$1,586 Find Cheap Flights from South Africa to Cairns – Compare and Save

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Cheap Flights from South Africa to Cairns

 
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent return flight deals from South Africa to Cairns

Mon, 19 Apr - Tue, 28 Sep
Singapore Airlines Logo
10:40 - 17:05Cape Town  Cape Town Intl-Cairns Cairns
22h 25m2 stops Johannesburg OR Tambo Singapore Changi
Singapore Airlines Logo
18:00 - 09:25Cairns  Cairns-Cape Town Cape Town Intl
23h 25m2 stops Singapore Changi Johannesburg OR Tambo
$1,586Singapore Airlines
3+ days ago
Tue, 10 Nov - Sat, 14 Nov
Qatar Airways Logo
20:20 - 16:45Johannesburg  Johannesburg OR Tambo-Cairns Cairns
60h 25m2 stops Doha Hamad Intl Sydney Kingsford Smith
Qatar Airways Logo
11:45 - 15:35Cairns  Cairns-Johannesburg Johannesburg OR Tambo
35h 50m2 stops Melbourne Doha Hamad Intl
$1,911Qatar Airways
3+ days ago
Wed, 10 Feb - Sun, 14 Feb
Qatar Airways Logo
20:20 - 11:05Johannesburg  Johannesburg OR Tambo-Cairns Cairns
30h 45m2 stops Doha Hamad Intl Melbourne
Qatar Airways Logo
11:45 - 15:35Cairns  Cairns-Johannesburg Johannesburg OR Tambo
35h 50m2 stops Melbourne Doha Hamad Intl
$1,948Qatar Airways
3+ days ago
Wed, 10 Feb - Sun, 14 Feb
Qatar Airways Logo
20:20 - 11:05Johannesburg  Johannesburg OR Tambo-Cairns Cairns
30h 45m2 stops Doha Hamad Intl Melbourne
Qatar Airways Logo
11:45 - 15:35Cairns  Cairns-Johannesburg Johannesburg OR Tambo
35h 50m2 stops Melbourne Doha Hamad Intl
$1,958Qatar Airways
3+ days ago
Wed, 10 Feb - Sun, 14 Feb
Qatar Airways Logo
20:20 - 11:05Johannesburg  Johannesburg OR Tambo-Cairns Cairns
30h 45m2 stops Doha Hamad Intl Melbourne
Qatar Airways Logo
11:45 - 15:35Cairns  Cairns-Johannesburg Johannesburg OR Tambo
35h 50m2 stops Melbourne Doha Hamad Intl
$1,959Qatar Airways
2 days ago
Wed, 10 Feb - Sun, 14 Feb
Qatar Airways Logo
20:20 - 11:05Johannesburg  Johannesburg OR Tambo-Cairns Cairns
30h 45m2 stops Doha Hamad Intl Melbourne
Qatar Airways Logo
11:45 - 15:35Cairns  Cairns-Johannesburg Johannesburg OR Tambo
35h 50m2 stops Melbourne Doha Hamad Intl
$1,961Qatar Airways
1 day ago
Wed, 10 Feb - Sun, 14 Feb
Qatar Airways Logo
20:20 - 11:05Johannesburg  Johannesburg OR Tambo-Cairns Cairns
30h 45m2 stops Doha Hamad Intl Melbourne
Qatar Airways Logo
11:45 - 15:35Cairns  Cairns-Johannesburg Johannesburg OR Tambo
35h 50m2 stops Melbourne Doha Hamad Intl
$1,965Qatar Airways
17 hours ago
Wed, 10 Feb - Sun, 14 Feb
Singapore Airlines Logo
13:40 - 17:15Johannesburg  Johannesburg OR Tambo-Cairns Cairns
19h 35m1 stop Singapore Changi
Singapore Airlines Logo
18:20 - 06:10Cairns  Cairns-Johannesburg Johannesburg OR Tambo
19h 50m1 stop Singapore Changi
$1,996Singapore Airlines
3+ days ago
Wed, 10 Feb - Sun, 14 Feb
Singapore Airlines Logo
13:40 - 17:15Johannesburg  Johannesburg OR Tambo-Cairns Cairns
19h 35m1 stop Singapore Changi
Singapore Airlines Logo
18:20 - 06:10Cairns  Cairns-Johannesburg Johannesburg OR Tambo
19h 50m1 stop Singapore Changi
$2,007Singapore Airlines
2 days ago
Wed, 10 Feb - Sun, 14 Feb
Singapore Airlines Logo
13:40 - 17:15Johannesburg  Johannesburg OR Tambo-Cairns Cairns
19h 35m1 stop Singapore Changi
Singapore Airlines Logo
18:20 - 06:10Cairns  Cairns-Johannesburg Johannesburg OR Tambo
19h 50m1 stop Singapore Changi
$2,009Singapore Airlines
1 day ago
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to Cairns

