$355, up to 15,000 feet, and the only jump here that touches down in the city rather than at a rural drop zone.
Skydiving is the most requested adrenaline activity in Cairns and also the one people research the least before booking, which is odd for something that costs $355 and involves leaving an aircraft.
There is one thing about the Cairns jump that genuinely sets it apart from the rest of Australia, and it has nothing to do with the reef view. Here is the whole picture.
$355 per jumper for the tandem, operated by Skydive Australia and booked through us. That includes the jump itself, a professional tandem instructor, all the equipment and harness, the full pre-jump briefing, free return transfers from your Cairns accommodation, three months of Australian Parachute Federation membership and the compulsory personal accident insurance.
Two things are not included. Photo and video packages, which come in hand-cam and outside-cam versions, and a weight surcharge for jumpers of 94 kg and over. Both get confirmed with you when you book rather than sprung on you at the airfield.
There is also a combo at $520 that pairs the tandem jump with the 50 metre bungy. If you were going to do both anyway, that is the cheaper route to it.
| Adrenaline activity | Price | Length | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tandem skydive | $355 | Half day, ~1.5 hrs on the day | 12 |
| Bungy plus skydive combo | $520 | Half day plus | 12 |
| Hot air ballooning | $495 | Pre-dawn, back mid-morning | Operator set |
| Bungy and giant swing | $269 adult, $179 child | Half day | 10 for bungy |
| Tully River rafting | $280 | Full day | 13 |
| Behana Gorge canyoning | $279 adult, $199 child | ~5.5 hrs | 8 |
| River drift snorkelling | $155 adult, $115 child | Half day | 4 |
Adult fares. The full comparison, including what each one feels like, is on our adrenaline activities page.
One operator, one jump, and one detail that makes Cairns different from every other drop zone.
The Cairns jump goes to up to 15,000 feet, which matters for one simple reason: freefall time. Higher exit, longer freefall before the canopy opens and the flight down begins. Plenty of Australian drop zones top out lower, so if the freefall is the part you are paying for, this is one of the better ones in the country.
The climb is not dead time either. On the way up you get the Great Barrier Reef out to the east, the rainforest ranges behind the city and the whole coastline laid out. Several people have told us the climb was the part they did not expect to enjoy.
This is the detail that makes Cairns different, and it is worth more than it sounds.
This is the only Cairns skydive that touches down right in the city. Everywhere else, the drop zone is out of town, which means the people in your group who are not jumping either sit in a bus for two hours or stay behind at the hotel and see a video afterwards.
Here they can stand on the ground and watch you come in, and film it themselves. If you are doing this as a group where only one or two of you are jumping, that changes the day completely for everybody else.
If you are nervous, bring the non-jumpers. Knowing that three people are on the ground watching is, oddly, the thing most first-timers say got them out of the plane.
It is a half day, and about 90 minutes of it is the experience itself.
The courtesy bus collects you in Cairns. Worth knowing: the minimum age of 12 applies from the transport bus onwards, so a younger sibling cannot come along for the ride.
You meet your tandem instructor, get fitted into the harness and run through the full pre-jump briefing. No experience is needed and there is no solo skill to learn. Tandem means the instructor does the flying.
Up to 15,000 feet, with the reef, the ranges and the coast below you on the way. This is the longest single part of the day.
Strapped to your instructor, out of the aircraft, then freefall until the canopy opens for the flight down. The canopy phase is calm and surprisingly quiet after the freefall.
Touch down in Cairns with your group watching, then the return transfer to your hotel. Total time on the day is around an hour and a half, and times shift with the weather and the day's schedule.
The rules are short but they are firm.
Minimum age is 12, and it applies from the transport bus onwards. Under-12s cannot jump and cannot ride along, although they are welcome to watch the landing from the ground with the rest of the group.
There is no upper age limit for a tandem jump, provided you are in reasonable health. We have booked jumpers well past the age most people assume is the cut-off.
A weight surcharge applies from 94 kg. The amount depends on your weight, so we confirm it with you when you book. You will be asked for a weight per jumper at the time of booking, which is why.
Medical conditions get declared at booking. That is not a formality, it is how the operator decides whether a jump is appropriate, and it is far better to raise something in advance than at check-in.
Decide this before you go, because the decision at the airfield is made under pressure and while adrenalised.
Two formats. Hand-cam is filmed on a camera mounted on your instructor's wrist, so you get close-up footage of your face and the conversation, and it is the cheaper option. Outside-cam means a second jumper exits with you and films from a few metres away, which gives you the wide shots that look like the brochure. Some packages combine both.
