Two companies, two Townsville terminals, one island harbour. SeaLink's catamarans leave the Breakwater in the city up to 17 times a day and cross in 20 minutes; Magnetic Island Ferries' roll-on, roll-off boat leaves Ross Street in South Townsville about every two hours, takes around 40, and is the only way to get a vehicle over.
SeaLink standard timetable (web table, same times as its printable timetable effective 11 December 2023), checked against SeaLink's booking system for 19–25 October 2026; holiday timetables from SeaLink's December 2026 PDFs. Read 15 October 2026 SeaLink – Ferry timetables for Magnetic Island · 2026-10-15
Decide first whether the car is coming. If it stays on the mainland, go to the Breakwater Terminal on Sir Leslie Thiess Drive and take SeaLink: there is nothing to reserve, because SeaLink sells open tickets that fit whichever boat you catch. If a car, motorbike, caravan or trailer is coming with you, you need Magnetic Island Ferries at 39 Ross Street, South Townsville, and that means a reservation: no vehicle boards without one, and school holidays fill the sailings early.
Then check the day of the week. SeaLink runs 16 return trips on Mondays and Tuesdays, 17 from Wednesday to Friday thanks to a late 22:30 boat, 16 on Saturdays and 13 on Sundays, when the 05:30, 07:00, 17:25 and late 22:30 from Townsville are all missing. The car ferry keeps to a plainer two-hourly pattern, beginning at 05:00 on weekdays and at 07:00 at weekends.
Finally, weigh price against time. Travelling on foot, the car ferry is $7 cheaper for an adult return, before SeaLink's fuel surcharge, but you trade a 20-minute crossing from the city for a 40-minute one from South Townsville and a choice of six or seven boats a day instead of 13 to 17.
On foot, the car ferry is the cheaper ticket and the slower trip. SeaLink charges $44 for an adult return, $41.50 if you buy it in its app, and since 1 June 2026 adds a temporary fuel charge: $1 on a single, $2 on a return and $4 on a family ticket. Magnetic Island Ferries sells the same adult return for $37, but its boats leave from South Townsville only every couple of hours. Neither company takes go cards or charges the Translink 50-cent fare: SeaLink quotes Translink saying this ferry is not a Translink service.
| Adult, one way | $ 23 |
| Adult, return | $ 44 |
| Adult return bought in the SeaLink app | $ 41.50 |
| Child 5–14 or concession, one way | $ 11.50 |
| Child 5–14 or concession, return | $ 22 |
| Student, return | $ 29.50 |
| Family return, 2 adults and up to 3 children | $ 95 |
| Adult Flexi, 10 single trips | $ 140 |
| Weekly pass, unlimited trips | $ 127 |
| Adult, one way | $ 18.50 |
| Adult, return | $ 37 |
| Child 4–14, pensioner or senior, return | $ 21 |
| Student 15–17 or university, or Defence, return | $ 28 |
| Family return, 2 adults and up to 3 children | $ 90 |
| Infant under 4 | Free |
| Standard car with up to 5 people, return, from | $ 276 |
SeaLink fares effective 1 February 2026 plus a fuel surcharge since 1 June 2026; Magnetic Island Ferries fares as published 15 October 2026 SeaLink – Magnetic Island ferry fares · 2026-10-15
Magnetic Island sits about eight kilometres off Townsville across Cleveland Bay, and both services aim for Nelly Bay. The SeaLink catamarans start from the Breakwater on the city's eastern waterfront; the vehicle ferry starts from Ross Street in South Townsville and spends about twice as long on the water.
Magnetic Island Ferries publishes its sailings in its booking system rather than as a fixed table. For the week of 14 to 21 October 2026 the main vessel, MV Arcadia, left Ross Street every two hours from 05:00 to 17:00 on weekdays and from 07:00 to 17:00 at weekends. Going back, the weekday boats left Nelly Bay at 06:05 and then on the even hours until the 18:00; at weekends the first return was the 08:00. Check the schedule for your own date before booking: sailings can change, and some carry tidal restrictions for long vehicles.
Through October the company has added extra vehicle-only crossings on its landing craft MV Jubilee, for example 07:45, 10:05 and 12:20 from Ross Street on several weekdays. Jubilee takes about 55 minutes, has an open deck and no lounge, and carries no walk-on passengers: you stay with your car.
