CNS - DRW

$278 Find Cheap Flights from Cairns to Darwin

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Cairns to Darwin departing on 14/9. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Darwin

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Cairns to Darwin, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Cairns to Darwin, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Flights Deals

Cheap Flights from Cairns to Darwin (CNS-DRW)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for return flights from Cairns to Darwin that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent return flight deals from Cairns to Darwin

Tue, 9 Sep - Thu, 11 Sep
Jetstar Logo
06:00 - 00:35CNS-DRW
19h 05m1 stop
Jetstar Logo
01:20 - 18:15DRW-CNS
16h 25m1 stop
$557Jetstar
Find Deal
Fri, 12 Sep - Sun, 14 Sep
Jetstar Logo
16:10 - 00:30CNS-DRW
8h 50m1 stop
Jetstar Logo
01:20 - 18:15DRW-CNS
16h 25m1 stop
$559Jetstar
Find Deal
Thu, 28 Aug - Wed, 3 Sep
 Logo
07:00 - 16:15CNS-DRW
9h 45m1 stop
 Logo
01:30 - 11:15DRW-CNS
9h 15m1 stop
Thu, 28 Aug - Sun, 31 Aug
 Logo
07:00 - 16:15CNS-DRW
9h 45m1 stop
 Logo
01:30 - 20:55DRW-CNS
18h 55m1 stop
Fri, 29 Aug - Sun, 31 Aug
 Logo
06:00 - 00:35CNS-DRW
19h 05m1 stop
 Logo
01:30 - 20:55DRW-CNS
18h 55m1 stop
Fri, 12 Sep - Thu, 18 Sep
 Logo
06:00 - 00:35CNS-DRW
19h 05m1 stop
 Logo
01:30 - 23:35DRW-CNS
21h 35m1 stop
Tue, 16 Sep - Tue, 23 Sep
Jetstar Logo
15:35 - 00:35CNS-DRW
9h 30m1 stop
Jetstar Logo
01:30 - 11:15DRW-CNS
9h 15m1 stop
$659Jetstar
Find Deal
Thu, 28 Aug - Wed, 3 Sep
Virgin Australia Logo
06:00 - 00:45CNS-DRW
19h 15m1 stop
Virgin Australia Logo
00:35 - 18:35DRW-CNS
17h 30m2 stops
$738Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Fri, 12 Sep - Mon, 15 Sep
Qantas Airways Logo
17:45 - 19:55CNS-DRW
2h 40mdirect
Qantas Airways Logo
13:15 - 16:15DRW-CNS
2h 30mdirect
$821Qantas Airways
Find Deal
Thu, 28 Aug - Sun, 31 Aug
Virgin Australia Logo
19:15 - 00:45CNS-DRW
30h 00m2 stops
Virgin Australia Logo
01:30 - 23:35DRW-CNS
21h 35m1 stop
$846Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Cairns to Darwin flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Cairns to Darwin to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

How much is a round-trip flight from Cairns to Darwin?

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Cairns to Darwin?

The average price of all round-trip flights from Cairns to Darwin clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

When flying from Cairns to Darwin, you should consider leaving on a Wednesday and avoid Saturdays if you are looking for the best rates. For your return to Cairns, you’ll find the best rates on Wednesdays and the most expensive ones on Thursdays.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Cairns to Darwin?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Cairns to Darwin, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from Cairns to Darwin is October, where tickets cost $562 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are January and July, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,031 and $878 respectively.

Can I save money by flying with a stopover from Cairns to Darwin?

The average return price for all direct flights, flights with one stopover, and flights with two stopovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

No, with an average price for the route of $903, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Cairns to Darwin?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Cairns to Darwin, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from Cairns to Darwin, you should book around 5 weeks before departure, which saves you about 33% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 11 weeks before departure.


Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flight$278
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 2% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly (11% more expensive on average)
Flight from Cairns to Darwin

When to book flights from Cairns to Darwin

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Cairns to Darwin based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated return price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or returns with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking flights from Cairns to Darwin

  • What is the cheapest flight from Cairns to Darwin?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Cairns to Darwin was $180 for a one-way ticket and $361 for a return.

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Cairns to Darwin?

    Cairns and Darwin are both served by 1 main airport. You will leave Cairns from Cairns and will be arriving at Darwin.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Cairns to Darwin?

    The Embraer 190 is the aircraft model that flies most regularly on the Cairns to Darwin flight route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Cairns to Darwin?

    oneworld is the only airline alliance operating flights between Cairns and Darwin.

  • On which days can I fly direct from Cairns to Darwin?

    There are direct flights from Cairns to Darwin on a daily basis.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from Cairns to Darwin, Qantas Airways or Virgin Australia?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Cairns to Darwin are Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia. With an average price for the route of $789 and an overall rating of 7.5, Qantas Airways is the most popular choice. Virgin Australia is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $602 and an overall rating of 7.5.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Cairns to Darwin?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Cairns to Darwin.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Cairns to Darwin?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Darwin from Cairns is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Cairns to Darwin?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional return ticket. You could then fly to Darwin with an airline and back to Cairns with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Cairns to Darwin?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Darwin from Cairns up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

KAYAK’s top tips for finding a cheap flight from Cairns to Darwin

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for $485 or less one-way and $865 or less round-trip.

Prefer to fly direct from Cairns to Darwin?

