From Cairns you can reach the reef on day trips or a liveaboard cruise, and explore the Daintree rainforest. It’s an easy trip to extend, add Melbourne, the Whitsundays, or continue to New Zealand.
How do you combine Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef?
The easiest way is to start in Sydney for the harbour, beaches and city buzz, then take a short domestic flight north to Cairns, the tropical gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Sydney to Cairns is roughly three hours by air, versus a very long drive, so most trips fly that leg.