Cheap flights to Townsville from £1,259

A big draw for Townsville, for many, is the small island off the coast known as Magnetic Island – Maggie to the locals. It’s a beautiful island with more than half of it a national park, with untouched bays, beaches and bush.

The largest city in Queensland, and one of the fastest-growing cities in the state, locals consider Townsville the unofficial Capital of North Queensland. It sits on the shores of Cleveland Bay, near the central section of the Great Barrier Reef.

Along with Magnetic, there are Orpheus, Dunk and Bedarra Islands, which are also zoned as National Parks. The merits of the islands are obvious – they are nothing short of gems shining in the blue seas – but Townsville is beautiful too with several fascinating attractions.

The Strand is popular with locals as well as visitors and the Riverway is a unique space with swimming lagoons, galleries and parklands. Reef HQ, the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium, is a huge draw, as is the Museum of Tropical Queensland. One of its star attractions are the exhibits from the HMS Pandora, a British warship that was sent to capture the mutineers from the Bounty, and which sank off Queensland in 1791.

Townsville climate

Townsville has a tropical climate, and, thanks to its geographical location, it has less rainfall than other parts of the tropics. Townsville gets more than 300 sunny days per year. The winters (June to August) are warm with occasional rain, and the summers (December to February) are hot and humid. Late October and November can see “build-up” thunderstorms, while Late-December to early April gets most rainfall. Tropical Cyclones (and then flooding) are a threat during these months.

Getting around Townsville

Taxis and car-rental companies are available at the airport. There’s also an Airport Shuttle bus that travels to various hotels and motels, the Strand and City, Sunferries, the Transit Centre and the Coral Princess cruise company. Sunbus runs the bus service. There are regular ferry services to Magnetic Island and Palm Island.

What is good to know if travelling to Townsville?

• You can swim year round in Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island; there are stinger nets offshore. 
• The Perc Tucker Regional Gallery concentrates on artwork relevant to North Queensland and the Tropics. 
• Strand Ephemera, a biennial event, places sculptural artworks and other art along Townsville’s beachfront strip. 
• The Great Green Way is a road trip that starts in Townsville and ends in Cairns. The 350km (217 miles) journey winds through 12 national parks and more than 20 tropical islands. Stops along the way include Charters Towers, Paluma National Park, Wallaman Falls (Australia’s highest single-drop waterfall), Hinchinbrook Island (the largest island national park with stunning Mission Beach), Innisfail, Wooroonooran National Park and, finally, Cairns. 
• There are plenty of opportunities to shop in Townsville. There’s a night market on the first Friday of every month at The Strand Park on the foreshore, Cotters Markets, an arts-and-crafts market, are on Sunday mornings in the Flinders Street Mall, the Willows Rotary Markets are held at the Willows Shoppingtown Carpark on Sundays, and the Horseshoe Bay Markets on Magnetic Island are every Sunday morning.