Find flights
When to book
FAQs

Cheap flights from San Francisco to Cairns from $954

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 23/11. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel.
SFO — CNS
7 Aug — 14 Aug1
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 8 July 2026.

Wed 4/1121:50
SFO
-
CNS
2 stops25h 25m
Multiple Airlines
Wed 11/1106:00
CNS
-
SFO
2 stops24h 35m
Multiple Airlines
Deal found 7/7$1,825
Sat 26/923:10
SFO
-
CNS
1 stop19h 30m
Multiple Airlines
Sat 3/1016:55
CNS
-
SFO
2 stops37h 45m
Multiple Airlines
Deal found 7/7$1,844
Tue 17/1117:35
SFO
-
CNS
2 stops29h 50m
Multiple Airlines
Tue 24/1106:00
CNS
-
SFO
2 stops22h 32m
Multiple Airlines
Deal found 7/7$1,906
Sun 13/919:30
SFO
-
CNS
2 stops25h 10m
Multiple Airlines
Sun 20/906:00
CNS
-
SFO
2 stops21h 20m
Multiple Airlines
Deal found 7/7$1,913
Tue 18/819:30
SFO
-
CNS
2 stops22h 40m
Air Canada
Tue 25/806:00
CNS
-
SFO
2 stops21h 20m
Air Canada
Deal found 7/7$1,923
Tue 18/819:30
SFO
-
CNS
2 stops26h 30m
Multiple Airlines
Tue 25/806:00
CNS
-
SFO
2 stops21h 20m
Multiple Airlines
Deal found 6/7$1,955
Fri 9/1016:35
SFO
-
CNS
2 stops25h 35m
Air Canada
Fri 16/1006:00
CNS
-
SFO
2 stops21h 20m
Air Canada
Deal found 7/7$2,030
Thu 22/1007:35
SFO
-
CNS
2 stops31h 45m
Multiple Airlines
Thu 29/1009:00
CNS
-
SFO
2 stops28h 20m
Multiple Airlines
Deal found 7/7$2,082
Mon 30/1119:50
SFO
-
CNS
2 stops29h 30m
Air New Zealand
Mon 7/1217:40
CNS
-
SFO
2 stops35h 25m
Air New Zealand
Deal found 7/7$2,102
Tue 18/822:05
SFO
-
CNS
1 stop19h 40m
Air New Zealand
Tue 25/811:55
CNS
-
SFO
1 stop18h 00m
Air New Zealand
Deal found 6/7$2,125

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 8 July 2026.

Round-trip from

$1,825

One-way from

$954
4/11-11/11
  • 4/11-11/11
  • 4 total stops
  • 50h 00m total
  • San Francisco to Cairns
Search Deals
23/11
  • 23/11
  • 3 total stops
  • 48h 05m total
  • San Francisco to Cairns
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 8 July 2026.
Use the filters below to find and compare flights from San Francisco to Cairns that are best for you.

Fly from

Fly to

Route

Depart

Return

Price

Cheapest return flight

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Mon 31/8

23:20-09:50

1 stop41h 30m

Cairns

Mon 7/9

16:35-06:50

1 stop31h 15m

$2,359

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Mon 30/11

12:20-14:55

2 stops32h 35m

Cairns

Mon 7/12

06:00-06:50

1 stop18h 50m

$2,362

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Tue 18/8

22:05-13:45

2 stops22h 40m

Cairns

Tue 25/8

06:50-17:42

3 stops27h 52m

$2,461
Fastest return journey

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Wed 5/8

23:25-23:20

1 stop30h 55m

Cairns

Wed 12/8

06:00-06:25

1 stop17h 25m

$2,558

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Wed 5/8

12:15-15:55

2 stops34h 40m

Cairns

Wed 12/8

06:00-06:25

1 stop17h 25m

$2,940

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Fri 9/10

22:13-08:30

3 stops65h 17m

Cairns

Fri 16/10

19:00-13:35

2 stops35h 35m

$3,056

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Sun 13/12

19:50-19:20

2 stops29h 30m

Cairns

Sun 20/12

17:00-14:52

3 stops39h 52m

$3,707

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Tue 27/10

19:48-11:05

2 stops46h 17m

Cairns

Thu 12/11

09:00-19:25

2 stops28h 25m

$10,391
Cheapest one-way

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Mon 23/11

16:55-23:05

2 stops36h 10m

$978

San FranciscoCairns

SFO - CNS

SFOCNS

San Francisco

Tue 15/9

15:41-08:30

2 stops23h 49m

$996

Flights are sorted by cheapest return flights first.

Deals found on 7/7

Showing 1-10 of 17 resultsSorted by cheapest first
1
2

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 175 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?

Sunday tends to have the lowest number of delays on this route, whereas Thursday 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 United Airlines and Air New Zealand fly from San Francisco to Cairns in about 22h 40m. The time it takes to get you to your destination can typically vary by up to 9h 55m. 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

Browse thousands of different options on Cheapflights for your next trip

Toggle through the tabs below to find thousands of options on Cheapflights for your next trip.

Fly with Cheapflights

Find the best flight deals on Cheapflights, where travellers can enjoy low prices and a wide availability of flights to their desired destinations.

How does Cheapflights help users find flights from San Francisco to Cairns?

900+ travel sites are searched through when a user searches for a flight using Cheapflights. From the search interface, users can use filters to choose airlines, airports, flight times, cabin classes and more to their preference. Book your flight to Cairns from San Francisco today with Cheapflights!

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

Cheapflights taps into our reliable network of hundreds of airlines and travel agencies to find the best deals for flights from San Francisco to Cairns for you. Better yet — we are completely free to use.

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!

100% Free

Cheapflights is completely free to use, so you can start saving the moment you arrive.

Book with flexibility

Our users can plan ahead with confidence and find flights with no change fees

Travel Smart

Millions of people come to us for their flight needs every year. We help make travel planning easy by providing useful insights and data-driven graphs that can inform your decisions.