By Car 
Townsville is on the Bruce Highway, a 3-hour drive north of Airlie Beach and 4 1/2 hours south of Cairns. The Bruce Highway breaks temporarily in the city. From the south, take Bruce Highway Alt. 1 route into the city. From the north, the highway leads into the city. The drive from Cairns to Townsville through sugar-cane fields, cloud-topped hills, and lush bushland is a pretty oneone of the most picturesque stretches in Queensland.

BY PLANE
  Qantas (  tel. 13 13 13 in Australia; www.qantas.com.au) flies direct from Brisbane. QantasLink flies from Cairns and Brisbane. Jetstar (  tel. 13 15 38 in Australia) flies direct from Sydney and Melbournes Tullamarine airport; and Virgin Australia (  tel. 13 67 89 in Australia) flies direct from Brisbane and Sydney daily. Con-X-ion (  tel. 1300/266 9466 in Australia; www.con-X-ion.com) runs an airport shuttle. A trip into town is A$10 one-way. A taxi from the airport to most central hotels costs about A$22.

By Train
  Seven Queensland Rail (  tel. 1300 131 722 in Queensland, or 07/3235 1122; www.queenslandrail.com.au) long-distance trains stop at Townsville each week. The 19-hour Spirit of Queensland journey from Brisbane costs A$189 or A$332 for a railbed. The 24-hour Sunlander journey costs A$141 for an economy seat, A$245 to A$386 for a sleeper, and A$825 in the luxury Queenslander Class.

BY BUS
Greyhound Australia (  tel. 1300/473 946 in Australia or 07/4772 5100 in Townsville) coaches stop at Townsville several times a day on their Cairns-Brisbane-Cairns routes. The fare from Cairns is A$60; trip time is around 5 to 6 hours. The fare from Brisbane is A$264; trip time is 23 hours.

Magnetic Island

 Sealink (  tel. 07/4726 0800; www.sealinkqld.com.au) runs 19 round-trip ferry services a day from the Breakwater terminal on Sir Leslie Thiess Drive. Round-trip tickets are A$32 for adults, A$16 for children 5 to 14, and A$74 for families of five. The trip takes about 20 minutes.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.