 
Direct data is based off flight results for the next 60 days. Find direct flights from all airlines flying direct from Cairns to Darwin.
Find which airlines fly direct from Cairns Airport to Darwin Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

Cairns to Darwin

Monday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Tuesday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Wednesday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Thursday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Friday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Saturday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Sunday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

See more direct flights

Direct returns

Darwin to Cairns

Monday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Tuesday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Wednesday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Thursday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Friday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Saturday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

Sunday

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways

See more direct flights

Reviews of the top 3 airlines flying from Cairns to Darwin

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Cairns to Darwin. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Cairns to Darwin? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
7.5
Qantas AirwaysOverall score based on 887 reviews
7.4Comfort
6.9Food
7.7Boarding
7.2Entertainment
8.2Crew
Airline reviews

Business class points redemption - good value for points paid, dubious value if out of your own pocket, domestic class business product okay for this length of flight. The flight left and arrived on time, crew were good, aircraft was a bit old and tired, but still miles ahead of their competitors in Virgin and Jetstar.

8.0 ExcellentMarcus, July 2025SYD - ADL
Read more Qantas Airways reviews

Business class points redemption - good value for points paid, dubious value if out of your own pocket, domestic class business product okay for this length of flight. The flight left and arrived on time, crew were good, aircraft was a bit old and tired, but still miles ahead of their competitors in Virgin and Jetstar.

Airline running better than post Covid, proper boarding process now implemented, some aircraft feeling a bit old and tired, crew fine, online experience better.

Five hour flight instead of four hours due to westerly headwinds which wasn’t the fault of Qantas !

The wifi was out. Otherwise it was great flight. Richard, as CSM, was excellent.

Was bumped to a later flight because of inefficiency on part of the airline.

Inflight entertainment, poor that there are no headrest screens on aircraft used for an international flight.

The Emerits/Qantas flight was cancelled to Wellington. We need a refund. Had to buy another airline ticket. How do we get the refund. Still not in Wellington.

Delayed QF59 flight once again, Qantas doesn't fail in maintaining there delayed departures and arrivals. USB points do not work nor do the power point sockets on the plane, Qantas staff admitted that on the flight. Don't expect to your charge devices. Saving grace, was the ice cream. Bottom line, if you expect to fly to HND and make it on time avoid Qantas and if you're interested in ice cream - visit 7/11.

Pretty excellent. I don’t know what the pilot could have done better with the bumping ( there was a storm) nor what happened to my ears coming down into bendigo. It doesn’t happen coming down into Sydney just the return flight. I wonder why?

Touch screens were very difficult to use, generally being laggy and unresponsive- it was quite an art to get it to play the thing you wanted rather than some thing at random. Selection of films and Tv was good when touchscreen decided to finally respond.

Only answered OK and poor as there was no entertainment and I didnt have any food

4.5 hr international flight. We got a glass of water. Ranks up there with Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Spirit and Frontier. Expected better.

Gluten free options less explicit on business class, but great service

Very good… seems the virgin staff particularly in the lounge and in flight exceeded expectations.

I liked everything about the experience but would have liked some free snacks!

Crew was great but flight was delayed almost three hours due to a technical issue and we had to go back to the terminal and wait for another one.

Being told why we delayed three hours and not even given an apology by someone. Not a word. Not my airline of choice ever.

Checked Baggage line up was long but moved quickly, rest of the process, boarding, crew was excellent

Virgin has always provided a smooth and comfortable flight. This one was no different. Seats are comfortable. Staff are great. This is my favourite airline.

Virgin changed the flight to an Alliance flight. Smaller plane, tea coffee and water the only refreshments available and not sure what happened to the extra money I paid to sit in a selected seat with extra leg room. This is obviously a regular switch as it happened on our flight there and back. Do not recommend.

It was better than I expected. Thought $5 for a small cup of tea was a bit much!

Overall good trip I find seats a bit hard. We were waiting on board for about an hour for 2 passengers with some document issue. This main our arrival late for our pickup person.

15kg allowance is outrageous. Change of time a few days before departure and more than 2 hours of delay in the end. The worse we’ve taken so far in Oceania.

stuck in the aircraft for over three hours due to engineering work, significantly delayed and made a lot of passengers missed the connecting transport, no mention any compensation

Very quiet plane!! One of the quietest planes we have been on.

Jetsatar refused to take my foldable stroller in the plane, despite following all the rules on dimensions and packaging. Similar thing happened on our previous fight. However, at that instance, they offered to check in the stroller. At this fight, the staff was rude, trying to rush us to board the flight. They made excuses that the stroller was not allowed and even offer to leave it behind and ship it back at our own cost. Fortunately, we had someone else attending. Since the flight was about to take off, they left it behind and send it back to us on the next available flight.

Overall, it was good. The only concern was that I couldn't charge my phone because the USB port didn't work after we took off. One of the crew members tried to restart it but never came back to me with an update.

Comfortable seats, boarding was easy and staff were very nice.

Flight was fine but a domestic flight was called by Jetstar international. This meant going through immigration and custom scanning twice. Long queues were experienced which were frustrating. We were using a wheelchair and exit at Perth needed a scissor lift as no air bridge provided. No fast lane at Perth for wheelchair. The staff were helpful but this system is poor.

The crew were great. The seat was older than an old Holden with a big metal bar sticking right into my back. The passenger next to me complained that hers was the same. The pre purchase system for food was disappointing as the pie/quiche took 20 mins to warm up, arrived too hot and with no utensils. It was one of the most uncomfortable flights I've ever been on.

Everything you need to know for your flight from Cairns to Darwin

Information on your arrival and departure airports

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