$261 Find Cheap Flights from Cairns to South Island

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 South Island departing on 19/8. 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 South Island

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

Cheap Flights from Cairns to South Island

Cheapest return prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
Queenstown
Queenstown1 stop$686
Christchurch
Christchurchdirect$464
Nelson
Nelson3 stops$1,125
Queenstown
Queenstown1 stop$686
Christchurch
Christchurchdirect$464
Nelson
Nelson3 stops$1,125

Book Cheap Cairns to South Island Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for return flights from Cairns to South Island 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 South Island

Sun, 16 Nov - Mon, 24 Nov
Jetstar Logo
22:55 - 06:50CNS-CHC
4h 55mdirect
Jetstar Logo
08:05 - 10:40CHC-CNS
5h 35mdirect
$464Jetstar
Find Deal
Thu, 18 Sep - Mon, 29 Sep
Jetstar Logo
22:55 - 05:50CNS-CHC
4h 55mdirect
Jetstar Logo
08:05 - 10:40CHC-CNS
5h 35mdirect
$560Jetstar
Find Deal
Tue, 18 Nov - Mon, 22 Dec
Jetstar Logo
22:55 - 06:50CNS-CHC
4h 55mdirect
Jetstar Logo
08:05 - 10:40CHC-CNS
5h 35mdirect
$563Jetstar
Find Deal
Sat, 24 Jan - Mon, 2 Feb
Jetstar Logo
09:45 - 00:05CNS-CHC
11h 20m1 stop
Jetstar Logo
08:05 - 10:40CHC-CNS
5h 35mdirect
$571Jetstar
Find Deal
Sat, 13 Sep - Sat, 20 Sep
Virgin Australia Logo
20:25 - 16:45CNS-ZQN
18h 20m1 stop
Virgin Australia Logo
18:05 - 13:10ZQN-CNS
21h 05m1 stop
$686Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Tue, 26 Aug - Tue, 2 Sep
Virgin Australia Logo
10:20 - 16:45CNS-ZQN
28h 25m1 stop
Virgin Australia Logo
16:30 - 23:35ZQN-CNS
9h 05m1 stop
$701Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Sun, 14 Sep - Sun, 21 Sep
 Logo
22:55 - 05:50CNS-CHC
4h 55mdirect
 Logo
06:35 - 18:15CHC-CNS
13h 40m1 stop
Thu, 4 Sep - Wed, 10 Sep
 Logo
22:55 - 09:40CNS-ZQN
8h 45m1 stop
 Logo
10:30 - 09:10ZQN-CNS
24h 40m2 stops
Thu, 18 Sep - Mon, 29 Sep
Air New Zealand Logo
11:55 - 13:20CNS-CHC
23h 25m2 stops
Air New Zealand Logo
11:05 - 09:45CHC-CNS
25h 40m2 stops
$937Air New Zealand
Find Deal
Tue, 26 Aug - Sat, 30 Aug
Air New Zealand Logo
14:25 - 11:25CNS-ZQN
19h 00m2 stops
Air New Zealand Logo
13:35 - 11:35ZQN-CNS
24h 00m3 stops
$1,360Air New Zealand
Find Deal
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Cairns to South Island flights

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

What is the cheapest Cairns to South Island flight route?

The cheapest price for flight routes found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks for round-trip flights from Cairns to South Island.

The cheapest ticket to South Island from Cairns found in the last 72 hours was to Christchurch, at $303 return. The most popular route is from Cairns (CNS) to Christchurch (CHC), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $303.

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

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 $1,569, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.


Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$261
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 19% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 29% lower on average.
Flight from Cairns to Christchurch

FAQs - booking South Island flights

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

    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 South Island.

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

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

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

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

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

    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 from Cairns to South Island up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to South Island?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to South Island is generally in the afternoon, when retur flights cost $463 on average. Morning departures are around 16% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to South Island is generally in the morning, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $560.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to South Island

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found tickets from Cairns to the following destinations at these prices or less: Christchurch $256 one-way - $347 round-trip

Reviews of the top 3 airlines flying from Cairns to South Island

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Cairns to South Island. 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 South Island? 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
6.9Food
8.2Crew
7.7Boarding
7.2Entertainment
7.4Comfort
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.

We were upgraded and after just a short delay in attending to a safety check we were on our way. Would definately fly Qantas International on their Dreamliner again.

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

I tried to check in online but was unable to do so. I stood in line for nearly two hours to check in. American Airlines was understaffed. When I finally got to the kiosk to check in, I was still unable to check in. No AA staff was available to help. Finally one of the airport security agents who was helping passengers became of lack of AA Staff told me: “I think the reason you can’t check in is that you are starting your name with an upper case letter when you write it. Just write it with all lower case letters.” That did allow me to check in. HOW COULD ANYONE POSSIBLY KNOW THAT IF THEY USE AN INITIAL UPPER CASE LETTER TO SPELL THEIR OWN NAME, AA WOULD NOT ALLOW THEM TO CHECK IN?????? Then I had to wait in line over half an hour again to drop off my baggage. Although I arrived at the airport 3 hours early, by the time I got to the gate, they had already started boarding.

One of the oldest most uncomfortable "lay down" seats I've ever experienced. Old plane and old seats that don't lay flat. The seat back does not even recline - at all. Instead the legrest awkwardly extends to fill the gap between a small cubby into which you must insert your feet/legs. I am 5' 11" and could not lay straight but had to tuck my knees. Ticket was also very expensive. Would not recommend flying business/first on Finair from Melbourne to Bangkok and will not do so again myself.

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

Traditional economy class. Not a full flight so spare seats. Food and drinks were good

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.

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.

They added the weight of my back to the carryon luggage and charged me NZ$75 for being over 7 kg.

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.

Everything you need to know for your flight to South Island

Information on your arrival and departure airports

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