The beach at the Strand

Townsville [1] is a laid-back coastal city of around 160,000 people in Far North Queensland, Australia.

Understand

Townsville is set on the coast and enjoys an average of 320 days of sunshine a year. In recent years it has shruged off its "Brownsville" tag becoming a green and appealing place for locals and a great jumping off point for visitors. A great spot for visitors wanting a taste of outback Australia while not venturing far from the coast. It offers a quiet cosmopolitan feel with its good choice of restaurants & bars but also has a relaxing siesta style during the hottest parts of the day in high summer.

Get in

Townsville is served by Townsville International Airport (TSV). It is served by these airlines:

• Qantas (tel 13 13 13), flying from Sydney, Brisbane, Mackay, Cairns and Hamilton Island.
• Jetstar (tel 13 15 38) flying from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
• Virgin Blue (tel 13 67 89) flying from Sydney and Brisbane.
• Macair (tel Qantas) flying from regional Queensland.

Townsville is easily accessible via the the main coastal highway .

Get around

The Sunbus bus route operates 7 days a week with 7 main lines going around the town

See

East Townsville and Magnetic Island as seen from Castle Hill

• Dairy Farmer's Stadium, Golf Links Drive, Kirwan (15 kilometers north west of Townsville), ☎ +61-7-4760-7590 (info@dairyfarmersstadium.org.au, fax: +61-7-4760-7594), [2]. If you have the chance to see a football (rugby league) match in Townsville, I would advise do so. The atmosphere in Dairy Farmers' Stadium, the home of the Townsville Cowboys, is abuzz at all home matches.

• Castle Hill. Castle Hill at the center of the city has amazing views both east to Magnetic Island and west to the suburbs and hills. There is a road to the top, but the steep uphill walk is also popular, particularly in the evening when it is cooler.

• Reef HQ Aquarium, 2-68 Flinders Street, ☎ +61-7-4750-0800 (info@reefhq.com.au, fax: +61-7-4772-5281), [3]. 9:30am to 5pm every day except Christmas Day. Reef HQ is an aquarium focusing on Great Barrier Reef fish life. It is built around two large tanks each several metres high, and some twenty meters in length. The larger of the two tanks contain smaller non-predatory reef fish, and the smaller tank contains reef fish and predators including several species of shark. $21.50 adults, $16.50 concession and $10.50 children. Family and group discounts are available..

• Museum of Tropical Queensland, 70-102 Flinders Street, ☎ +61-7-4726-0600 (info@mtq.qld.gov.au, fax: +61-7-4721-2093), [4]. The Museum of Tropical Queensland's main drawcard is the display of artefacts from the HMS Pandora, the ship that the British sent in pursuit of the 'HMS Bounty. Other exhibits include the wildlife of the tropical areas of Queensland.

Do

• Sailing
• Great Barrier Reef Trips
• Day Trips to Outback or Rainforest.
• The Strand Beach. The Strand Beach is a sandy beach right in front of the main waterfront area of Townsville. It is a generally a calm swimming spot thanks to the shelter of Magnetic Island; don't bother trying to surf. An artificial swimming lagoon is located at one end.

• Coral Sea Skydivers, 181 Flinders Street, ☎ +61-7-4772-4889 (css@coralseaskydivers.com.au, fax: +61-7-4724-4775), [5]. Coral Sea Skydivers offer both tandem skydiver and solo skydiving training. A tandem jump will take 2 hours from pickup to floating in over the town and landing on the sand on The Strand beach. Training to conduct a solo jump starts a one day for your first jump and a complete five day course is available.

Diving

Fish life swarming over the wreck of the Yongala

Townsville is further from the reef than the Cairns region to the north and does not have as strong a scuba diving industry, but is the closest big center to the well known Yongala Wreck. The Yongala was a luxury passenger ship sunk in a cyclone on 23rd March 1911. The wreck was found in 1958. The wreck is primarily interesting for the marine life that it attracts and is one of Australia's top dive sites.

• Pro Dive Townsville, 14 Plume St, South Townsville, ☎ +61-7-4721-1760, [6]. Pro Dive run 3 day/3 night/10 dive liveaboard trips to the reef, spending 1 day diving on the Yongala weather permitting. Trips board at 8pm Tuesday and Friday, travel to the reef overnight and return at 5pm on the 3rd day. The base price is $495, $425 if only snorkelling. Full equipment hire is an extra $95. PADI certification courses are available, including the introductory Open Water ($685 including equipment hire and the liveaboard trip) and Advanced Open Water ($725 including hire and the trip). As of late 2005, all trips were incurring an extra $55 on top of these fares covering reef tax, insurance and a fuel levy..

