One of the liveliest places we visited in central Cairns was
Cairns Night Markets.
We bought souvenirs,
had dinner in the food court
and spent an easy evening looking around.
When you hear “night market,”
you might wonder:
“Will it be tiring if it gets too late?”
or
“Will I feel comfortable walking around at night?”
We only stayed for a relatively short time
from late afternoon into the evening,
and
we found it easy to enjoy even in our 60s.
In this article,
I'll share what the Cairns Night Markets were really like when we visited,
including
food court options, souvenirs, nearby convenience stores and practical tips for older travellers.
Cairns Night Markets: Basic Information
Here is the basic information for Cairns Night Markets.
- Opening hours: Daily, 4:30 PM–11:00 PM
- Address: 54–60 Abbott St, Cairns City QLD, near the Esplanade
- Indoor market: Convenient even on rainy days
- Credit cards: Accepted at many shops, although this may vary
- Restrooms: Available
Opening hours may change, so check the latest information before visiting. Prices shown in this article include prices from our own visit and may have changed.
How Long Do You Need at Cairns Night Markets?
One nice thing about the food court is that
you do not usually have to wait as long as you might at a sit-down restaurant.
So even if you do not have much time,
you can still enjoy the market.
If you want to browse souvenirs properly,
I would allow a little longer.
- General visit: Around 1–2 hours
- Food court only: Around 45 minutes
- Food + souvenir shopping: Around 90 minutes
Why We Found It Easy to Enjoy in Our 60s
For us,
visiting from late afternoon until around 8 PM
felt very manageable.
✔ Indoor and easy to walk around
✔ Large food court, including Japanese food
✔ Plenty of relatively inexpensive souvenirs
✔ We even came across Japanese-speaking staff during our visit
We personally felt comfortable visiting during the early evening.
As anywhere,
it is still a good idea to stay aware of your surroundings,
especially later at night
and when buying from shops where prices are not clearly displayed.
SKEWERS LOVER｜Freshly Fried Meat and Vegetable Skewers
First,
let me show you what we ate.
We bought fried skewers from
SKEWERS LOVER.
You could buy the skewers individually,
with choices including
meat,
seafood,
cheese
and vegetables.
They were fried after we ordered,
so we could eat them
fresh and hot.
When we visited,
some skewers were available from around
AUD1 each.
Being able to order only as much as you want
also makes this an easy option if you are trying to keep food costs down.
We ate them in the food court.
Delicious!
The fried coating felt surprisingly light,
which I liked.
Each skewer was not too large either,
so we could try several different kinds
and adjust the amount depending on how hungry we were.
We tried meat skewers
and lotus root skewers.
They were the kind of thing
you could easily keep eating without noticing how many you had ordered.
Blue Lagoon Bar｜A Very Generous Fish & Chips
Next,
we tried
Blue Lagoon Bar
for
fish and chips.
We ordered
Hoki & Chips, which was AUD18.22 when we visited.
And the portion was...
huge.
I genuinely wondered whether we would finish it,
but
sharing one portion between two of us was just right.
Portions in Australia can be generous,
so sharing can sometimes make eating out
surprisingly reasonable.
In Australia, sharing a big plate can be one of the easiest ways to keep food costs down.
The batter felt light,
the white fish inside was soft and fluffy,
and the chips were nice and fluffy inside too.
Australia really does fried food well♪
For drinks,
we had a draft beer
and a mango smoothie.
There was a Japanese staff member at the smoothie shop when we visited,
so we were able to order in Japanese.
For Japanese travellers in their 60s
who may feel a little nervous ordering in English,
that was reassuring.
The Food Court Also Has Chinese and Japanese Food
There are many different kinds of food
at Cairns Night Markets.
This was one of the Chinese-style food stalls.
There were also Japanese dishes such as
ramen,
udon
and rice bowls.
From a Japanese perspective,
the prices can feel a little expensive compared with eating the same food in Japan,
but if you start missing Japanese food during your trip,
it is nice to know the option is there.
One thing I found funny was that
many Japanese visitors seemed to be eating things like fish and chips,
while quite a few international visitors were eating Japanese food.
Everyone had apparently travelled all that way
to eat someone else's local food.
Cairns Night Markets Can Be Good for Affordable Souvenirs
After dinner,
we went
souvenir shopping.
There are many different shops inside the market.
For the classic Cairns souvenirs we compared,
the Night Markets often seemed reasonably priced.
We found things like
kangaroo and koala stuffed toys
and keyrings.
Some were
cheaper than similar souvenirs we had seen elsewhere.
So if you are looking for classic,
easy-to-pack Australian souvenirs,
the Night Markets are worth checking.
We Found Discounted Souvenir Golf Balls
This shop was having a sale
when we visited,
so a number of items were discounted.
