The Best Sight in Townsville, Great Barrier Reef

Background Illustration for Sights

Townsville is blessed with a golden, 2-km (1-mile) beach that stretches along the city’s northern edge. The beach, with its associated pools, water park, and adjacent parklands, is hugely popular with the locals, especially over school holidays and summer.

The Strand

Fodor's Choice

This palm-flanked stretch of sand—lined with jogging tracks and cycleways, picnic-friendly parklands, and hip beachfront bars—has two swimming enclosures and a long pier perfect for fishing. The beach and its permanent swimming enclosure, Strand Rock Pool, are fitted with temporary nets during stinger season, November through May. There's also a free, kid-friendly Strand Water Park. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; toilets. Best for: swimming.