Which place is cheaper, Cairns or Tiger Leaping Gorge?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.
Which city should you visit? Read on to compare the activities as well as the prices of travel for Tiger Leaping Gorge and Cairns. We'll break down costs for accommodation, food, transportation and more to help you learn more about these two destinations. Then, you can figure out if either of these two places are accessible based on your travel budget, schedule, and interests. So, let's dig into it.
One of the deepest gorges in the world, Tiger Leaping Gorge gets its name from legend, where a tiger used a great rock in the center of the gorge as a stepping stone to leap from one side to the other. It is surrounded by stunning mountain scenery on either side with the Yangtze River rushing down through its center. Visitors come to Tiger Leaping Gorge to hike and witness its natural beauty.
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.
For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best One-Week (7-Day) Tours from Beijing, The Best One-Week (7-Day) Tours from Lhasa, The Best Contiki Tours to Australia, and The Best G Adventures Tours to Australia.
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.
The average daily cost (per person) in Tiger Leaping Gorge is $41, while the average daily cost in Cairns is $94. 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 Tiger Leaping Gorge and Cairns in more detail.
Looking for a hotel in Tiger Leaping Gorge or Cairns? 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:
Prices for flights to both Cairns and Tiger Leaping Gorge 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:
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 Tiger Leaping Gorge and Cairns, we can see that Cairns is more expensive. And not only is Tiger Leaping Gorge much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Tiger Leaping Gorge is in Asia and Cairns is in Pacific, 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 Tiger Leaping Gorge would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Tiger Leaping Gorge 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 Tiger Leaping Gorge.
If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Tiger Leaping Gorge Expensive? and Is Cairns Expensive?.