We bought these golf balls for
AUD15.95.
We had seen similar ones for around AUD17 elsewhere,
so we managed to save a little.
Lucky☆
If you're also looking for reasonably priced meals in Cairns,
our steak comparison may be useful too.
Rainforest Gift｜One of Our Favourite Souvenir Shops
One shop we especially liked for souvenirs was
Rainforest Gift.
It had lots of cute gifts,
coffee
and other items that were easy to take home as souvenirs.
When we visited,
a Japanese woman on a working holiday was working there.
I do not know whether Japanese-speaking staff are there every day,
but being able to ask questions in Japanese
was very helpful for us.
Manuka Honey — Lots of Choices
One of the things we bought was
Manuka honey.
When we looked for Manuka honey during this trip,
we did not find it at the Coles supermarket we visited.
We saw it instead at souvenir shops
and at the Night Markets.
Rainforest Gift had several different kinds,
and during our visit
the prices also seemed lower than some of the souvenir shops we had checked.
We bought
MGO 550+ Manuka honey.
MGO is one of the grading systems used for Manuka honey,
and MGO 550+ is considered a relatively high grade.
It was not something we often saw back home,
so I was happy to find it in Cairns.
We Also Bought Cairns Highlands Coffee
They also sold
Cairns Highlands Coffee,
coffee produced in the Cairns region.
We really enjoyed coffee in Australia,
so we thought it would make a good souvenir too.
There were several different flavours and styles.
The Japanese-speaking staff member
explained the differences to us,
which made choosing much easier.
I bought
Queensland Blue,
a well-balanced coffee♪
Lemon Myrtle Soap — The Scent Was So Fresh
The fresh lemon scent was wonderful.
We bought a natural
lemon myrtle soap.
Honestly,
I do not think I had ever smelled a soap
with such a fresh lemon fragrance before.
It cost
AUD5.95 when we visited.
I remember thinking that
even something as ordinary as washing your hands
would feel a little nicer with that smell.
Koalas, Kangaroos, Birds and Wombats Everywhere
There were also cups,
glasses
and small gifts decorated with
koalas,
kangaroos,
birds
and wombats.
Australia has
so many cute animal designs.
I bought this cute
sulphur-crested cockatoo pouch
for around AUD15.
They also had a tablet case with the same design.
And yes...
I still regret not buying the tablet case too.
The pouch is still one of my favourite souvenirs.
Convenience Stores Near Cairns Night Markets｜Watch for Missing Price Tags
There is one thing
I would pay attention to around Cairns Night Markets:
convenience store pricing.
This was an
EZY MART
near the market.
When we visited, we could not see price labels on the products.
Because we had no idea how much the items would cost,
we decided not to buy anything.
Later,
someone who had shopped there told us that
two drinks and one snack had cost them around
¥2,600 in total.
That was their experience,
not ours,
but it certainly made us glad we had checked before buying.
When prices are not displayed,
I would ask the price before paying.
Some travel decisions are complicated.
This one was not.
No price tag?
We walked away.
NightOwl｜Prices Were Clearly Displayed
There was also a
NightOwl
near the Night Markets.
When we visited,
prices were clearly displayed there.
This 1.5-litre bottle of water
was AUD4 at the time.
After seeing a shop without visible prices,
seeing an actual price tag felt strangely reassuring.
Villa Romana｜The Busiest Restaurant We Saw
The busiest restaurant we saw around the Night Markets
was this Italian restaurant.
It was called
Villa Romana.
There was a queue when we passed by,
and it looked very popular.
Next time we visit Cairns,
I'd like to try it.
Our Cairns Night Markets Experience in Our 60s
For us,
Cairns Night Markets felt like one of the main evening gathering places in the city.
You do not need to be looking for
loud nightlife
to enjoy it.
For travellers like us,
who simply want to
eat a few good things and take our time choosing souvenirs for people we care about,
it was a fun and easy evening out.
We especially liked that everything was indoors,
there were many food choices,
and souvenir shopping did not feel rushed.
And for Japanese travellers,
we happened to meet Japanese-speaking staff at more than one place during our visit,
which made things even easier.
That was our experience at Cairns Night Markets.
For us,
it was not about staying out until midnight.
A good meal, a little shopping, a cute bird pouch...
and knowing when to walk away from a convenience store with no price tags.
That was enough for a very good Cairns evening.
More Cairns travel articles
Shangri-La The Marina Cairns Review
Kuranda Skyrail from Cairns in Our 60s
Where We Stayed in Cairns
We stayed at
Shangri-La The Marina, Cairns,
about an 8-minute walk from the Night Markets.
Because the area immediately around the market was lively,
we liked staying a little farther away
where the atmosphere felt quieter and more relaxed.