• Adrenalin Dive, 121 Flinders Street, ☎ +61-7-4724-0600 or 1300 664 600 (info@adrenalindive.com.au, fax: +61-7-4771-6527), [7]. Adrenalin Dive offers 2 dive day trips to the Yongala departing Townsville and Magnetic Island. PADI certification courses are available via the Pro Dive liveaboard for the Pro Dive prices. The base price is $179, equipment hire $35. Divers must have at least 6 logged dives, and divers with less than 15 logged dives will need to pay $30 for a guided dive..

• Tropical Cruise and Dive, 1/58 Perkins Street West, South Townsville, ☎ +61-7-4771-6150 or 1800 776 150 (info@tropicaldiving.com.au, fax: +61-7-4771-6151), [8]. Tropical Cruise and Dive operates one day snorkelling and diving trips to Wheeler Reef most days. The diving is primarily aimed at inexperienced or uncertified divers with lots of supervision available. They also operate full diving certification courses Snorkelling trips $145 adults and $79 children, certified scuba dives from $40, introductory scuba dives from $75, Open Water certification $499.

Buy

Eat

• C Bar Cafe, Gregory Street Headlands, The Strand, North Ward, ☎ +61-7-4724-0333. The C Bar Cafe is right on the water's edge and you can look out over the bay, which just about makes the wait bearable: despite enormous demand there are few staff and at peak times you could wait up to an hour for a simple cafe meal. Breakfast lunch and dinner.

• Tim's Surf and Turf, Fisherman's Wharf, Ogden Street, ☎ +61-7-4721-4861. Tim's Surf and Turf is the place to eat if you're so hungry you feel like you could consume an entire cow. Meals are pretty simple (seafood platters, grilled or battered fish, beef or chicken) and served with chips and salad. If you see a large rat running around at dinner, check for the white-tipped tail: they're native water rats, not urban pests.

Drink

• Jupiters Townsville, Sir Leslie Thiess Drive, ☎ +61-7-4722-2333 (JTV-info@jupiterstownsville.com.au, fax: +61-7-4772-4741), [9]. Jupiters is a waterfront casino and hotel, featuring blackjack, routlette and poker among others. It contains five bars, including three in the casino.

Sleep

• The Summit Motel, 6-8 Victoria Street, ☎ +61-7-4721-2122 (fax: +61-7-4721-3986), [10]. The Summit Motel is a 2 minute walk from the city centre and a 5 minute walk to the strand beach. The Summit is an excellent place to stay: it's cheap and includes satellite TV, a pool, and airconditioning (an essential in North Queensland). Rooms from $99 per night.

• Adventurers Backpackers Resort, 79 Palmer Street, South Townsville, ☎ +61-7-4721-1522 or 1800 211 522 (backpackers@adventurersresort.com, fax: +61-7-4721-3251), [11]. Adventurers Resort is an airconditioned backpackers resort with a swimming pool and BBQ area. Dorm beds $22 per night, single rooms $35 per night, double rooms $44 per night.

• Globetrotters Backpackers Hostel, 45 Palmer Street, South Townsville, ☎ 1800 008 533 or +61-7-4771-3242 (globetrotters@austarnet.com.au, fax: +61-7-4721-6402), [12]. Globetrotters has a pool and barbecue area. Rooms have fans, airconditioning available on request. Dorm beds $21 per night, private rooms for singles or doubles $53 per night.

• Civic Guest House, 262 Walker Street, ☎ +61-7-4771-5381 or 1800 646 619 (contact@civicguesthouse.com, fax: +61-7-4721-4919), [13]. Civic Guest House is a budget hotel. There are internet, barbecue and pool facilities. Air-conditioning available in some rooms. Dorm beds $22, twin rooms from $45, double rooms from $50.

• Mercure Inn Townsville, Woolcock Street, Hyde Park, ☎ +61-7-4725-2222 (H1753-RE01@accor.com.au, fax: +61-7-4725-1384), [14]. The Mercure is located 4.5 kilometers from Townsville's center. Facilities include a pool, a barbecue area, tennis courts and babysitting. Rooms from $120 per night.

Contact

• Internet on the Mall, Shop 1, 313-335 Flinders Street (info@internetonthemall.com.au). 7am until late evening. Internet on the Mall is a fully automatic internet cafe with a 1.5Mbit connection. PC access is available via pre-paid cards, and wired and wireless laptops are available via credit card purchase. $5 for 45 minutes, laptop access $7 for 45 minutes.

Get out

Excellent access to the Outback, the rainforest of the Paluma Range, the Great Barrier Reef and Magnetic Island.