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

What is the cheapest month to fly to Cairns?

The cheapest month for flights to Cairns is May, where tickets cost $1,432 on average for return flights. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and August, where the average cost of tickets from South Africa is $2,204 and $2,046 respectively. For one-way flights, the best month to travel is December with an average price of $641.

Good to know

Low season

March
Best time to beat the crowds (13% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 19% lower on average.

FAQs - booking Cairns flights

  • How far is Cairns Airport from central Cairns?

    You’ll need to travel 4 km to reach the Cairns city centre from Cairns Airport.

  • What is the name of Cairns’s airport?

    When flying to Cairns, you'll arrive at Cairns Airport (CNS). The airport is also known as Cairns or Cairns Intl.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights 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 to Cairns.

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

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

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

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Cairns 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 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 up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • How many direct flights to Cairns are there each week?

    Each week there are around 1,056 direct flights from within South Africa to Cairns. The most common day for departures is Sunday, with 16% of flights taking off on this day.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Cairns

  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest Cairns flight deals.

Reviews of the top airline flying from South Africa to Cairns

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with 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.
8.2
Singapore AirlinesOverall score based on 1631 reviews
8.3Boarding
7.8Food
8.1Entertainment
8.0Comfort
8.6Crew
Airline reviews

It was good but n it to the same standard as London to Singapore

8.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Sept 2026
Read more Singapore Airlines reviews

It was good but n it to the same standard as London to Singapore

a longer gap btw the supper and breakfast would have been better - felt like the sleep was way too fragmented on this red eye flight

I loved the full Taylor Swift selection but felt that the other selections were limited, didn’t span the popular music eras nor a wide enough range of music genres. BUT the seat and bed were GREAT (it was wide, long enough, had great storage, firm enough to uphold body postural comfort). Outstanding crew and really great food - gourmet innovative dim sum breakfast so different from the boring standard fare offered by many other business class products.

The consistency with Singapore Airlines is fantastic. Crew are always brilliant and food delicious in business class

The business class seats were very uncomfortable. When in lie flat position my legs were very restricted.

It was very good experience on board to Sydney with SQ.

Fantastic patience when one of the passengers behind me was an absolute horrible, horrible person and the girls just kept smiling and doing their job with patience and kindness. Well, done to the crew.

Didn't like much at all Nowhere near enough legroom, narrow seats. Aisles not wide enough for safe food trolley access and husband had his knee hit cos not enough leg room. Would take a lot to convince us to fly Singapore Airlines again which is a pity cos it was always our go-to airline

Once again the meal served was delicious - we got chicken rice

A very small gate at Singapore airport, lots of people packed into a small area…. A Petrie dish for infection. The flight was late although the captain did make up time. We had an aisle and middle economy class seat on the plane. The flight appeared to be very full. The seats were small, hard and very uncomfortable with minimal leg room. I’m a small woman and felt really cramped. My husband is a big man and stated he was unable to move at all in his seat. We were given 2 meals during the flight from Singapore to Brisbane. Our first meal was okay at best but the second meal was inedible. I think it was supposed to be veg in pastry but the pastry was full of air with minimal if any filling. The staff were pleasant and efficient. Getting off the plane went without any problems. It did take an extended period of time for our bags to come out onto the carousel. For the best ‘airline’ in the world, it was pretty poor. If Singapore is the best, what are the others like?

Travelling to a place near Cairns?

Book flights to Cairns if you plan to visit one of these locations
Mission Beach
Trinity Beach

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