Traveling to Cairns by air? You’ll want to get the best rental car deal at Cairns Airport.

At minimum, five car rental companies offer cars for rent at Cairns Airport: Europcar, Avis, Thrifty, Hertz and Budget.

Having a car in Cairns is a definite plus.

With a car, you can drive to the trailhead of the 45-minute hike to Behana Gorge, which features whitewater rapids and freshwater swimming holes, both shaded and sunny. Be sure to pack your bathing suit and runners, for you’re sure to want to cool off by taking a plunge. On the hike to the falls, you might see goannas (Australian monitor lizards).

With a car, you can tour the Skybury Coffee Plantation, which produces over 60% of Australia’s coffee.

The drive to the plantation winds up the Kuranda Range, flanked by tropical rain forest, through a eucalyptus forest and eventually enters a savannah landscape, complete with paw paw, longan, coffee, pineapple, mango and lychee farms.

The plantation’s Australian Coffee Centre offers tastings of world-class Arabica coffee prepared by expert coffee professionals. The Centre also houses a 140-set gourmet restaurant, licensed bar, coffee laboratory, gift shop and coffee cinema.

Continuing past the Coffee Centre, you’ll arrive at the township of Mareeba and its wetlands, where you can stay overnight, safari-style.

You can’t stay in Cairns without experiencing the Cairns Great Barrier Reef, which, in 1770, punctured the hull of the Endeavor, the boat captained by James Cook who claimed Australia for Britain.

Dozens of reef tour companies are available to guide you about the reef area, which is twice the size of Tasmania, by boat or by seaplane.