DRW - CNS

$264 Find Cheap Flights from Darwin to Cairns – Compare and Save

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Darwin to Cairns departing on 7/9. 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, 0 bags

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

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

Cheapest return fare
$616
Typical prices: $1,065-$608
Jetstar, Virgin Australia
Fri 24/7Sun 26/7
DRW - CNS • 1 stop
Cheapest direct flights
$816
Typical prices: $1,090-$912
Qantas Airways
Fri 17/7Wed 22/7
DRW - CNS • Direct
Top airlines
Cheapest • from $633 (return)
Best reviews • 7.6 score
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
+1
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
Direct flights
You can fly direct with Qantas Airways. Average duration is 2h 30m
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
+1
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
When to travel
Cheapest • 22% price drop
Most popular
Good to know
Good to know
+1
+1
Good to know
Good to know
+1
Start a new search
KAYAK searches hundreds of sites at once to find you the best travel deals.
We hope you love your trip to Cairns!
Flight Deals
Booking Insights
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from Darwin to Cairns (DRW-CNS)

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

Fri, 24 Jul - Sun, 26 Jul
Multiple Airlines Logo
19:20 - 08:30
DRW
-
CNS
12h 40m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
13:55 - 00:45
CNS
-
DRW
11h 20m
1 stop
$616Multiple Airlines
Fri, 18 Sep - Tue, 22 Sep
Airnorth Logo
05:45 - 12:00
DRW
-
CNS
5h 45m
2 stops
Airnorth Logo
13:35 - 16:35
CNS
-
DRW
3h 30m
1 stop
$622Airnorth
Thu, 16 Jul - Thu, 23 Jul
Multiple Airlines Logo
01:30 - 08:30
DRW
-
CNS
30h 30m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
09:10 - 00:45
CNS
-
DRW
16h 05m
1 stop
$626Multiple Airlines
Fri, 17 Jul - Thu, 23 Jul
Multiple Airlines Logo
01:30 - 21:00
DRW
-
CNS
19h 00m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
16:55 - 00:45
CNS
-
DRW
8h 20m
1 stop
$629Multiple Airlines
Sun, 19 Jul - Sun, 26 Jul
Virgin Australia Logo
01:30 - 11:10
DRW
-
CNS
9h 10m
1 stop
Virgin Australia Logo
13:55 - 00:45
CNS
-
DRW
11h 20m
1 stop
$633Virgin Australia
Fri, 17 Jul - Wed, 22 Jul
Multiple Airlines Logo
19:20 - 08:30
DRW
-
CNS
12h 40m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
13:55 - 00:45
CNS
-
DRW
11h 20m
1 stop
$638Multiple Airlines
Sat, 18 Jul - Sun, 19 Jul
Multiple Airlines Logo
19:20 - 08:30
DRW
-
CNS
12h 40m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
16:55 - 00:45
CNS
-
DRW
8h 20m
1 stop
$667Multiple Airlines
Mon, 20 Jul - Wed, 22 Jul
Multiple Airlines Logo
08:00 - 12:00
DRW
-
CNS
3h 30m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
16:55 - 00:45
CNS
-
DRW
8h 20m
1 stop
$679Multiple Airlines
Fri, 24 Jul - Sun, 26 Jul
Multiple Airlines Logo
01:30 - 13:10
DRW
-
CNS
11h 10m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
07:30 - 18:00
CNS
-
DRW
11h 00m
1 stop
$697Multiple Airlines
Sun, 19 Jul - Sun, 26 Jul
Multiple Airlines Logo
01:30 - 11:10
DRW
-
CNS
9h 10m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
07:30 - 18:00
CNS
-
DRW
11h 00m
1 stop
$707Multiple Airlines
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Darwin to Cairns flights

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

How much is a return flight from Darwin to Cairns?

This analysis is based on the cheapest return trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from Darwin to Cairns departing in July.

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

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

For Darwin to Cairns, Monday is the cheapest day to fly on average and Tuesday is the most expensive. Flying from Cairns back to Darwin, the best deals are generally found on Friday, with Sunday being the most expensive.

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

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Darwin to Cairns, 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 Darwin to Cairns is January, where tickets cost $623 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are June and May, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $913 and $899 respectively.

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

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.

Yes, flying with a stopover may cost you more time, but you can also save money on the route, with a 1 stop stopover the cheapest option at $761 on average.

Good to know

Low seasonMarch
Cheapest flight$264
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 5% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 13% lower on average.
Flight from Darwin to Cairns

When to book flights from Darwin to Cairns

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Darwin to Cairns 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 Darwin to Cairns

  • What is the cheapest flight from Darwin to Cairns?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Darwin to Cairns was $264 for a one-way ticket and $626 for a return.

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

    Darwin airport is called Darwin and the only airport in Cairns is Cairns.

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

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

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Darwin to Cairns?

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

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

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

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

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Darwin to Cairns are Virgin Australia and Qantas Airways. With an average price for the route of $712 and an overall rating of 7.6, Virgin Australia is the most popular choice. Qantas Airways is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $844 and an overall rating of 7.5.

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

    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 Darwin to Cairns.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Cairns from Darwin 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 Darwin to Cairns?

    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 Cairns with an airline and back to Darwin with another airline.

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

    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 Cairns from Darwin 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 Darwin to Cairns

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for $579 or less one-way and $837 or less round-trip.

Prefer to fly direct from Darwin to Cairns?

