Things to do in Townsville
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Townsville
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season and the best window: clear sea, low humidity, everything open, July busiest.
Shoulder month with waterfalls still carrying wet season flow, Wallaman Falls at its best.
Worst window: peak wet season, cyclone and flood risk, stingers, murky sea and cancelled boats.
Hot and humid build up with stingers returning and afternoon storms.
What's on
- NTI Townsville 500 Usually a weekend in July
Supercars street race and the city's biggest weekend, with over 124,000 attendees.
- North Australian Festival of Arts from 1 October
Multi week festival of circus, comedy, dance and music centred on Strand Park.
- North Queensland Cowboys home games March to September season
Home games at Queensland Country Bank Stadium lift the whole city's weekend.
- Townsville Running Festival August
Marathon and shorter races on a flat Strand based course in peak dry season weather.
- Strand Ephemera October, check the year
Beachfront sculpture and installation festival along The Strand, scheduling has varied by year.
Best things to do in Townsville
The Strand
Townsville's beachfront promenade with netted swimming, lawns and a constant view to Magnetic Island.
Castle Hill
Pink granite hill above the city with walking tracks and a 360 degree summit view best at sunrise or dusk.
Queensland Museum Tropics
Free museum anchored by the HMS Pandora shipwreck gallery, with reef and rainforest exhibits for all ages.
Billabong Sanctuary
Interactive wildlife park around a billabong with keeper talks and feeding shows through the day.
Jezzine Barracks
Restored coastal fort precinct with boardwalks and parkland at the northern end of The Strand.
Riverway
Free riverfront swimming lagoons and parkland on the Ross River, loved by locals on hot days.
Army Museum North Queensland
Volunteer run museum of North Queensland military history inside the Jezzine Barracks precinct.
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
Free public gallery in a heritage bank building showing North Queensland and touring exhibitions.
Where to stay in Townsville
The Strand and North Ward
first trip, families, no car
Beachfront promenade living with swimming, cafes and the island view, and the most pleasant place to wake up.
Breakwater Marina and Sir Leslie Thiess Drive
splurge, boat trips, occasions
Marina precinct beside the ferry terminal with the casino and the city's one true luxury hotel.
CBD and Palmer Street
eating out, events, value
Best restaurants at your door and the stadium nearby, trading the beach view for sharper prices.
Magnetic Island
island stay, two to three nights
Nelly Bay and Horseshoe Bay bases put beaches and walks first, with a ferry ride to mainland dining.
Think twice about
- Flinders Street East late night strip
Rowdy in the small hours on weekends and charmless by day. Drink elsewhere and sleep on The Strand instead.
- Outer western and northern suburbs including Garbutt, Vincent, Heatley and Kirwan
No visitor infrastructure, a car needed for everything, and the areas most often named in local property and car crime reporting.
- CBD away from Palmer Street at night
Genuinely dead on Sundays and most evenings. An atmosphere problem rather than a safety one, so base by the water.
Best restaurants in Townsville
A Touch of Salt
The city's benchmark fine diner since 2005, modern Australian cooking built on North Queensland seafood.
Marmor
Ardo Hotel's elevated land and sea dining room, the newer contender for Townsville's top table.
Terasu
Small Japanese restaurant at The Ville with a sunset sitting and reviews calling it the city's best meal.
Jam Corner
Palmer Street institution for seasonal modern Australian menus, degustation and polished service.
Garden of Eating
Small BYO garden restaurant with inventive cooking and strong care for vegan and gluten free diners.
Bridgewater Q Restaurant
Riverbank dining at the Palmer Street gateway, a versatile group choice using North Queensland produce.
GYO Japanese Tapas Bar Restaurant
Casual Japanese tapas bar for gyoza and share plates, the mid price way to eat Japanese in Townsville.
Wild Rice Laos & Thai Cuisine
Small Laotian and Thai kitchen with proper heat and balance, among the city's best rated eateries.
Outdoor things to do in Townsville
Magnetic Island
Island of granite boulders and turquoise bays 20 minutes by ferry, best as a full day or a short stay.
The Forts Walk
National park track to wartime forts and the most reliable wild koala spotting walk in Australia.
Museum of Underwater Art
Submerged Coral Greenhouse sculpture installation on the reef, visited by snorkel or dive day trip.
SS Yongala
Coral covered 1911 shipwreck ranked among the world's top wreck dives for marine life density.
Big Crystal Creek Paradise Waterhole
Large clear freshwater swimming hole with rock slides, an hour north in Paluma Range National Park.
Little Crystal Creek
Rainforest cascades and pools below a heritage stone arch bridge on the road up to Paluma village.
Wallaman Falls
Australia's highest permanent single drop waterfall, a 268 metre plunge in Wet Tropics rainforest.
Alligator Creek
Closest bush swimming hole to the city, a shaded creek day use area 30 minutes south of Townsville.
Best hotels in Townsville
Aquarius on the Beach
Strand apartment tower where every room faces Cleveland Bay and Magnetic Island, with kitchens and parking.
Waters Edge The Strand
Smaller apartment property directly on The Strand with balconies, pool and barbecue area.
Strand Motel
Classic beachfront motel opposite the beach, offering the Strand address at the lowest price on the strip.
Ardo Hotel
Townsville's luxury hotel with a rooftop infinity pool, day spa and Marmor restaurant at the marina.
The Ville Resort-Casino
Resort and casino with a lagoon pool, swim up bar and several restaurants beside the ferry terminal.
Hotel Grand Chancellor Townsville
Full service CBD tower with rooftop pool and big views, a short walk to Palmer Street and the stadium.
Rydges Southbank Townsville
Hotel on the Palmer Street dining strip, handy for restaurants, the stadium and evening plans.
Rambutan Resort Townsville
Boutique city property built around a rooftop pool and bar, fun when it is on form but unevenly reviewed.
Is Townsville expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | A$110 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | A$230 a person |
| Splurge | A$480 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Billabong Sanctuary: a few days ahead
- Queensland Country Bank Stadium: weeks ahead
- Magnetic Island: a few days ahead
- Museum of Underwater Art: weeks ahead
- SS Yongala: weeks ahead
- Rowes Bay Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Townsville Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Aquarius on the Beach: weeks ahead
- Reef, underwater art and Yongala trips weeks ahead in the dry season, scheduled early in your stay.
- Top restaurants days to weeks ahead for Friday and Saturday nights.
- Rooms months ahead for the Townsville 500 weekend in July.
Is Townsville safe?
- Stinger season runs roughly November to May: swim in netted enclosures and wear the suit operators provide.
- Obey crocodile signs and swim only where locals swim, never in rivers or at creek mouths.
- Lock hire cars and balconies and leave nothing visible in a vehicle. Emergency number is 000.
Townsville travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The Great Barrier Reef Aquarium is closed for refurbishment, so do not build a day around it.
- The water off The Strand is for netted swimming, not snorkelling.
- The Australian Festival of Chamber Music moved to Cairns from 2026 and is no longer a Townsville event.
Getting around Townsville: public transport and more
- Walk the Strand to Palmer Street waterfront core, about 30 minutes end to end.
- Hire a car for Billabong Sanctuary, the creeks, waterfalls and golf.
- SeaLink ferries reach Magnetic Island in about 20 minutes, with island buses meeting boats.
Who Townsville suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Townsville your trip
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