Distance from Cairns to Brisbane

The straight-line (great-circle) distance between Cairns and Brisbane is 1,391.1 kilometres, roughly 2 h 8 min by plane at 850 km/h. By road it is about 1,694 km via Bruce Highway, which takes around 22 h of driving without stops. The map below shows both routes, and the calculator recomputes them for any other pair of places.

About this page

This page is for anyone planning a trip from Cairns to Brisbane, in Australia. The straight-line distance comes from the haversine formula (great-circle distance). The road distance and driving time are the fastest car route on the OpenStreetMap road network, computed with OSRM; the actual time depends on traffic, stops and the roads you choose. Tap "Calculate distance" in the calculator to redraw the route live.

Frequently asked questions

What is the distance from Cairns to Brisbane?

In a straight line it is 1,391.1 km. By road it is about 1,694 km, roughly 22 h of driving.

How long is the flight from Cairns to Brisbane?

Roughly 2 h 8 min: the distance at a cruising speed of 850 km/h plus about 30 minutes for take-off and landing.

How many kilometres by road between Cairns and Brisbane?

About 1,694 km on the fastest route via Bruce Highway, which takes around 22 h by car. Tap "Calculate distance" in the calculator to see the route on the map.

How is this distance calculated?

The straight-line distance uses the haversine formula, which gives the shortest path between two points on the Earth's surface.