Shuttle transfers before 6am and after 7pm related to these flights cost extra:  

Late night arrivals flights after 7pm into Cairns Airport include:

• Qantas QF718, QF2358, and
• JetStar JQ938, JQ940, JQ942, JQ948, and 
• Virgin VA793, VA799

Early departure flights before 8:30am out of Cairns Airport include:

• Qantas QF2355, and
• Jetstar JQ929, JQ953 and JQ967, and 
• Virgin Australia VA770 leaving Cairns at 6:00am. 

This blog post is a a heads up to cross check possible savings on late and early flights against extra transfer costs

Increased transport costs if transfer commences before 6am or after 7pm

Our shuttle service offers standard hours Cairns to Port Douglas transfers at great rates all day from 6am to 7pm daily, but the cost rises for transfers commenced before 6am and after 7pm. This is because we pay our drivers a premium rate for servicing early departures and late arrivals.  

Availability is also less before 6am and after 7pm as there are less shuttles available outside standard hours. This means it is harder to arrange seats in a shared bus after hours. Decreased after hours demand from less plane arrivals,  possibly hours apart, result in passengers being at the airport for extended times waiting for a shuttle 'to fill'. This is what Sun Palm Transport used to do at Cairns Airport, but Sun Palm Transport ultimately collapsed in part because it was inefficient to maintain buses on standby for extended hours after 7pm.

How much for after hours transfers between Cairns Airport and Port Douglas?

• Flight arrivals into Cairns after 7pm cost $230 one way for 1-5 passengers and are delivered as private transfer only. For 6-13 passengers the cost is $345.
• Flight departures from Cairns before 8:30am require you to leave Port Douglas before 6am and cost is usually $180 one way for 1-5 passengers, and $285 for 6-13 passengers. 
• Book after hours arrival or departure - use our private transfer form and add $50 to the transfer

If travelling as a family group or with a group of friends this usually has minimal impact on your cost. However, if you are travelling by yourself or just as a couple please consider extra cost and reduced availability if travelling on late or early flights.

One last thing to consider is your holiday! If you don't need or want to get up at 3am on your last day of your holiday, why do it? Come to Port Douglas, relax in style, and travel during the day which is a more relaxing way to enjoy your Far North Queensland Holiday in Cairns and Port Douglas.

What a fantastic idea and sure to help a number of businesses up here in Port Douglas and Cairns. 

We'd like our passengers to know that as much as we would like to participate in the program, the Cairns Holiday Dollars program from 15 March to 15 June 2021 specifically excludes airport shuttle services.

The exclusion is because airport shuttle services between Cairns and Port Douglas do not have a 'lead tourism product' directly related to our transport service.

NO WORRIES! We can still transport you to and from Port Douglas, and you can spend your Cairns Holiday Dollars with plenty of businesses in Port Douglas like Quicksilver, Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, many of the Daintree and Cape Tribulation Tours or perhaps the Kuranda Skyrail and train.

​Happy holidaying :)