DRW - CNS

$278 Find Cheap Flights from Darwin to Cairns

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 15/7. 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 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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Flights 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

Tue, 5 Aug - Fri, 8 Aug
Airnorth Logo
07:20 - 11:20DRW-CNS
3h 30m1 stop
Airnorth Logo
16:00 - 19:00CNS-DRW
3h 30m1 stop
$611Airnorth
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Sat, 26 Jul - Sun, 3 Aug
Jetstar Logo
01:50 - 09:10DRW-CNS
30h 50m1 stop
Jetstar Logo
06:00 - 00:35CNS-DRW
19h 05m1 stop
$631Jetstar
Find Deal
Fri, 25 Jul - Sat, 2 Aug
Jetstar Logo
01:30 - 20:55DRW-CNS
18h 55m1 stop
Jetstar Logo
15:35 - 00:35CNS-DRW
9h 30m1 stop
$636Jetstar
Find Deal
Sat, 26 Jul - Sun, 3 Aug
Jetstar Logo
01:50 - 09:10DRW-CNS
30h 50m1 stop
Jetstar Logo
06:00 - 00:35CNS-DRW
19h 05m1 stop
$639Jetstar
Find Deal
Fri, 25 Jul - Sat, 2 Aug
Jetstar Logo
01:30 - 11:15DRW-CNS
9h 15m1 stop
Jetstar Logo
15:35 - 00:35CNS-DRW
9h 30m1 stop
$646Jetstar
Find Deal
Fri, 1 Aug - Thu, 7 Aug
Airnorth Logo
05:45 - 15:35DRW-CNS
9h 20m2 stops
Airnorth Logo
12:20 - 15:20CNS-DRW
3h 30m1 stop
$688Airnorth
Find Deal
Thu, 31 Jul - Fri, 8 Aug
Virgin Australia Logo
01:30 - 23:35DRW-CNS
21h 35m1 stop
Virgin Australia Logo
06:00 - 00:45CNS-DRW
19h 15m1 stop
$731Virgin Australia
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Sun, 3 Aug - Fri, 8 Aug
Virgin Australia Logo
01:30 - 13:10DRW-CNS
11h 10m1 stop
Virgin Australia Logo
06:00 - 00:45CNS-DRW
19h 15m1 stop
$766Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Sat, 28 Jun - Mon, 30 Jun
Qantas Airways Logo
13:15 - 16:15DRW-CNS
2h 30mdirect
Qantas Airways Logo
17:45 - 19:55CNS-DRW
2h 40mdirect
$814Qantas Airways
Find Deal
Fri, 18 Jul - Mon, 21 Jul
Qantas Airways Logo
13:15 - 16:15DRW-CNS
2h 30mdirect
Qantas Airways Logo
17:45 - 19:55CNS-DRW
2h 40mdirect
$850Qantas Airways
Find Deal
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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.

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, Wednesday is the cheapest day to fly on average and Friday is the most expensive. Flying from Cairns back to Darwin, the best deals are generally found on Wednesday, with Saturday 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 October, where tickets cost $448 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are July and November, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $921 and $775 respectively.

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

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure 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 average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from Darwin to Cairns, you should book around 1 week before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 12 weeks before departure.


Good to know

Low seasonMarch
High seasonDecember
Cheapest flight$278
Best time to beat the crowds (0% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly (8% more expensive 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 $181 for a one-way ticket and $398 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, Qantas Airways or Jetstar?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Darwin to Cairns are Qantas Airways and Jetstar. With an average price for the route of $744 and an overall rating of 7.5, Qantas Airways is the most popular choice. Jetstar is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $631 and an overall rating of 6.6.

  • 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 $378 or less one-way and $655 or less round-trip.

Prefer to fly 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
See more direct flights

Top 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.
7.5
Qantas AirwaysOverall score based on 854 reviews
6.9Food
7.7Boarding
7.1Entertainment
7.4Comfort
8.2Crew
Airline reviews

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

4.0 OkayAnonymous, May 2025SYD - ADL
Read more Qantas Airways reviews

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

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?

Airport and crew experience was excellent. We had to queue for the runway - no one’s fault, but it did mean we were 30 minutes late leaving

Overall good experience with flight and airport wheelchair staff. Also got Indian food in the flights

Very good as always, stand out airline. The passengers whom choose to stuff baggage that otherwise should be checked-in is a real bother but that's not the airlines doing. A real frustration that passengers just don't want to check-in luggage. This is a pet hate unfortunately.

It’s a two prop flight so I had problems with my ears on re- entering ! But otherwise fine

I love flying with Qantas. There was no onscreen entertaining on this flight, and only a snack provided (not a meal) but still better than Jetstar or Virgin (in my opinion) so still happy.

Wheelchair assistance to move through the terminals and to/from the plane door was excellent. No vegan snack on the flight, only something with salami and cheese in it.

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.

Not very good, no food and not drink ( caffe or tea). Never ever fly with jet star.

Fabulous I have no issues with JetStar great service always use them to fly

Flight was as expected - we got what we paid for which was a base fare

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

Information on your arrival and departure airports

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