Cairns to Hervey Bay runs about 5 times a day, with the first departure around 06:18 and the last around 07:30. One passenger pays €138.39, every fee included. The fastest door to door is 10h 6m over 1,356 km, on services run by 1 operator across 1 mode.
What one seat costs
Every operator we hold on this corridor starts at €138.39, so there is no spread to show.
Typical fares · Priced for 6 October 2026
€138.39
- 199%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving Cairns
No operator has filed a timetable for this direction yet, so the first and last departure below follow the pattern of the corridor. Read them as the shape of the service day rather than as times to turn up for.
- 06:18First departure
- 07:30Last departure
- 5Services per day
- 20%Run direct
Queensland Rail runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Cairns to Hervey Bay on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Cairns to Hervey Bay on Bookaway
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €335.29Fri18
- about €346.29Sat19
- about €246.74Sun20
- about €214.29Mon21
- about €193.94Tue22
- about €228.59Wed23
- about €286.89Thu24
- about €231.89Fri25
- about €220.89Sat26
- about €241.24Sun27
- about €182.94Mon28
- about €164.24Tue29
- about €164.24Wed30
- about €163.69Thu1
- about €162.04Fri2
- about €163.14Sat3
- about €163.69Sun4
- about €152.69Mon5
- about €138.39Tue6
- about €142.24Wed7
- about €202.19Thu8
Based on what this route has cost recently. The operator sets the price on the day, and the live fare is confirmed when you book.
The train gets you into Hervey Bay. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in Hervey Bay for the night the train gets in
Sort by distance from Colton railway station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Hervey Bay on AgodaOr compare on Booking.com
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Cairns to Hervey Bay
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €149.3990 days
- €111.9960 days
- €157.6445 days
- €174.1430 days
- €202.1921 days
- €163.6914 days
- €286.897 days
- €246.743 days
- €335.291 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €111.99.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 199 percent. The dearest point is €335.29, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 60 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 60 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Cairns to Hervey Bay and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
1,356 km
1,180 km as the crow flies, 15% further by the route services take. The bearing runs south-east.
Who lives at each end
153,075 → 52,230
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
0/2
2 of these connections were inferred from service-area overlap rather than observed in a timetable. We would rather say so.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 20% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 80% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 1,356 km against 1,180 km in a straight line, a detour of 15 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg. The gap between arriving and leaving is 48 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 19 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is ours to fix and you are rebooked at no charge.
Who runs this route
Hervey Bay is small enough to see in an afternoon, which is easier without the luggage. Storing it is not our business.
Left luggage near Colton railway station
Most of the points near Colton railway station open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Hervey Bay on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Cairns to Hervey Bay
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Cairns to Hervey Bay?
The fastest journey from Cairns to Hervey Bay takes 10h 6m door to door, of which 9h 59m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 10h 40m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Cairns to Hervey Bay?
The cheapest fare from Cairns to Hervey Bay is €138.39, as of 17 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €224.74. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Cairns to Hervey Bay?
The cheapest way from Cairns to Hervey Bay is by train, at €138.39 for one passenger on 6 October 2026. That journey takes 10h 43m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
When should I book Cairns to Hervey Bay?
Fares from Cairns to Hervey Bay bottom out around 60 days before departure, at €111.99. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 199 percent, measured on 17 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Cairns to Hervey Bay?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Cairns to Hervey Bay, at €164.24. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 17 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Cairns to Hervey Bay?
February is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from Cairns to Hervey Bay, at €116.94 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Cairns to Hervey Bay?
No operator record names Cairns to Hervey Bay directly. Queensland Rail publish service areas covering both ends and may serve it, so we list them as possible operators rather than confirmed ones.
Is there a direct service from Cairns to Hervey Bay?
20 percent of the services we sell from Cairns to Hervey Bay are direct. The rest connect at Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, with about 48 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
Which station or terminal do services from Cairns to Hervey Bay use?
Services from Cairns to Hervey Bay by train leave from Cairns railway station and arrive at Colton railway station. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Cairns to Hervey Bay?
1 of the 1 operators we sell from Cairns to Hervey Bay allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Derived from service area No carrier record names this exact pair. The operators listed publish a service area covering both places at a distance their mode plausibly carries people, which is evidence that the corridor is served and not evidence of a specific service. Pages state which, because presenting the two as the same thing would be dishonest.
Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Cairns to Hervey Bay on 17 September 2026: 1356 km of route against 1180 km in a straight line, 5 services a day, 1 operator a cheapest fare of €138.39, and 10h 6m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
The train is the simple part. What you do once you are in Hervey Bay is somebody else's catalogue.
Day trips out of Hervey Bay and across Australia
Day trips that leave Hervey Bay in the morning and cover a good part of Australia by evening.
See Hervey Bay on KlookOr browse GetYourGuide
Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Cairns reaches 17 places in 6 countries on services we hold, over distances from 283 to 5,552 km. Hervey Bay reaches 9 places in 1 countries, from 63 to 1,180 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Cairns
- 17Places you can leave for
- 6Countries
- 12Operators
Arriving in Hervey Bay
Leaving Hervey Bay
- 9Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 2Operators