Discover Townsville

Townsville offers several distinct highlights to consider when planning your trip: views and trails at Castle Hill, the coastal promenade The Strand, and gardens and museums. When looking for a hotel, you can first consider which of these experiences matter most for your stay. This lets you plan around specific interests rather than mixing different themes.

Views and trails at Castle Hill

From Castle Hill, you can enjoy 360-degree views of Townsville, the Coral Sea and Magnetic Island. The city, sea and island are all in view at once. The hill is a great place to visit for travellers who want to enjoy a panorama during their time in Townsville.

Castle Hill has several walking trails. It also has a 3.3-kilometre circular road with one-way traffic. Parking, toilets, drinking fountains and shaded seating areas provide practical facilities for visitors at the trails and viewpoints. This means there are routes, places to sit and drinking fountains available at this location.

The Strand: promenade and water activities

The Strand is a 2.2-kilometre beachfront promenade with cycling and walking paths, as well as safe swimming beaches. Its length provides a clear sense of the coastal stretch, while the paths and swimming beaches offer different ways to enjoy a visit.

The Strand Rockpool is a marine pool protected from stingers. Its shallow area is suitable for children and wheelchair users and leads into a deeper swimming pool. This layout sets the pool apart from the swimming beaches: within the pool, a shallow, accessible area gives way to deeper water for swimming. Check the Rockpool’s operating status before your trip.

The Strand Water Park has slides and water cannons. As operating arrangements can change, check the latest information about the water park before your visit.

Gardens and museums in Townsville

Queens Gardens is Townsville’s oldest botanic garden and is heritage-listed. The gardens are home to the Percival Pacific Andrews Aviary, which houses native Australian birds. Admission to the aviary is free, and it is open seven days a week from sunrise to sunset. Check the latest access information before your visit.

Discover Tropical Queensland is a permanent exhibition at the Queensland Museum Tropics in Townsville. Its interactive displays and presentations appeal to people of different ages and with varied interests. This gives the exhibition a different focus from birdwatching in the aviary: the museum centres on interactive displays, while the gardens are home to native birds.

The Maritime Museum of Townsville houses exhibitions and memorabilia about Townsville’s maritime past. Visitors choosing between museum themes will find a clear historical focus on the maritime past here; Discover Tropical Queensland, by contrast, offers interactive displays aimed at people of different ages and with varied interests.

Discover more destinations: Esk, Welsby, Black Mountain, Ayr, Elbow Valley, Kingaroy, Saint Kilda, Leslie.

For the broader travel overview: Queensland.