Long Stay Parking

$140 covers a week here before any online discounts kick in

Long Stay Parking at Cairns Airport sits about 0.5 miles from T1 and T2, around a 10-minute walk to either terminal. Drive-up pricing runs $20.00 per day, so a straight seven days lands above $140.00 at the gate. Same open long-stay setup for both domestic (T2) and international (T1), so you’re not paying extra just because you’re flying overseas.

Published drive-up rates ramp fast: $53 for 1–2 days, $74 for 2–3 days, and $96 for 3–4 days, then $20 added for each extra day or part day. That means a full week at drive-up can push past $150 if your timings spill over into an extra “part day.” Compared with off-site outfits like Betta Airport Parking and Wilson, locals in Cairns often call these on-airport long-stay prices steep for multi-day trips.

The same rate ladder appears at both the T1 and T2 open long-stay areas, so a four-day domestic hop from T2 costs the same as a four-day international run from T1: $96 drive-up before that $20-per-day meter kicks back in. People in local Facebook threads say they “wouldn’t leave [their] car at the airport for a week at drive-up rates” and instead shift to nearby off-airport secure parking for longer holidays.

Regulars treat on-airport Long Stay as a pay-more, walk-less option and use it mainly for 3–4 days, then switch to Betta or Wilson once they hit full-week territory. Cairns locals also warn that school holidays can fill the on-airport car parks, T1 and T2 included, so drive-up can fail simply because there’s no bay left. One practical tip: if you want to keep the car on-airport for more than three days, jump online and lock a pre-booked rate well before peak dates instead of banking on drive-up prices and availability.