Which place is cheaper, Roatan or Cairns?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations. These travel costs come from the actual spending of real travelers.
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Should you visit Cairns or Roatan?
Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?
Should I visit Cairns or Roatan? This is a common question asked by many travelers. By figuring out which city has activities that align with your interests along with knowing which is more affordable, you'll understand where you can get more bang for your buck. So, let's dive into the details and the data, which all comes from actual travelers.
Where Should I go: Cairns or Roatan?
Cairns
Most travelers go to Cairns specifically to visit Great Barrier Reef. The city itself is surprisingly large and cosmopolitan with a population of approximately 140,000. The city's economy is almost exclusively based on tourism, although you will find some jobs centered around agriculture, or more specifically sugar cane, bananas, coffee, tea, wine, and some tropical fruits. The city itself is surrounded by rainforest and makes a great base for exploring Kuranda, with the Barron Gorge National Park and the Daintree offering a quieter tropical getaway than Cairns.
Roatan
Your next great vacation lies just thirty miles off the north coast of Honduras. Right above the world's largest coral reef is the island of Roatan. As a popular tourist attraction and standard cruise destination, it's not uncommon to see tons of Americans during your trip. In fact, the cruising industry has had huge impact on the island's culture. While ships are in port, traffic will be heavier and prices may go up. Because of the growth of tourism, most locals speak both Spanish and English.
For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best 4-Week (1-Month) Tours in Australia, The Best Budget Tours to Australia, The Best Adventure Tours to Honduras, and The Best Adventure Tours to Honduras.
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Cairns Prices
Australia PricesRoatan Prices
Honduras Prices -
Average Daily Cost Per person, per dayCairns $123Roatan $42
The average daily cost (per person) in Cairns is $123, while the average daily cost in Roatan is $42. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each destination. What follows is a categorical breakdown of travel costs for Cairns and Roatan in more detail.
Accommodation
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Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one personCairns $46Roatan $10
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Accommodation Typical double-occupancy roomCairns $92Roatan $20
Compare Hotels in Cairns and Roatan
Looking for a hotel in Cairns or Roatan? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options and compare which is best for your budget and travel style.
Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world. Compare prices for multiple destinations when planning your next trip.
Our Analysis
We've analyzed the average and typical hotel prices based on guest reviews, star ratings, and hotel amenities here: Cairns Hotel Prices.
Local Transportation
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Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.Cairns $13Roatan $17
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Cairns
Also for Cairns, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:
- Cairns Airport: Shared Transfer: $15
- Shared Airport Transfer to/from City and Beaches: $15
- Cairns Airport Shared Transfer to Cairns: $20
- Hotel Transfers From Cairns to Palm Cove or Port Douglas: $33
- Hotel Transfers from Palm Cove to Cairns: $33
- Hotel Transfers from Palm Cove to Port Douglas: $37
- Cairns airport to cairns city private Transfers ( one way ): $40
- CNS Airport to Cairns City Centre Private Transfer: $47
- Cairns Airport (CNS) to Cairns hotels - Arrival Private Transfer: $50
- Cairns hotels to Cairns Airport(CNS) - Departure Private Transfer: $50
- Cairns Airport Private Transfer: Door-to-Door to/from City Hotels: $53
- Shared Shuttle Return Transfers (ex Cairns) Transfers Only: $68
Typical Local Transportation Prices in Roatan
Some typical examples of transportation costs in Roatan are as follows:
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Water Taxi$3.92
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Roatan
Some specific examples of transportation prices in Roatan:
- Transfers to West End by night from hotels in West Bay or Sandy Bay: $25
- Scuba Dive in the West End of Roatan with Private Transfer: $155
- Roatan to Mahogany Bay Cruise Port - Departure Private Transfer: $56
- Roatan Zipline, Monkey, Macaws & Sloths Eco Park, Snorkeling, Transfer: $128
- Roatan West Bay Beach Break with Roundtrip Transfer: $75
- Roatan Private Transfers: Airport, Cruise Port or Hotel: $110
- Roatan Buggy Adventure, Snorkeling, Beach Pass plus Private Transfer: $207
- Private Transfer from Honduras Roatan Airport (RTB) to Roatan Hotels: $151
- Let's Go Native Roatan City Cultural Tour, Transfer: $80
- King Kong Extreme Zipline, City Tour and Transfer: $130
- Honduras Roatan Airport (RTB) to Roatan -Round-Trip Transfer: $111
- Discover Scuba Diving in Roatan at Upachaya with Private Transfer: $150
Is it cheaper to fly into Cairns or Roatan?
Prices for flights to both Roatan and Cairns change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.
