Little Drifter Cairns
About Our Cairns Accommodation
Somewhere between the rainforest and the reef, Little Drifter Cairns puts you in the middle of Cairns City with the Esplanade Lagoon 500 metres from the front door. Recently refurbished throughout, this is a hostel in Cairns built for people who came here to do things, with dorm beds, female-only dorms and private queen rooms under one roof and a crowd that changes every week.
Our Cairns Backpacker Accommodation Goes Beyond the Basics
Three room types, one address in the middle of town. Our shared dorm rooms have our most affordable beds and it’s the fastest way to meet people, with a locker at every bed and air conditioning throughout. Female-only dorm rooms run the same way with women only in the room.
After a private room of your own? The Private Queen Room gives you a lockable room and a queen bed while still getting access to the same kitchen, lounge and events as everyone else. Every room in our Cairns hostel includes free Wi-Fi, secure storage and full access to the communal spaces.
As a reminder, reception is closed daily between 11pm and 8am. If you are arriving late, get in touch with us in advance and we’ll organise your check-in.
FACILITIES AT OUR CAIRNS BACKPACKERS
FREE WIFI
VENDING
COMMUNAL LAUNDRY
DIGITISED SERVICES
COMMUNAL KITCHEN
CURATED EVENTS
LOUNGE
CO-WORKING SPACE
GAMES AND RECREATION
Travelling solo, rolling in with friends, or working to a tight budget as most backpackers in Cairns are, everyone gets the same run of the building. Most evenings start in the communal kitchen, which is where the oversized pots of pasta appear and where you’ll get an honest review of every reef operator in town.
The lounge and games space cover the slow afternoons between tours, and the co-working space handles the days you need to claw back some travel money, with free Wi-Fi throughout. Guest laundry and lockers take care of the practical side, and the balcony is where the night usually starts.
WHAT’S ON CAIRNS
WHAT’S NEARBY
AIRPORT 12KM
ESPLANADE LAGOON 500M
RESTAURANTS & CAFES 30M
CAIRNS STATION 800M
CRYSTAL CASCADES - REEF FLEET TERMINAL 600M
Step out of our Cairns city backpackers and the good stuff starts at 30 metres, which is where the restaurants and cafes begin. The Esplanade Lagoon is a 500-metre walk, the Reef Fleet Terminal is 600 metres away for every boat heading out to the reef, and Cairns Central Station is 800 metres from the door. The airport is 12km.
That puts the Night Markets, the Cairns Aquarium, the Cairns Museum and the whole Esplanade strip within walking distance of our Cairns hostel, and most reef and rainforest tours pick up within a few minutes of us.
Cairns is the launch pad for far north Queensland, and our crew can tell you which operators are worth your money. The Great Barrier Reef is the headline act, with day boats leaving from the Reef Fleet Terminal 600 metres away. Green Island and Fitzroy Island both make easy day trips, and the rainforest tours head up to the Daintree and the Tablelands.
For the adrenaline end of the list, there’s skydiving over the coast, a bungy jump in the rainforest, jet boat rides and hot air balloon flights at dawn over the Atherton Tablelands. Ask at reception before you book anything online, because the guest who did it yesterday is usually still here.
Bringing the Whole Crew to Cairns?
Moving a group around far north Queensland takes some organising, and we take the accommodation half of it off your hands. Sporting clubs, school groups and big groups of mates stay with us regularly, and our communal spaces are sized to keep everyone together instead of scattered across three postcodes.
GROUP BENEFITS
DEDICATED COORDINATOR- EXCITING COMMUNAL SPACES
SECURITY 
- 24/7 SUPPORT
- WIFI
- EVENTS
- GUEST LAUNDRY
- STUDY AREA
BLOG
New to this or twenty countries deep, our blog covers hostel life in far north Queensland, from the local spots worth your time to how to get the most out of a stay in Cairns.
Cairns Address
Little Drifter Cairns, 1/7 Shields St, Cairns City QLD 4870
