What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 8am - 5pm Saturday 8am - 5pm

Magnetic Island Tours

Name: Magnetic Island Tours
Address: Nelly Bay Ferry Terminal, Magnetic Island, Townsville, QLD, 4819, AU
Telephone: +61435580292
Price range: $$

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Magnetic Island Tours

Magnetic Island Tours offer relaxed, air-conditioned tours of our beautiful Island Like this page for updates on our tours and insights into the island

Magnetic Island's BEST Bus Tours is a small family business conducting day tours of our home base, beautiful "Maggie". Our tours are known for friendly, informative commentary by authoritative local guides in the casual Aussie style.

02/09/2026

🏆 VOTING IS NOW OPEN! 🏆

We’re very proud that Magnetic Island Tours is in the running in the 2026 Qantas Group North Queensland Tourism and Events Awards and now we need your help!

The People’s Choice is decided by you.

If you’ve explored Maggie with us and enjoyed your tour, we’d be incredibly grateful if you could take a moment to vote for Magnetic Island Tours. 💚🌴

👉 VOTE HERE: https://awards.townsvilleenterprise.com.au/

And there’s something in it for you too! Everyone who votes can enter the draw towin a $500 holiday voucher to put towards their next Townsville North Queensland adventure.

You only get one vote, so we’d love it if you made it count for Magnetic Island Tours!

Voting is open throughout September.

Thanks to everyone who has toured with us, recommended us, left us a review or simply supported our small local business. It genuinely means a lot.

01/08/2026

This is the energy we're chasing 🐢💚 Sea turtle, Magnetic Island, no notes.

24/07/2026

Spotted right off Picnic Bay jetty — a hammerhead shark cruising the shallows. Magnetic Island keeps reminding us why it's one of the best places in Australia to get up close with marine life. Moments like this are exactly why our guests keep coming back. Book your Magnetic Island tour with us and see what's waiting in the water.

21/07/2026

Do Whales Really Pass Magnetic Island? What Winter Visitors Need to Know

Photo by Rusty Watson on Unsplash In short: from July through September, migrating humpback whales move directly through the waters off Townsville and Magnetic Island, and you don't need a specialised tour to have a chance of seeing them. Every winter, one of the ocean's great comeback stories plays out just off Queensland's tropical coast. After being hunted to near extinction, humpback whales have rebounded so dramatically that scientists now…...

https://www.magneticislandtours.net.au/do-whales-really-pass-magnetic-island-what-winter-visitors-need-to-know/

09/07/2026

You never quite know what you'll spot on our tours — today it was this koala making its way up through a cloud of butterflies in the forest. Moments like this are exactly why we love showing people this side of Magnetic Island.
Want to see it for yourself? Our tours run daily — link in bio to book, or send us a message if you've got questions.

23/06/2026

Right now you can get $100 off our Tours when you spend $200 with Experience Oz.
Get $100 off our experience when you spend $200 or more with Experience Oz. Use code QLD100 at checkout on any of our experiences.

Be rewarded with Queensland's Regional Rewards! Book a Magnetic Island Tour, and recieve $100 off the total price. Use QLD100 at checkout to redeem on bookings over $200.

22/06/2026

Right now you can get $100 off our Behind the Scenes Tours when you spend $200 with Experience Oz.
Get $100 off our experience when you spend $200 or more with Experience Oz. Use code QLD100 at checkout on any of our Magentic Island Tours.
Be rewarded with Queensland's Regional Rewards! Book Magnetic Island Tours and recieve $100 off the total price. Use QLD100 at checkout to redeem on bookings over $200.
*T&C's Apply

15/06/2026

You haven't really seen Maggie until you've stood inside a cloud of butterflies 🦋 Butterfly Forest, Magnetic Island

Book your tour today

VisitTownsville)

12/06/2026

|Magnetic Island’s Big Bertha and Mighty Maggie 🚌

This week’s Flashback Friday takes us back to 1991, with these two well-known Magnetic Island buses, named Big Bertha and Mighty Maggie.

Bus services on Magnetic Island have a long and fascinating history. The first service began in the 1940s, operating between Arcadia and Horseshoe Bay through Clarke and Hennequin. A route between Arcadia and Nelly Bay soon followed, run by Charlie Gifford, before both services were taken over by Alf Armour in the 1950s.

A wider island service linking Picnic Bay, Nelly Bay, Arcadia and Horseshoe Bay commenced in 1960. Initially operated by Mr Mears, the service was purchased by the Eastwood family in 1978. At that time, the fleet included three 1942 Chevrolet buses with canvas windows that had been serving the island since the 1950s. Many locals may remember one of these buses, nicknamed Galloping Gerty, which later found a home in a truck and bus museum in Sydney.

Under the Eastwood family’s management, the Magnetic Island Bus Service became renowned for its friendly, personal service and reliable timetable. Thea Eastwood’s contribution to local tourism was recognised in 2005 when she was inducted into Townsville Enterprise’s Tourism Hall of Fame. By the 2007–08 financial year, the service was carrying more than 357,000 passengers annually.

The bus service remained family-owned until 2008, when it was sold to Transit Australia. Today, Magnetic Island’s bus network is operated by Kinetic.

While we know a little about the history of island bus services, we’d love to learn more about the specific buses pictured here. Do you remember Big Bertha or Mighty Maggie? Do you have any stories, photographs or memories of travelling on Magnetic Island buses over the years? Share them with us at Stories of Townsville: https://stories.townsville.qld.gov.au/

25/05/2026

A rare wetland moment at Horseshoe Bay

Spotted quietly stalking through the reeds, a magnificent Jabiru enjoying the wetlands at Horseshoe Bay. With its striking black-and-white feathers and enormous bill, this bird always stops us in our tracks.
Also known as the Black-necked Stork, the Jabiru is Australia’s only stork species and an important indicator of healthy wetland ecosystems. Seeing one here is a lovely reminder of just how rich and diverse Magnetic Island’s natural habitats are. 🐦

Moments like this are why we love exploring beyond the beaches. Around every bend on Maggie, there’s wildlife quietly getting on with life, if you slow down enough to notice it.
Have you ever spotted a Jabiru in the wild before?
📸 Captured in the Horseshoe Bay wetlands, Magnetic Island.

Address

Nelly Bay Ferry Terminal, Magnetic Island
Townsville, QLD
4819

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm
Saturday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

+61435580292

Website

http://www.magneticislandtours.net.au/

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