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Is Magnetic Island worth a stop on the east coast?

Q: Is Magnetic Island worth a stop on the east coast?

Yes. Magnetic Island is a 20-minute ferry from Townsville with wild koalas on the Forts Walk and fringing reef off the beaches. Thirteen of our longer east coast trips include it.

Yes, and it is the stop most people have not heard of. A 20-minute ferry from Townsville, with wild koalas on the Forts Walk, fringing reef off the beaches and far fewer visitors than anywhere else on the coast. Thirteen of our longer east coast trips include it.

Checked on 6 October 2026.

Magnetic Island sits eight kilometres off Townsville, halfway between the Whitsundays and Cairns. Most east coast itineraries skip it because they are in a hurry, which is exactly why the ones that stop there are worth looking at.

Why it's worth a stop

Wild koalas on the Forts Walk.One of the densest wild colonies in Australia, on a two-hour walk past Second World War gun emplacements with views over the whole island.
Fringing reef off the beaches.Like Ningaloo rather than the outer reef — you snorkel at Geoffrey Bay and Nelly Bay straight from the sand.
Half the island is national parkwith 23 bays and beaches and a hoop of walking tracks joining them.
Rock wallabies at Geoffrey Baythat come down to the rocks at dusk.
It is quiet.After the Whitsundays and before Cairns, it is the one place on the run that doesn't feel like a stop on a run.

Getting there

A 20-minute ferry from Townsvillewhich is on the Bruce Highway between Airlie Beach and Cairns.
The ferry is includedon the trips that stop there — the table below.
No car needed.The island has a bus, and most people hire a scooter or one of the open-sided mokes.

The trips that include it

Trip	Length	Route	From
15 Days Brisbane to Cairns Explorer	15 days, 15 nights	Brisbane / Cairns	$2715
15 Days Cairns to Brisbane Explorer	15 days, 14 nights	Cairns / Brisbane	$2715
21 Days Cairns to Brisbane Explorer	21 days, 20 nights	Cairns / Brisbane	$2967
21 Days Brisbane to Cairns Explorer	21 days, 20 nights	Brisbane / Cairns	$2967
21 Days Sydney to Cairns Adventure	21 days, 20 nights	Sydney / Cairns	$3268
21 Days Cairns to Sydney Adventure	21 days, 20 nights	Cairns / Sydney	$3268
23 Days Sydney to Cairns Budget	23 days, 22 nights	Sydney / Cairns	$3369

These are the longer east coast runs — 15 days and up. Prices update on their own.

The honest version

It only appears on the longer trips.Fifteen days and up — the shorter runs go straight past Townsville.
If you want it on a shorter triptell us when you book and we will see whether it can be added.
It is not a reef trip.The snorkelling is good and it is fringing reef, not the outer Great Barrier Reef you get from Cairns.

How do you get to Magnetic Island from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane?

Overland, on a bus pass with the ferry included. Each of these trips books your buses between towns before you travel, plus the ferry across from Townsville, and puts you in a hostel on the island. K'gari and a Whitsundays sail come on the same run.

Trip	Route	Length	From
15 Days Brisbane to Cairns Explorer	Brisbane / Cairns	15 days, 15 nights	$2715
21 Days Brisbane to Cairns Explorer	Brisbane / Cairns	21 days, 20 nights	$2967
21 Days Sydney to Cairns Adventure	Sydney / Cairns	21 days, 20 nights	$3268
23 Days Sydney to Cairns Budget	Sydney / Cairns	23 days, 22 nights	$3369
28 Days Sydney to Cairns Ultimate	Sydney / Cairns	28 days, 27 nights	$4425
32 Days Sydney to Cairns Ultimate	Sydney / Cairns	32 days, 31 nights	$4828
42 Days Melbourne to Cairns Ultimate	Melbourne / Cairns	42 days, 41 nights	$5582
15 Days Cairns to Brisbane Explorer	Cairns / Brisbane	15 days, 14 nights	$2715
21 Days Cairns to Sydney Adventure	Cairns / Sydney	21 days, 20 nights	$3268
42 Days Cairns to Melbourne Ultimate	Cairns / Melbourne	42 days, 41 nights	$5582

Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne starts first, then the same runs the other way from Cairns. The Townsville ferry runs every 20 minutes and needs no booking. Prices update on their own.

From Brisbane15 or 21 days, from $2,699.
From Sydney21 to 32 days, from $3,249.
From Melbourne42 days, from $5,549, with the Blue Mountains on the way.
Starting in Cairnsinstead: 15 days to Brisbane, 21 to Sydney or 42 to Melbourne, with Magnetic Island early in the trip.