Magnetic Island, also known as "Maggie," is a tropical paradise located just off the coast of Townsville, Queensland. The island is heaven, with plenty of pristine beaches, epic hikes and wildlife to explore.

Getting There:

The best way to get to Magnetic Island is via a short 20 minute ferry ride with Sealink. They start running from 5.30am and run late into the night. Adult return fares are $42.00 and children (5-14 years) are $21.00.

If you plan on taking your own car over on the ferry, you'll have to go with Magnetic Island Ferries. The journey takes about 40 minutes. Prices start from $250 return and get more expensive depending on vehicle length and weight. They also take walk on passengers, which is handy during peak season if Sealink happens to be booked out. Prices for walk on passengers are $36.

How long to stay:

The main highlights of Magnetic Island can be done in a day which is what we did, but we were rushing around. I think it would be best to spend around 2-3 days which will allow you to see everything the island has to offer at a more relaxed pace.

Getting Around:

There are plenty of car, scooter, and bicycle rental companies on Magnetic Island. The public bus also operates regularly from the ferry terminal and runs all the way to Horseshoe bay (route 250), stopping at all of the major points of interests along the way. Seeing as we only visited for the day, we decided to get the bus which was a super easy and cheap way to get around.

If you're going to do Magnetic Island as a day trip, I recommend getting the first ferry to maximise your time. As soon as we were on the island, we hopped on the bus to check out the rock wallabies. We hopped back on the bus towards Forts Junction which is where majority of the hikes start from. We spent the rest of the day hiking along Radical Bay Road which took us to 5 different beaches and ultimately ended up at Horseshoe Bay which is where we got the bus back to the ferry terminal.