Which place is cheaper, Shangri-La or Cairns?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.
Should I visit Cairns or Shangri-La? 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.
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.
The original Shangri-La existed in the fictional world of James Hilton's novel "The Lost Horizon." It was a hidden paradise, a place so beautiful that it couldn't possibly exist on earth. The Shangri-La that exists in Yunnan, China today was renamed from its former title Zhongdian in 2001 in order to associate the place with the mystical allure created in Hilton's novel. Visitors come to admire the traditional monasteries and temples set against a backdrop of mountain preserves and pristine lakes.
For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best Contiki Tours to Australia, The Best G Adventures Tours to Australia, The Best 2-Week Tours from Beijing, and The Best Family-Friendly Tours to China.
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.
The average daily cost (per person) in Cairns is $94, while the average daily cost in Shangri-La is $46. 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 Shangri-La in more detail.
Looking for a hotel in Cairns or Shangri-La? 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.
Also for Cairns, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:
Some specific examples of transportation prices in Shangri-La:
Prices for flights to both Shangri-La 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.
For Cairns, here are some samples of tours and activities related to meals and dining experiences:
Below are a few sample prices from actual travelers for Cairns's activities, tours, and tickets:
For Cairns, here are a few prices for actual activities, tours, and tickets provided by various companies:
Some specific costs of activities, tours, and entrance tickets for Shangri-La are as follows:
Here are a few nightlife and alcohol tours and activities from local tour providers in Cairns:
When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Cairns and Shangri-La, we can see that Cairns is more expensive. And not only is Shangri-La much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Cairns is in Pacific and Shangri-La is in Asia, 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 Shangri-La would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Shangri-La 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 Shangri-La.
If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Cairns Expensive? and Is Shangri-La Expensive?.