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Cheap flights from San Francisco to Cairns from $874

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a Cheapflights user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight departing on 2/4. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel.
SFO — CNS
4 Feb — 11 Feb1
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

Cheap flight deals from San Francisco to Cairns

Enter your travel dates to find the best prices.

Cheapest flights from San Francisco to Cairns
Explore the most affordable flight options available from San Francisco to Cairns. Find the lowest fares from popular airlines and budget airlines, with prices last updated on 5 January 2026.

Sun 30/819:35SFO - CNS
2 stops25h 00mMultiple Airlines
Wed 30/906:00CNS - SFO
2 stops26h 33mMultiple Airlines
Deal found 5/1$1,780
Mon 11/516:35SFO - CNS
2 stops30h 20mAir Canada
Mon 18/506:00CNS - SFO
2 stops21h 20mAir Canada
Deal found 5/1$1,789
Sat 2/518:45SFO - CNS
2 stops23h 20mMultiple Airlines
Sat 9/515:35CNS - SFO
2 stops22h 45mMultiple Airlines
Deal found 4/1$1,852
Wed 18/216:59SFO - CNS
2 stops27h 06mQantas Airways
Wed 25/217:35CNS - SFO
2 stops64h 20mQantas Airways
Deal found 3/1$1,941
Sat 7/311:06SFO - CNS
2 stops33h 49mAir Canada
Wed 11/306:00CNS - SFO
2 stops28h 30mAir Canada
Deal found 4/1$2,059
Sat 21/1119:50SFO - CNS
2 stops32h 35mAir New Zealand
Sun 29/1106:00CNS - SFO
2 stops23h 05mAir New Zealand
Deal found 3/1$2,067
Mon 1/622:05SFO - CNS
2 stops29h 55mAir New Zealand
Mon 22/611:55CNS - SFO
1 stop18h 00mAir New Zealand
Deal found 3/1$2,077
Wed 18/221:45SFO - CNS
1 stop42h 10mMultiple Airlines
Wed 25/206:00CNS - SFO
2 stops24h 25mMultiple Airlines
Deal found 3/1$2,095
Mon 11/519:37SFO - CNS
2 stops29h 48mMultiple Airlines
Mon 18/519:10CNS - SFO
1 stop39h 35mMultiple Airlines
Deal found 4/1$2,101
Sun 30/822:30SFO - CNS
1 stop21h 25mQantas Airways
Wed 30/915:35CNS - SFO
2 stops24h 39mQantas Airways
Deal found 4/1$2,120

Find flight deals from San Francisco to Cairns

Discover tips and strategies to find the most affordable flight options for your journey from San Francisco (SFO) to Cairns (CNS). Learn about various techniques such as flexible date searches, comparing prices across and setting up price alerts. Use these methods to find the cheapest flights available for your travel needs. Data last updated 5 January 2026.

Round-trip from

$1,789

One-way from

$874

Popular in

January

Cheapest in

August

Average price

$2,866
Air Canada
  • Air Canada
  • 11/5-18/5
  • 4 total stops
  • 61h 02m total
  • San Francisco to Cairns
Search Deals
2/4
  • 2/4
  • 3 total stops
  • 41h 55m total
  • San Francisco to Cairns
Search Deals
Highest demand for flights based on searches. 20% potential increase in price ($862 potential increase over avg. return price).
Search Deals
Cheapest flight prices on average. 3% potential price decrease ($112 potential savings vs. average return price).
Search Deals
Average for round-trip flights in January 2026
Search Deals

Cheapflights Fare Finder

 
Customise your flight search to find flights from San Francisco to Cairns that fit within your specific budget. Explore options based on user searches and filter the results based on your desired price range. Find flights that match your budget for a cost-effective journey. Over the last 7 days, Cheapflights users made 647,157 searches. Data last updated 5 January 2026.
Use the filters below to find and compare flights from San Francisco to Cairns that are best for you.

