Cairns & Port Douglas
Tropical North Queensland: IRONMAN Cairns along the coast and Run Port Douglas by Four Mile Beach. How to plan your race week.
Where to stay
Areas that work on race weekThe run course and finish are on the Esplanade. Restaurants and the lagoon are on your doorstep.
MapA beach village by the swim start. Quieter, with good cafés.
MapQuieter beaches between Cairns and Palm Cove.
MapAbout an hour north of Cairns. Stay in town and walk to Four Mile Beach and Macrossan Street.
MapLocal favourites
Grouped by what you need on race week. Tap Map to open each place in Google Maps.Run
4A flat waterfront path along the run course.
Map ↗The coastal bike course. Ride it early and watch the traffic.
Map ↗A short climb to the Trinity Bay lookout. A good leg-opener before race day.
Map ↗Refuel
8Recover
1A free saltwater swimming lagoon by the sea. The safe place for a recovery swim.
Map ↗Explore
3Snorkel or dive on the reef. Save it for after the race.
Map ↗Rainforest walks and a river 20 minutes from Port Douglas. Save it for after the race.
Map ↗Local crews
Groups that welcome visitors. Times change, so check each group's own channel before you go.A free club run all year. Visitors are welcome, just turn up.
Free, timed 5 km along the Esplanade.
Follow ↗Trail rides in the rainforest hills behind Cairns.
Good to know
The dry season: warm days around 26–28°C and cooler mornings around 18–20°C. Hydrate like a Singapore race.
Only swim at patrolled beaches, inside the stinger nets, or in the Esplanade Lagoon. Crocodiles and jellyfish are real in Far North Queensland.
IRONMAN Cairns finishes on the Cairns Esplanade, and the bike course heads up the coast toward Port Douglas. Run Port Douglas is a separate running festival in town. Check both organisers' sites for this year's dates.
The guide shows race details once IRONMAN Cairns is on our calendar. Admin: add it as an sp_event with 'Cairns' in the name.
Our stories from Cairns & Port Douglas
See all →Plan your days in Cairns & Port Douglas
Pick your dates and how hard you want to go, and we'll lay out every day: shakeout, routes, recovery, cafés and race day. ATHLO+ doesn't sell trips for this race yet, so you register with the organiser and can pick up your kit on ATHLO+.