Food
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Food Meals for one dayCairns $52Roatan $15
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Cairns
For Cairns, here are some samples of tours and activities related to meals and dining experiences:
- Dinner Cruise Experience: $92
- Night at the Aquarium Guided Tour & 2 Course Dinner: $96
- Cairns Catamaran Harbour and Dinner Cruise: $103
- Night at the Aquarium Tour & 2 Course Dinner: $108
- Aquarium Guided Twilight Tour with 3-Course Dinner: $118
- Ancient Egypt Sunset Tour with 3 Course Dinner in Cairns: $124
- Ancient Egypt Night Tour with 2 Course Dinner in Cairns: $124
- Tomb of the Pharaohs Night Tour and 2 Course Dinner in Cairns: $127
- Cairns Aquarium by Twilight Tour and 3-Course Dinner: $134
- City Sights Tour with Evening Dinner Cruise: $171
- Paronella Park Rainforest Full-Day Tour with Dinner: $66,130
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Roatan
Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Roatan.
- Private Roundtrip Transfer to West End for Dinner and Nightlife: $70
- Roatan Cooking Class and Cultural Experience: $125
- Cooking classes from a Local!: $245
Entertainment
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Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.Cairns $40Roatan $25
Typical Entertainment Prices in Cairns
Below are a few sample prices from actual travelers for Cairns's activities, tours, and tickets:
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Scuba Diving$38
Tours and Activities in Cairns
For Cairns, here are a few prices for actual activities, tours, and tickets provided by various companies:
- Skip the Line: Cairns Museum Admission Ticket: $11
- Koalas and Creatures Entry Ticket: $13
- Kuranda: Riverboat Tour: $20
- Kuranda Riverboat Sightseeing Cruise: $21
- Private Self-Guided Secrets of Cairns Exploration Game Tour: $23
- Kuranda Koala Gardens and Birdworld Admission Tickets: $31
- Tomb of the Pharaohs Entry Ticket: $32
- Entry Ticket at Historic Village Herberton: $33
- Cairns Koalas and Creatures Entry Ticket with Koala Photo: $37
- Hipster and Street Art Walking Tour: $38
- Cairns Aquarium General Admission Ticket: $38
- Sightseeing River Boat Safari with Soft Drinks: $41
Tours and Activities in Roatan
Some specific costs of activities, tours, and entrance tickets for Roatan are as follows:
- 1 Stop Snorkel Adventure with Beach Break: $45
- 4 Hours Private Tour with Snorkeling and West Bay Beach Break: $80
- ATV & community adventure, Mangrove tour, food tasting and Beach: $145
- ATV Adventure , Zip Line , Horseback Ride Combo Tour: $175
- ATV Jungle Adventure and Beach Retreat in Roatan: $99
- ATV Safari and Horseback Adventure at Mahogany Bay: $99
- ATVS, Sloths and Monkeys, Beach Break Private Tour: $130
- Adventures of Roatan ATV Pineapple beach break: $120
- Atv Island Tour: $140
- Beer and Food Tasting Experience at Roatan Island Brewing Company: $100
- Costumed tours in paradise: $65
- Cruise Excursion – 2 Scuba Dives with transport (for certified divers): $185
Alcohol
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Alcohol Drinks for one dayCairns $14Roatan $6.50
Sample the Local Flavors in Cairns
Here are a few nightlife and alcohol tours and activities from local tour providers in Cairns:
- From Atherton Tablelands Food and Wine Tasting Tour: $169
- Adventure &Taste Atherton Tablelands Food & Wine Tour from Cairns: $188
Sample the Local Flavors in Roatan
Some specific costs for nightlife related activities in Roatan:
- Bar Crawl Tour in West End Village by Pedibike- Let the Good Times Roll: $80
- Roatan Horseback Ride, Island Tour and Brewery Tasting: $125
When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Cairns and Roatan, we can see that Cairns is more expensive. And not only is Roatan much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Cairns is in Pacific and Roatan is in Central America, this is one of the main reasons why the costs are so different, as different regions of the world tend to have overall different travel costs. So, traveling to Roatan would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Roatan and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Cairns would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Cairns than you might in Roatan.
If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Cairns Expensive? and Is Roatan Expensive?.
Which is Bigger, Cairns or Roatan?
Cairns has a larger population, and is about 20 times larger than the population of Roatan. When comparing the sizes of Cairns and Roatan, keep in mind that a larger population does not always imply the destination has more attractions or better activities. So, always research the type of place that you want to visit along with the activities and attractions that interest you.
Budget Your Trip is all about finding out how much everything costs so that you can travel cheaper and longer. Created by avid travelers Laurie and Bryan, our goal is to help you plan your next trip on the right budget. With average daily travel costs that are calculated from the budgets of real travelers, plus an analysis of hotel and tour prices, you can find out how much money you need to plan your next adventure. We also have plenty of travel advice, accommodation reviews, and activity suggestions.