Fly from

San Francisco

Fly to

Cairns

Route

Depart

Return

Price

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Mon 11/5

12:15-15:55

2 stops34h 40m

Cairns

Mon 18/5

06:00-15:22

2 stops26h 22m

$1,789

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Sat 2/5

18:45-11:05

2 stops23h 20m

Cairns

Sat 9/5

15:35-21:20

2 stops22h 45m

$1,852

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Wed 18/2

16:59-14:05

2 stops27h 06m

Cairns

Wed 25/2

17:35-15:55

2 stops64h 20m

$1,941

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Sat 7/3

11:20-14:55

2 stops33h 35m

Cairns

Wed 11/3

06:00-17:30

2 stops28h 30m

$2,059

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Mon 1/6

22:05-21:00

2 stops29h 55m

Cairns

Mon 22/6

11:55-12:55

1 stop18h 00m

$2,077

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Mon 11/5

19:37-18:25

2 stops29h 48m

Cairns

Mon 18/5

19:10-17:45

1 stop39h 35m

$2,101

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Thu 2/4

22:50-09:45

3 stops41h 55m

$874

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Thu 2/4

11:00-17:00

1 stop61h 00m

$1,599

Flights are sorted by cheapest return flights first.

Deals found on 3/1

Best time to book a flight from San Francisco to Cairns

Have a flexible travel schedule? Discover the best time to fly to Cairns from San Francisco with our price prediction graph.
Estimated return price
Rates are based on past data. Find the cheapest month and day to book your flight based on your travel requirements, then search for cheap deals.

Cheapflights Insights

Everything you need to know about your flight from San Francisco to Cairns

How often are flights from San Francisco to Cairns delayed?

About 14% of weekly flights between San Francisco and Cairns have experienced delays in the past year, with the average delay time being 180 minutes.

What is the most punctual flight time for San Francisco to Cairns flights?

Historically, flights departing in the early afternoon are less likely to be delayed, whereas flights leaving at night tend to experience delays more often.

What day of the week experiences the fewest flight delays on this route?

Tuesday tends to have the lowest number of delays on this route, whereas Wednesday has historically faced a higher average of delays compared to other days of the week.

Which airline has the best punctuality record on San Francisco to Cairns flights?

Over the past year, China Eastern have had the lowest number of delays on this route, with just 13% of flights being delayed.

Related info for your journey

Find useful and relevant information for your journey from San Francisco to Cairns. Access travel guides, tips, and recommendations to enhance your travel experience. Get information about local attractions, weather, transportation options, and more.

  • How long is the flight from San Francisco to Cairns?

    Airlines like Air Canada and Qantas Airways fly from San Francisco to Cairns in about 27h 06m. The time it takes to get you to your destination can typically vary by up to 7h 34m. The distance from San Francisco to Cairns is about 11296 km. When browsing for deals, the options you’ll see will be for both direct flights and flights with stops.

  • Can I find deals for flights from San Francisco to Cairns that include hotel bookings?

    Yes. In addition to deals on San Francisco to Cairns flights, Cheapflights offers holiday packages that include both flights and hotel.

  • How can I find direct flights from San Francisco to Cairns?

    After entering your origin and destination, apply the non-stop filter on the search result page to find direct flights from San Francisco to Cairns.

  • Can I find deals for business class flights from San Francisco to Cairns?

    Yes. Cheapflights offers flight deals from San Francisco to Cairns by cabin class. In addition to browsing deals, you can also filter by cabin class on the search results page after making a search.

See more FAQs

Travelling to a place near Cairns?

Book flights to Cairns if you plan to visit one of these locations
Mission Beach
Trinity Beach

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Why should you use Cheapflights to find cheap flight tickets from San Francisco to Cairns?

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Can Cheapflights find flights from San Francisco to Cairns with no change fees?

Yes! Cheapflights helps users easily find flights from San Francisco to Cairns with no change fees.

Can Cheapflights notify me if prices for flights from San Francisco to Cairns become cheaper?

Yes, and it’s super simple to set up. Click the bell icon next to the flight deals above and provide a valid email address to enable Price Alerts. That’s it!

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