SeaLink's city terminal, with a ticket counter (open 06:00 to 18:00 Monday to Saturday and until 16:30 on Sunday), a café, toilets and lockers. Outside those hours you buy on board or online. Its car park is paid and unfenced; SeaLink itself points people wanting a locked garage to the Metro Quays car park in the CBD, a bus ride or a 20-minute walk away.
The vehicle ferry does not leave from here. Magnetic Island Ferries uses its own terminal at 39 Ross Street, South Townsville, with a secure car park charging $9 per day on a first-come basis (open from 04:45 on weekdays and 06:00 at weekends, closing at 19:30).
Both companies land in the Nelly Bay harbour on the island's south-east side, but at different berths: SeaLink at its Nelly Bay Terminal, which has a ticket office open 07:30–16:00 Monday to Saturday and 08:15–14:30 on Sunday, and the vehicle ferry at its ramp on Harbour Drive in Nelly Bay Marina. An island bus links the main bays and meets the boats.
Every vehicle on the Ross Street ferry needs a booking; a walk-on ticket never covers one. The vehicle fare includes up to five people, extra passengers pay the walk-on fare, and a vehicle booking cannot be edited in the last 30 minutes before departure.
Towing or driving a truck? The operator says that travel is tide dependent, so check both legs before paying, and allow time for a possible weighbridge check at the terminal.
A SeaLink ticket names no departure and lasts 183 days from the first trip. Boarding opens around 15 minutes ahead of each sailing, and SeaLink would rather you were there 15 to 20 minutes early to park and buy a ticket.
SeaLink is asking Translink to approve extra late sailings back to the island after the Foo Fighters show on Saturday 7 November and Guns N' Roses on Wednesday 2 December 2026, and takes registrations of interest on its timetable page.
Aboard the Ross Street boat, dogs ride secured inside your vehicle and need a lead if you get out to walk the deck. SeaLink publishes separate animal rules for its catamarans on its freight and animal policy page.
The two operators have long histories on this stretch of water. Magnetic Island Ferries says it has carried vehicles, supplies and passengers to the island for more than 35 years; Riverside Marine bought it in 1990, trading as Capricorn Barge Company, and since 1 April 2026 it belongs to Bhagwan Marine. Its main boat, MV Arcadia, is 34 m long and takes up to 23 cars and 150 passengers. SeaLink, for its part, stresses that it runs without a state subsidy, which is why its fares move with its costs and why the fuel surcharge appeared in June.
Further south, the Cleveland to Stradbroke ferry is another Queensland island run that sits outside the Translink fare system. North of Townsville, the Hinchinbrook Island ferry from Cardwell is a small boat whose regulars are hikers heading for the Thorsborne Trail, not islanders with cars.
SeaLink's catamarans take 20 minutes from the Breakwater to Nelly Bay. The vehicle ferry from Ross Street takes around 35 to 40 minutes on MV Arcadia and about 55 minutes on the October extra sailings by MV Jubilee.
No. SeaLink carries passengers only. Vehicles cross with Magnetic Island Ferries from 39 Ross Street, South Townsville, always on a prior booking; a standard car return starts at $276 including up to five people.
On SeaLink, 22:00 from Nelly Bay on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and 23:00 from Wednesday to Saturday. The last vehicle ferry in the October 2026 schedule left Nelly Bay at 18:00.
No. SeaLink quotes Translink confirming that the Magnetic Island ferry is not a Translink service, so go cards and the 50-cent fare do not apply; the same is true of the vehicle ferry.
The walk-on fare on Magnetic Island Ferries: $37 return for an adult, against $44 with SeaLink ($41.50 through the SeaLink app) plus SeaLink's $2 return fuel surcharge. The trade-off is fewer sailings from South Townsville.
Both arrive in Nelly Bay, but SeaLink uses the Nelly Bay Terminal and the vehicle ferry uses its own ramp on Harbour Drive in Nelly Bay Marina.
Yes, a reduced service of five return trips: 08:45, 10:30, 11:45, 14:15 and 15:50 from Townsville, and 09:30, 11:05, 12:30, 15:00 and 16:30 back. The Nelly Bay terminal is closed that day.