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

Direct departures

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

Direct returns

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

Reviews of the top 3 airlines flying from Darwin to Cairns

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Darwin to Cairns. 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 Darwin to Cairns? 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.
7.6
Virgin AustraliaOverall score based on 461 reviews
8.2Crew
7.5Comfort
6.4Entertainment
6.4Food
7.7Boarding
Airline reviews

Flight cancelled due to broken seat. $8 refreshment voucher barely bought a coffee. 3 hours to next flight. Also then delayed.

4.0 OkayChristopher, June 2026
CBR - MEL
Read more Virgin Australia reviews

Flight cancelled due to broken seat. $8 refreshment voucher barely bought a coffee. 3 hours to next flight. Also then delayed.

There were no food or entertainment on this short flight. Friendly staff even before getting on the flight. The seats were snug but it was quick flight

Good flight. On time. No problems. Plane was clean. Service was as you would expect. However nothing special, just a good flight.

Very friendly staff. No food service and no entertainment. Only 1hr 20min flight

High fees for excess checked baggage and somehow ridiculous rules for carry on bags.

Flight was late, food and drink an extra charge, my carry on is five rows behind me, and the seats are too narrow. Don’t ask me to be happy about it

I bought flights in August and there wasn’t a flight in the system

Our 6.30am flight was boarded then cancelled to fly at 10.55am . We were flying to Brisbane to attend a funeral at 12 noon an hour away . This means missing the funeral due to unreliability of Virgin . Unimpressed !!

It was with Link Airways and the Saab 340 jet was noisy and little comfort.

They didn’t sent my luggage I got it 24 hours later

I never flew with alliance. Kayak is a joke and none of the flights or times were correct. Won’t ever use kayak again

I missed my flight due to unforeseen circumstances It was, however , an excellent price !

My experience was great overall. Tanya was particularly friendly and helpful the entire trip. I was very pleased with her customer service skills. The plane was an older aircraft but the entire way was comfortable with barely any turbulence at all. Qantas should speed up its fleet renovation. Totally recommend using this airline.

Qantas is always subpar beyond comfy chairs for a domestic flight

I liked boarding the plane. The staff were rude, the food was appalling and the chairs the most uncomfortable I have ever experienced

an hour late, then had to disembark on back stairs and take 4 flights up to get to main airport. No warning, and difficulty for those with canes and poor knees.

Flight was canceled. I was not alerted. It was only kayak that alerted me

Flight was 2.5 hours late leaving. We spent 50 minutes of that sitting on the plane with no explanation. They did reduce the time in the air so we arrived a little less late which was something. The cheese and crackers were okay but the wine was terrible.

Excellent as always, I won't fly to Australia, and back to the US on any other airline. The flight crew is always top notch, and have a way to make one feel extra special. Thank you for your service, I would rate Qantas Airways a 10+.

After already paying for excess luggage prior to flight, i was advised AT check in that i had to pay $816 or forfeit my flight! The lady at the counter was SO rude and had already started offboarding me when i said i would pay it after asking her three times for the exact amount! Have lodged a formal complaint yet heard nothing. Will not ever travel via Qantas again

The Ryanair of Australia. Not impressed. Forced me to gate check my bag as it was over their weight limit. Charged me $125 for the privilege. Then said plane hold was locked and it would have to go out in the next flight, which was the following day. Explained that I was on a cruise the next day and the plane would not arrive until after the ship left, and that it would be impossible to catch up with the cruise at any point. Lady at the gate unimpressed. So to sum up they were ready to charge me $125 to lose a bag. Finally got it resolved by appealing to management, but the whole episode was not good for the blood pressure. The gate lady said they followed the Ryanair business model which means first time passengers get penalized for doing things that other airlines routinely allow.

Delayed 50 mins. Check in was excellent, boarding was good, everything else was OK and perfectly acceptable for a budget airline. Price was excellent. I noticed this airline had two other flights to our destination cancelled so not very reliable.

Horrible. The people that get this flights are very sick, dangerous and unhygienic

Great. Seats are a little cramped with only a very small recline. Service was great. Food was fine.

The flights got us to our destination. The seats on the planes were uncomfortable.

The smells on this plane were disgusting. So many sweaty and unhygienic people i couldn't stand it. I dream of being anywhere else in the world when I am on a JetStar flight they suck.

One of the better flights I’ve had w Jetstar. Smooth boarding, early take off, on time landing, very courteous crew, clean plane.

local frequent travellers know that Jetstar’s flights between MEL and LST are turnaround flights so those in the morning tend to run on time and become delayed increasingly through the day. We observed how the staff at check in and boarding try to assist, guide and facilitate travellers - they were courteous, efficient, amiable while enforcing Jetstar’s baggage requirements. They try to speed up boarding by having passengers board from both front and back. We would take Jetstar again.

The issue was a 4 hour delay to takeoff with very sketchy information provided about the available of the flights delay. Passengers were not informed of gate changes and how long the delay might be. It ended with a late night 2 hour drive to our home which was not ideal for elderly people.

Flight was fine with boarding starting a few minutes early. Not a fan of the crew pushing political messaging regarding indigenous naming of Brisbane city… really pushed it like I haven’t heard on Jetstar before.

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

Other airlines flying from Darwin to Cairns

Flights from the other most popular airlines that fly from Darwin to Cairns according to KAYAK users. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability are not guaranteed.