Townsville

Understand

thumb|300x300px|View of Townsville and Magnetic Island from Castle Hill lookout 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. Townsville takes great pride in being the unofficial capital of North Queensland.

Get around

Kinetic operates bus services 7 days a week with 16 bus routes in Townsville plus one on Magnetic Island.

See

thumb|250px|East Townsville and [[Magnetic Island as seen from Castle Hill]]

Do

thumb|240px|Townsville Water Playground Great Barrier Reef Trips Day Trips to Outback or Rainforest. Village Boulevard is the name of the Road into Pioneer Park and forms the city/park integration. from the car park it extends through the park as a pedestrian spine that follows the rivers edge and forms the heart of Pioneer Park.

Eat

Townsville has two primary restaurant districts. Palmer Street in the city and Cannon Park in the southwest suburbs. It also hosts a nice collection of grills and cafes along the Strand in addition to a wide selection of restaurants scattered throughout the city and its suburbs. It also hosts the normal selection of fast food restaurant chains including McDonalds, Eagle Boys Pizza, Dominos, Brodies, Hungry Jacks, Red Rooster and Subway.

(including Chinese, Indian, burgers and fries, Tex Mex, Italian and Japanese).

Drink

thumb|300px|Townsville by night

In line with Queensland state laws, Townsville observes a lockout time of 3AM. This means that alcohol serving establishments have to refuse entry to patrons from 3AM onwards. Most pubs and bars on the Flinders Street nightclub strip will close between 1AM-2AM on the weekends but the nightclubs will stay open til 5AM-6AM. Patrons in clubs open until these early hours are welcome to stay past 3AM until they leave.

When visiting the Flinders Street Nightclub Strip, males are advised to wear long trousers/jeans and closed-in shoes as most venues on this strip disallow entry to those wearing thongs/flip-flops, singlets and shorts. Most other non-Strip venues listed will allow this attire, however.

Cactus Saloon Flinders Street East . This popular destination offering a selection of their own custom brewed tap beer and many brands of tequilas.

Sleep

Northern Beaches Area: Balgal Beach Holiday Units Balgal Beach Holiday Units - Studio 26 Balgal Station Bed & Breakfast Retreat Big 4 Woodlands Holiday Village Black River Stadium Caravan Park Bluewater Caravan Park Bohle Barn Motel/Hotel Forestmist Cottage Bed & Breakfast Gumburu Environmental Eduction Centre Hidden Valley Cabins Ivy Cottage Jollymosh Retreat House Lake Paluma Camp & Picnic Ground Ocean Palms Resort Paluma Environmental Education Centre Paluma Misthaven Units Paluma Rainforest Cottages Paluma Dreaming Rainforest Inn Range Caravan Park Rollingstone Beach Caravan Resort Rollingstone Hotel Saunders Beach Ocean View Units Upper Ross Hotel Willows Golf and Tourist Resort Woodlands Holiday Village

Stay safe

Box jellyfish and other stingers can be in the ocean during the summer months. Read the warning signs, and don't swim at the beach outside of the stinger enclosures. A sting from the box jellyfish can be fatal. There are two stinger enclosures along the Townsville beaches.

Saltwater crocodiles ARE present in Townsville and ALL swimming locations (including the beach) should be approached with extreme caution.

Go next

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