Neither is included in the $355. If you want one, tell us when you book and we will confirm the package and price then, rather than you deciding at the counter.
If you are only doing this once, our honest view is that the footage is worth it. Almost nobody regrets buying it, and quite a few people regret not buying it. That said, the outside-cam wide shots are the ones you will actually show people.
Skydiving is weather dependent and the operator will not fly in unsuitable conditions. In practice that means jumps get rescheduled, not cancelled, and rescheduling for weather carries no charge.
The planning consequence: do not book this for your last morning in Cairns. Give it a day or two of slack in the middle of your trip so there is somewhere to move it to. This is the single most common mistake we see on skydive bookings.
On our own booking, cancellation is free up to 48 hours before the jump, and inside 48 hours it becomes non-refundable. A weather call by the operator is always rebooked at no charge.
Whether $355 is worth 60 seconds of freefall is genuinely personal and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
What we can tell you is what our guests say afterwards. Almost nobody describes it as good value in the way they describe a reef day as good value. Almost everybody describes it as the thing they remember most about the trip. Those are different measures and both are true.
If you are choosing between adrenaline activities on a budget, the bungy and giant swing at $269 gives you two things at one site, and Behana Gorge canyoning at $279 is our own quiet favourite and the one most visitors have never heard of. If it is specifically the skydive you want, no substitute does the job.
Tell us your dates and we will confirm availability with the operator, usually within the hour, and send a secure payment link. Any weight surcharge or camera package gets confirmed then, before you pay anything.
Check availability →$355, up to 15,000 feet, and the only Cairns skydive that lands in the city. That last part is the reason we book this one: your group watches you come in instead of waiting at the hotel. It is a half day with free hotel pickup, the minimum age is 12 with no upper limit, and a weight surcharge starts at 94 kilograms. Book it mid-trip rather than on your last morning so a weather day has somewhere to go, and decide on the camera package before you are standing at the counter.
$355 per jumper for a tandem jump from up to 15,000 feet. That includes the instructor, all equipment, free return hotel transfers, the safety briefing, three months of Australian Parachute Federation membership and compulsory personal accident insurance. Photos and video are an optional extra.
Up to 15,000 feet, which is one of the higher tandem altitudes on offer in Australia. The practical benefit is a longer freefall before the canopy opens, and a longer climb with the reef, the ranges and the coastline in view.
Right in Cairns city, which makes it the only skydive here that does. The advantage is that friends and family who are not jumping can stand on the ground and watch you come in, and film it, rather than waiting at a rural drop zone or back at the hotel.
Twelve, and it applies from the transport bus onwards, so younger children cannot ride along. There is no upper age limit for a tandem jump provided you are in reasonable health.
There is no hard cut-off published, but a surcharge applies for jumpers of 94 kilograms and over. The amount depends on your weight, so you will be asked for a weight per jumper and we confirm the surcharge with you when you book.
Around an hour and a half on the day, so allow half a day including the free hotel pickup and return transfer. The freefall itself is a matter of seconds and the canopy flight a few minutes. Most of the time is transfer, briefing and the climb to altitude.
No. A tandem jump means you are strapped to a professional instructor who does the flying, so there is no skill to learn and nothing to remember. You get a full briefing beforehand and then you follow instructions.
No, they are an optional extra in hand-cam and outside-cam versions. Hand-cam is filmed from your instructor's wrist and is the cheaper option; outside-cam means a second jumper films you from a few metres away and gives the wide shots. Tell us if you want one and we will confirm the package and price when you book.
The jump is rescheduled at no charge. Skydiving is weather dependent and the operator will not fly in unsuitable conditions. This is why you should not book it for your last morning in Cairns: leave a day or two of slack so a weather call has somewhere to move to.
Comfortable clothing and closed-in shoes such as trainers, plus sun protection for the time on the ground. Everything else, including the harness, is provided.
There is a second drop zone about two hours south of Cairns that lands on the beach, and it is a genuinely different experience. We book the Cairns jump because of the city landing, which is what most of our guests are after. If you specifically want the beach landing, ask us and we will look at dates for you.
It is the one activity where our guests almost never call it good value and almost always call it the thing they remember most. If the freefall itself is what you want, nothing else substitutes. If you mainly want an adrenaline day, the bungy and giant swing at $269 or Behana Gorge canyoning at $279 give you more hours for less money.