Picking Up Your Wheels: A Quick-Start Guide to Car Hire at Townsville Airport

All car rental counters are located in the arrivals hall, a short walk from the baggage carousels. Just follow the signage once you've collected your bags. Vehicles are parked close by, so there's no shuttle bus wait between claiming your luggage and loading the boot.

We reccomend booking ahead where you can, especially in peak travel periods.

One thing worth checking before you plan your itinerary: some rental agreements don't allow vehicles on the ferry or barge to Magnetic Island, so confirm this with your provider first. If your hire car isn't permitted, SeaLink's frequent passenger ferry gets you there in 20 minutes, and a local vehicle, scooter or bike hire is easy to arrange once you're on the island.

From here, North Queensland is yours to set the pace on. Head into the city for The Strand and Castle Hill, or point the car west and start the kind of road trip this region does best. 

We've mapped out a couple of favourites in the blogs below ⇓

• Crocodiles, Coastline and a 60-year-old Secret
• Gold Rush Towns, Rainforest Falls, One Tank of Fuel