Cairns Aquarium Entry Tickets

Cairns Aquarium is open daily from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm including all public holidays. Last admission is at 2:30 pm. It is closed on Christmas Day (25 December).

Cairns Aquarium is at 5 Florence Street in central Cairns, one block from the Esplanade waterfront. It is within walking distance of most major hotels in the Cairns CBD. Street parking is available nearby and the public bus terminal on Lake Street is one block away.

The Cairns Aquarium Turtle Hospital rehabilitates injured, sick and boat-struck sea turtles. It is an active working facility within the aquarium rather than a permanent display. A guided 30-minute Turtle Hospital Tour is available at scheduled times, allowing visitors to meet the turtles currently in care and hear about each animal's story. This tour requires a separate booking and all proceeds fund turtle rehabilitation.

The Cairns Aquarium houses the only 10-metre deep reef tank in Australia. It recreates the conditions of the outer Great Barrier Reef at depth, with lighting and water conditions matching the natural environment. Grey reef sharks, large grouper, bumphead parrotfish and hundreds of coral species coexist in a single display that gives a sense of the scale of the open reef.

Ray and shark feedings take place daily at 11 am. A Coral Biobank conservation talk is at 11:45 am. Turtle Hospital guided tours run at 11:30 am and 12:30 pm and require a separate booking. General talks and presentations run throughout the day; check on arrival for the full daily schedule.

Yes. The aquarium is well designed for all ages and the interactive elements, including touch tanks for appropriate species, the shark and ray feedings and the turtle rehabilitation story, are particularly engaging for children. Flash photography is not permitted and visitors are reminded not to touch the sea turtles.

Most visitors spend between 1.5 and 2.5 hours. The 11 ecosystem sections can be covered thoroughly in about 90 minutes. Adding the Turtle Hospital Tour extends the visit by 30 minutes. Timing your arrival to coincide with the 11 am ray and shark feeding is recommended for the best combined experience.

Yes. Many visitors combine a morning reef snorkelling or diving trip from Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal with an afternoon visit to the aquarium, which gives context and species knowledge around what they may have seen on the reef. The aquarium is open until 3:30 pm, which accommodates most reef tour return times.