Cheapest€71.84
- Queensland Rail QR415006:125h 9m11:21Cairns railway stationMackay railway station
Door to door 5h 53mCO2 22.4 kgChanges 0Refundable
Traveling from Cairns to Mackay costs €71.84 at the cheapest and takes 5h 24m door to door at the fastest, across 1 mode and 1 operator. The route covers 679 km. Cheapest is by Train, fastest is by Train.
At a glance
- Distance
- 679 km
- Fastest
- 5h 24m
- Average
- 5h 45m
- Services per day
- 3
- Cheapest
- €71.84
- CO2 per passenger
- 22.4 kg
Every way to make this journey
Journey times below are door to door, so they include getting to the terminal and away from it at the other end. Fares are the cheapest we currently sell on September 29, 2026.
| Mode | Door to door | Moving | At the ends | From | CO2 | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train | 5h 53m | 5h 9m | 44m | €83.39 | 22.4 kg | 3 |
- 5h 53mFastest, by Train
- €83.39Cheapest, by Train
- 22.4 kgLowest CO2, by Train
- 679 kmDistance traveled
The cheapest and the fastest on September 29, 2026
Two journeys we can sell today, with the service number each operator files them under.
Lowest CO2€78.44
- Queensland Rail QR636407:302h 2m09:32Cairns railway stationTownsville railway station
- Queensland Rail QR590510:272h 59m13:26Townsville railway stationMackay railway station
Changes at Townsville, with 55 minutes between services and a walk of about 5 minutes.
Door to door 6h 40mCO2 21.6 kgChanges 1Refundable
Today's real departures
Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.
No live timetable for this trip yet.
Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.
Prices over the next three weeks
Live from our own engine, refreshed on every request. The cheapest days for each way of traveling are marked.
| Cheapest fare by mode and day for Cairns to Mackay | FriSep 11 | SatSep 12 | SunSep 13 | MonSep 14 | TueSep 15 | WedSep 16 | ThuSep 17 | FriSep 18 | SatSep 19 | SunSep 20 | MonSep 21 | TueSep 22 | WedSep 23 | ThuSep 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train | €188.99 | €171.94 | €157.64 | €119.69 | €105.94 | €115.84 | €144.99 | €110.34 | €126.84 | €99.89 | €95.49 | €83.39 | €92.74 | €144.44 |
Cheapest day: 2026-09-29 · €71.84
The train gets you into Mackay. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
Rooms within reach of Mackay railway station
Hotels and apartments near downtown, most of them with free cancellation, on a map that shows what is walkable.
Search Mackay 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 Mackay
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €77.3490 days
- €66.8960 days
- €70.7445 days
- €83.3930 days
- €87.7921 days
- €144.4414 days
- €144.997 days
- €157.643 days
- €188.991 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €66.89.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time is 183 percent. The most expensive point is €188.99, 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.
Which departure day costs least
Median cheapest fare for each weekday, taken across the next three weeks of real prices.
- €108.69Sun
- €95.49Mon
- €83.39Tue
- €92.74Wed
- €144.44Thu
- €110.34Fri
- €126.84Sat
How the fare moves month by month
The same journey priced on the fifteenth of each of the next six months.
- €105.94Sep
- €94.39Oct
- €71.29Nov
- €69.09Dec
- €65.79Jan
- €63.04Feb
The route
What the journey actually looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 33% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 67% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 679 km against 591 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 Townsville, Rockhampton. The gap between arriving and leaving is 55 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 17 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.
- First and last departure
- The first service of the day leaves Cairns at 06:12 and the last at 07:30, across 3 departures. The return direction keeps its own timetable, so the times back are not these times reversed.
Where you leave from and where you arrive
The stations, airports and ports each mode on this corridor actually uses.
Cairns
Rail
- Cairns railway station
- Kuranda railway station
- Redlynch railway station
Bus
- Cairns City bus station
- Airport Connect Terminal 1
Air
- CNS
Ferry
- Reef Fleet Terminal
Mackay
Rail
- Mackay railway station
Air
- MKY
Who runs this route
Speed, flexibility and what is on board. Nothing here is a rating, because we have not earned one.
| Operator | From | Fastest | Typical speed | Flexibility | On board |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Queensland Rail | €71.84 | 5h 24m | 140 km/h | Refundable | Power outlets, Wi-Fi |
What the fare is made of
Every part of the total, so the number at checkout is the number here.
| Part | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Operator fare | €63.50 | 88% |
| Taxes | €6.35 | 9% |
| Our service fee | €1.99 | 3% |
| Total you pay | €71.84 | 100% |
Mackay is small enough to see in an afternoon, which is easier without the luggage. Storing it is not our business.
Baggage storage near Mackay railway station
Stores, cafes and hotels that take luggage, with the hours on the map so you know what is still open when you come back.
Check Mackay 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 Mackay
The questions people actually ask about this trip, 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 Mackay?
The fastest journey from Cairns to Mackay takes 5h 24m door to door, of which 5h 9m is spent moving, on the Train. Most services take around 5h 45m, 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 Mackay?
The cheapest fare from Cairns to Mackay is €71.84, checked on September 29, 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €111.99. 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 Mackay?
The cheapest way from Cairns to Mackay is by Train, at €83.39 for one passenger on September 29, 2026. That journey takes 5h 53m 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 Mackay?
Fares from Cairns to Mackay bottom out around 60 days before departure, at €66.89. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive lead time is 183 percent, measured on September 29, 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Cairns to Mackay?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Cairns to Mackay, at €83.39. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, checked on September 29, 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 Mackay?
February is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Cairns to Mackay, at €63.04 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 service from Cairns to Mackay?
1 operators sell services from Cairns to Mackay across 1 modes: Queensland Rail. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Cairns to Mackay?
33 percent of the services we sell from Cairns to Mackay are direct. The rest connect at Townsville, Rockhampton, with about 55 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 Mackay use?
Services from Cairns to Mackay by Train leave from Cairns railway station and arrive at Mackay 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 Mackay?
1 of the 1 operators we sell from Cairns to Mackay 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
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.
Schedules, seat counts and fares are generated by our own model until the supplier contracts are signed. Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance are real. We would rather say that on every page than let a modeled number pass for a filed one.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Cairns to Mackay on September 10, 2026: 679 km of route against 591 km in a straight line, 3 services a day, 1 operators, a cheapest fare of €71.84, and 5h 24m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Plenty of what is worth seeing sits outside Mackay and elsewhere in Australia. None of it is ours to sell.
What to book in Mackay before you go
The tickets worth having in advance, because the line at the door is usually the whole morning.
See Mackay 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.
Other ways to make this journey
Arriving in Mackay
Leaving Mackay
- 10Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 4Operators
Plan a trip from here
Ask Ori for the same corridor under a different constraint, or for a longer trip that starts on it.