Barcaldine to Townsville road trip: Best stops, distance & time

By car, the distance from Barcaldine to Townsville is 631km, with a driving time of around 6h54m. The best stops to add to a Barcaldine to Townsville road trip itinerary are Torrens Creek and Charters Towers.

A road trip from Barcaldine to Townsville takes you from the Queensland outback to the biggest city in North Queensland. For most travellers, this will be a leg on a longer journey. The epic road trips from Perth to Cairns and Melbourne to Port Douglas pass through this way.

Townsville is where you can take the ferry to gorgeous Magnetic Island, enjoy sunset cruises and visit the Museum of Underwater Art. For more Townsville experiences, explore here. To ferret out the best Townsville accommodation deals, look here.

6 Townsville experiences to book in advance

Magnetic Island ferry tickets – head over to one of the most beautiful islands in Australia.
SS Yongala wreck dive – sea how coral and marine life have made the shipwreck home.
Great Barrier Reef and Museum of Underwater Art cruise – witness the extraordinary underwater art project up close.
Helicopter ride along the coast – get amazing views from above.
Sunset sailing cruise – watch the colours over the water, with alcoholic drinks included.
Jetski tour to Cape Pallarenda – whizz past beaches and giant boulders.

This guide should help you plan your perfect Barcaldine to Townsville road trip itinerary.

If you need to hire a car, find the best rental deals. And don’t forget to do all your pre-road trip shopping

Barcaldine to Townsville distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Barcaldine to Townsville is 631km. This makes for a driving time of around six hours and 54 minutes.

In Barcaldine, the top attractions are the Australian Workers’ Heritage Centre and the Tree of Knowledge. The latter is generally accepted as the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party.

For Barcaldine accommodation, try the solid Barcaldine Country Motor Inn.

Barcaldine to Townsville drive: Barcaldine to Torrens Creek

Head north along the Barcaldine-Aramac Road towards Aramac, which has a hotel, campground, racecourse and Aquatic Centre. More importantly, the Whitebull Roadhouse has fuel – something which is in short supply until you reach Torrens Creek on the Flinders Highway.

Before then, four wheel drivers might want to explore the bird-blessed waterholes of Forest Den National Park and sheep station heritage of Moorrinya National Park. The latter is a good spot for seeing kangaroos and wedge-tailed eagles

Barcaldine to Townsville road trip: Torrens Creek to Charters Towers drive

At Torrens Creek, the Exchange Hotel offers food, petrol and accommodation, but most travellers will want to turn east along the Flinders Highway.

White Mountains National Park is just outside Torrens Creek, however. Those in conventional vehicle can take in the Burra Range Lookout on the highway. Those with a 4WD can drive to the more impressive Sawpit Gorge Lookout.

Pentland, with a caravan park, racecourse and the three star Pentland Hotel Motel, is the main settlement before historic gold mining town Charters Towers.

Things to do in Charters Towers include a guided tour of the historic Venus gold battery. The Towers Hill Lookout, on the other hand, offers great views. Movies about the region are shown in the neighbouring amphitheatre every evening.

Top Charters Towers experiences

Delve in to the gold-mining past – on a tour of the Venus Gold Battery. You’ll be wowed by the sheer size of it.
Hear entertaining stories from the golden era – on a Charters Towers walking tour.
Listen to spooky stories – on a Charters Towers ghost tour.

Best Charters Towers accommodation

The best accommodation options in Charters Towers are:

For families: Big4 Outback Aussie Oasis Holiday Park.
For high quality adults-only apartments: Kernow Charters Towers.
For a good value motel with a pool: Charters Towers Motel.

Barcaldine to Townsville road trip: Charters Towers to Townsville

It’s another 136km from Charters Towers to Townsville. The Burdekin Duck Roadhouse, Macrossan Park camping area on the Burdekin River and Majors Creek swimming hole in Woodstock are the most appealing journey-breakers.

Things to do in Townsville include going on a cruise to the Museum of Underwater Art, chilling on a small group sunset cruise and catching the ferry to Magnetic Island.

7 Magnetic Island experiences to book in advance

Sort out your return ferry ticket from Townsville.
Get the best of the coastline on a five hour boat tour with snorkelling and stand-up paddleboarding.
See the sky change – on a sunset and shipwrecks cruise.
See all the island highlights – on an afternoon island tour combining heritage, culture and nature.
Cram it all in on a five hour comprehensive island tour.
Take to the water on a lunchtime sailing cruise.
See subaquatic creativity – on a Museum of Underwater Art and Great Barrier Reef day trip.