you. The Cairns Aquarium at $61 is the in-city answer for a wet or very hot afternoon, with a 2:30pm last admission that catches people out. If you are going up to Kuranda for the wildlife, the Kuranda Explorer at $70 covers all three village parks. And do not spend the whole budget on enclosures: a turtle on the reef and a cassowary at Etty Bay are free and better.
No. The rooftop Cairns ZOOM and Wildlife Dome closed permanently, with its final day of operation on Sunday 8 October 2023, and the old Cairns Tropical Zoo at Palm Cove closed in 2016. What the region has instead is several specialised wildlife parks between Port Douglas and Kuranda, plus the Cairns Aquarium in the city.
Hartley's Crocodile Adventures at Wangetti, about 40 minutes north. It is $50 adult, $25 child aged 4 to 15 and $125 for a family of four, open 8:30am to 5:00pm daily, and it runs a fixed daily programme of shows and feedings that gives a visit real structure.
$50 for adults, $25 for children aged 4 to 15 and $125 for two adults and two children. It is open 8:30am to 5:00pm daily and closed only on Christmas Day and Cairns Ironman.
$61 for adults aged 15 and over, $35 for children aged 3 to 14, $48 concession with a seniors, student, pension or carer card, free for infants 2 and under, and $173 for two adults and two children. It is open 9:30am to 3:30pm every day of the year, with last admission at 2:30pm.
Kuranda Koala Gardens is one of the few places in Queensland where you can pat a koala for a souvenir photo. It carries an extra cost, has conditions attached and has limited daily availability, so ask about it when you arrive rather than assuming it will be available.
Hartley's runs cassowary feedings at 9:00am and 4:00pm daily, which is the reliable way to see one. For wild cassowaries, Etty Bay about 90 minutes south is the best-known spot, where they sometimes walk out of the forest onto the beach. Keep your distance and never feed them.
If you buy the Big Nature Package at $71 adult, $43 child and $185 family, yes, because the individual tickets add up to more than the bundle and the Army Duck amphibious tour is the distinctive part. Buying the wildlife park alone at $23 only makes sense if you are already there for something else.
It depends how many parks you will visit. The Multi Park Package at $115 adult and $299 family covers one visit to each of four attractions, and Rainforestation's Big Nature at $71 plus Wildlife Habitat at $50 already comes to $121. So two big parks makes the pass worth it; one does not.
The Cairns Aquarium, because it is indoors, in the city, flat the whole way through and takes about two hours. The outdoor parks are still fine in rain, since it is warm rain, but the aquarium is the only one where the weather stops mattering entirely.
Both are $50 for adults, so it comes down to two things. Hartley's is cheaper for children, $25 against $30, and its fixed daily show schedule gives a visit more shape. Wildlife Habitat has the better immersive habitat design and the best animal encounters, including breakfast with the birds and koalas at $90 adult. If you are staying in Port Douglas, the drive decides it.
Yes, and some of it is better than the paid version. Wild green turtles on a reef day, migratory birds on the Esplanade mudflat at low tide, platypus on a Tablelands creek at dawn or dusk, wild cassowaries at Etty Bay and the flying fox colonies leaving the city trees at sunset all cost nothing.
Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas runs Swim with the Salties from $172.25 per person for ages 8 and up, where you are in a cage rather than in with the crocodile, and croc feeding at $160 for ages 16 and up. Hartley's also runs premium wildlife encounters at additional cost.