Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Where is the Cairns Student Lodge situated?

A. The Lodge is situated in Smithfield, one of the safest suburbs in the Northern Beaches area of Cairns. As well, it is located between two of the popular beaches in Cairns (Trinity Beach and Yorkey's Knob) - just 5 kilometres away.

Palm Cove beach is only a 15 minute drive from the Lodge too. The city centre is about 20 minutes drive from the Lodge in the other direction.

Q. What are the rooms like?

A. The units have three separate and private bedrooms with a shared living area and bathroom. You only have to share with two other room mates and units are gender exclusive. The units are fully furnished and each room has a bed, desk and cupboard. The lounge area has TV, a couch, microwave and small fridge. Weekly room service is included in the rate.

Q. What facilities are available?

A. We have a resort-style swimming pool, beach volleyball court, pool table, licensed bar, and cable TV in the lounge area. We have a coin-operated laundry located in each accommodation block too. There is also a gym, olympic sized swimming pool and other sporting facilities all within walking distance of the Lodge. Just across the street, opposite the Lodge, is the a Campus Shopping Village which has its own medical centre, grocery store and take-away food outlets. Very convenient.

Q. What are my transport options to get around Cairns?

A. Bus, Taxi, Bike or Walk
You can walk to JCU Cairns campus in about 10 minutes from the Lodge. A bike is also a great way to get around and the Cairns Student Lodge offers a bike hire service. It will take about 45 minutes to walk to the beach and even less to bike there. You can get around most areas of Cairns using the public bus system.

Q. What is the bus service like?

A. The public bus runs into town or to the beaches approximately every half hour on weekdays (hourly later at night) and every hour during the day on weekends. A full time JCU student will pay approximately $3AUD one-way. The bus stop is located at the end of the road, about a three-minute walk away - so catching a bus is easy! Timetables are available from Cairns Student Lodge.

Q. Is car/bike parking available?

A. We have plenty of car parking spaces and bike racks available near each accommodation block. Our security guard regularly patrols the premises from 10.00pm until 6.00am, so you don't need to worry about the security of your car or bike.

Q. What if I get sick? Is there a Doctor nearby?

A. There is a medical centre across the road from Cairns Student Lodge (a two-minute walk).

Q. What do I need to bring?

A. Linen, a towel, sheets and blankets are supplied. Cairns enjoys a warm tropical climate. However, remember to pack clothes for cooler weather if you plan to travel to other areas in Australia. There are shopping centres nearby where you can buy toiletries (shampoo etc) and any other items you may need when you arrive - so you do not need to try to pack everything you own into your suitcase!

Q. Should I bring phone/calling cards with me from home?

A. For overseas students it is usually best to buy phone/calling cards when you arrive. Often when using phone/calling cards from overseas your call credit can be used up much faster, or at a much more expensive rate. You can use the phone in your room to call locally, nationally and internationally. You can add credit to your Cairns Student Lodge phone account once you arrive.

Q. Do I have telephone access?

A. All students have in-room telephone access. Your telephone connection and line rental for the semester is included in your administration fee.
Call charges are approximately $0.50c per local call; long distance and mobile phones are more expensive and charged per minute. 1800 numbers and room to room calling is free. International students are encouraged to purchase Australian calling cards which are much cheaper when calling overseas countries.

Q. Is there a kitchen I can have access to?

A. There are two self catered clusters at Cairns Student Lodge. There is usually a waiting list for these rooms - which are the only rooms that have access to a fully equipped kitchen. All other clusters have a microwave, kettle and fridge.
We provide meals through our kitchen in the Dining hall or you can use the fridge, microwave and kettle in your cluster.

Q. How close is the University?

A. We are situated 400 metres from JCU, which is roughly a 10 minute walk.

Q. Do I get a choice of room mate?

A. On the application form we ask you some simple questions about yourself to help us match you with the right person. We try to mix internationals with Australians. You can specify any preferences on the application form and we will try to take them into account when we do the room allocations.

Q. What type of food do you get?

A. All the meals are served buffet style in our big, friendly dining room. At breakfast you can have your choice of cereals, toast, tropical fruits, yoghurts, juice or coffee, and on two weekdays there is the choice of hot breakfast options.

For lunch you can have a choice of cold meats, lots of salads and fruit. You can make yourself a toasted sandwich too if you like.  We have hot lunch options such as pizza, hot dogs or hamburgers twice a week.

For Dinner you can expect four hot choices plus salads and a desert. We always include a dish for vegetarians, prepared by our qualified chefs. The menu changes all the time and we can cater for any dietary requirement so if you need to, you can sit down and discuss your diet with one of our chefs.

Q. Do I have internet access? Should I bring my laptop?

A. All JCU Cairns Campus students have ethernet ports in their rooms from which they can access the JCU server. A laptop may therefore be helpful for your studies.

Cairns Student Lodge has a computer lab with four computers.

If you plan to bring a laptop from an overseas country we would suggest you consider travel insurance and be sure to use the appropriate adaptors for the power in Australia. In addition JCU Cairns campus has a 24-hour accessible computer lab for JCU Cairns students.

Q. What about flying in Australia?

A. Cairns has domestic and international airport terminals, making travelling an easy option. For flight details look at the following sites:

Jetstar: www.jetstar.com
Qantas: www.qantas.com.au
Virgin Blue: http://www.virginblue.com

Q. Can I buy a bike?

A. Many students purchase bikes and helmets when they arrive in Cairns. It is a convenient way to get around and bikes are also easy to sell when you leave. You can chat to the staff at the Lodge when you arrive about the best place to buy a bike. Most students pay around $AUD100-$AUD250 for a standard bike. It is compulsory in Australia for bike riders to wear helmets. Alternatively, the Lodge do offer a bike hire service for residents, but a limited amount of bikes are available.

Q. What sports can I play?

A. The Lodge has its own pool (resort style), beach volleyball court, table tennis and pool table. You can walk to nearby sports facilities, including basketball courts, gym, olympic size swimming pool and sporting ovals/fields. In addition, students studying at JCU Cairns Campus can join university teams and clubs.

Q. What will the temperature be when I am in Cairns?

A. Cairns enjoys a tropical climate, with generally hot and humid summers and milder dryer winters. The majority of rainfall occurs during summer between January and March. The tropics have fairly uniform temperatures throughout the year.

The average maximum and minimum temperatures are as follows:

Q. What is there to do around Cairns?

A. Cairns is one of Australia's most popular tourist destinations, and for good reason. In easy access of the Lodge you can scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef, hike some of the most amazing rainforest areas in the country and white water raft our waterways. Cairns city has a fun nightlife atmosphere, an established arts centre, night markets in town and weekend markets at various locations, bungee jumping, swimming, fishing, boating, shopping, wildlife and much more.

For more information check out the following websites:
Queensland Government Website:
Tourism Tropical North Queensland: