Exploring the city of Townsville and taking the ferry to Magnetic Island is one of Australia’s most peaceful and tropical backpacker adventures!

Magnetic Island is a beautiful and natural island located just 25 by ferry from Townsville, Queensland. It is the perfect travel destination for both backpackers and more luxury travellers. The Base Hostel Magnetic Island is the perfect fun, tropical backpacker hotel, located on the beach. While the luxury apartments located by the harbour are the perfect stop for someone looking for a self catered holiday close to the beautiful Australian nature. This guide is specifically directed towards backpackers visiting Magnetic Island and Townsville, however, the places to visit are amazing destinations for anyone travelling to the Queensland coast.

This Townsville and Magnetic Island travel guide includes

The best time to visit
The ferry from Townsville to Magnetic Island
The best hostels to stay at
Visiting Magnetic Island
Visiting Townsville

When is the best time to visit Magnetic Island and Townsville?

Being located in North Queensland, the weather is warm on Magnetic Island and in Townsville all year round. In the summer months, December to February, the weather is humid and around 35 degrees. In the winter the weather is usually stable around 22 degrees. The rainy season means that it is a lot wetter in the summer months!

Therefore the best time to visit Magnetic Island and Townsville are in the spring and autumn. This means from March to May, and September to November!

Taking the ferry from Townsville to Magnetic Island

The best way between the ports is the ferry from Townsville to Magnetic Island is the only way to cross the water. The ferry runs about every 30 to 45 minutes and takes 25 minutes to reach Magnetic Island from Townsville. The ferry is run by Sea Link and costs $34 for an adult return ticket and $22.50 for a student. There is a lot more information about the ferry here!

If you are driving along the coast you can either leave the car at the ferry port in Townsville. This costs $8 a day! The other option is to take the car on the ferry from Townsville and use it on Magnetic Island. The cost of this is $216 for a return ticket off season, and $240 in the high season! There is the option to hire a car on the island which I will talk about a little later!

The Best Hostels to stay at

Base Hostel, Magnetic Island

Base is by far the best Magnetic Island hostel! It is a tropical, relaxing place where the shared rooms feel like luxury island huts! It is a great place for backpackers to meet other people travelling along the coast and solo travellers to find people to explore Magnetic Island and Townsville with! The hostel is located by the beach on the south of the island, just a 4 minute drive from the ferry terminal at Nelly Bay. If you let them know your arrival time in advance the hostel staff will pick you up on your arrival from Townville and drive you to Base Hostel!

The rooms cost around $33 per night in an 8 bedroom hut, $13 a night for a camping spot and $160 a night for a private double ocean front hut. This price is around average for his type of accomodation on the North Queensland coast!

In the evenings they have activities at the bar such as bingo and trivia. The cafe and bar are open all day and serve great food!

The Rambutan Hostel, Townsville

The Rambutan is a beautiful Hostel located in the heart of Townsville. It is both a hotel and hostel, with an amazing rooftop pool, restaurant and dining area. It has a feeling of luxury but at still quite a low price! The Rambutan is the perfect place for families and backpackers wanting to stay in Townsville for a few nights before your trip to Magnetic Island.

Visiting Magnetic Island, Queensland

The best things to do on Magnetic Island

Hiking Magnetic Island

There are so many hiking trails on Magnetic Island. Most are hikes between the main port at Nelly Bay and surrounding beaches, or from beach to beach through bushland. The views of the coastline below are stunning.

The Forts Walk

The Forts walk is an easy 4km walk that passes along the edge of the cliffs past an old WWII fort. The walk itself has beautiful views as you pass through the bush as it looks out over the ocean. This is also a very well known place to see koalas on Magnetic Island. The walk starts at the carpark on the turn off towards Radical Bay. The walk takes 1.5 – 2 hours.

Radical Bay

Radical bay is a secluded beach that can only be reached by the short hike that passes down the edge of the mountain. The walk is 3.4km return and takes about 45 minutes each way! The beach at the bottom is by far one of the most beautiful beaches on Magnetic Island and definitely worth visiting!

Horseshoe Bay Lagoon

This is only a short 200m walk that begins at the end of Horseshoe Bay Road. The walk leads out to a lagoon that is home to many wild birds. It is a beautiful and unique view point to visit on Magnetic island!

Nelly Bay to Picnic Bay

The walk from Nelly Bay to Picnic Bay passes through some of the most iconic beaches on Magnetic Island. The hike is otherwise known at the Hawkins Bay track and is approximately 1.2km each way. This is quite an easy walk with a few steeper hills along the way.

Hiring a car on Magnetic Island

There are a few different options for car hire on Magnetic Island. The main thing to remember when looking at cars is that the roads are all relatively thin so a smaller car is better, however, many of the roads are 4WD. There are a few different companies to hire cars with and some can be booked in advance, and some must be hired in person. Sea Link, the same company that operate the ferry between Townsville and Magnetic island, hire a few different types of cars. Another option is to hire a Tropical Topless car. This is a super fun, kind of cheesy option great for backpackers on Magnetic Island! They are quite cheap and easy to drive.

Visiting Townsville, Queensland

Townsville is a very unique town in Northern Queensland. It is quite quiet, even in the summer time, as most people usually stay a little further either North or South. There is no so much to do in Townsville, but it van be worth staying for 1 or 2 nights for a little walk around. The main attraction of Townsville is Magnetic Island, but there are other things to do in the town!

Top things to do in Townsville

Hike Castle Hill

Castle Hill is a mountain located on the edge of Townsville. You can either walk up from the town or drive up. We took a taxi up and then walked down as it fit our schedule better! From the top of Castle Hill you can see a 360 degree view over Townsville and the coastline, even over to Magnetic Island.

Jezzine Barracks

Jezzine Barracks is a significant site in the Australian military history and aboriginal past. It is now a beautiful coastal boardwalk through parklands. It is a peaceful walk along the water.

Museum of Tropical Queensland

This is a great place to visit to learn a little more about the area or on a rainy day! The museum explores the World Heritage listed rainforest and reefs of Northern Queensland as well as the nautical history of the area.

Townsville Street Art Walking Trail

The street art walking trail takes you through Townsville’s most popular roads and hidden alleys. It passes through many examples of beautiful street art including graffiti and sculpture!