Australia
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
51.0km²
Area
48km
Coastline
315m
Highest point
Mount Cook
2,107
People
29°C
Warmest sea
February
2km
To the mainland
When to go to Magnetic Island
Best for the beach in June and from August to November.
The sea is warmest in February (29 °C) and coolest in July (22 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island offshore the city of Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Magnetic Island is an island in Australia. It covers 51.0 km², with 48 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Cook, rises to 315 m. About 2,107 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 2 km away.
Getting there
- Townsville Airport / RAAF Base Townsville (TSV)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 15 km in a straight lineCar hire at TSV airport (Townsville)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries2 ferry terminals on the island
- 2 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- June and from August to Novemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Magnetic Island.
- 32beachesFlorence Bay Beach, Picnic Bay, Nelly Bay and 29 more
- 19viewpointsHawkings Point Lookout, Sails Rock Lookout, Sphinx Lookout and 16 more
- 2ferry terminalsCar Ferry Ramp - Townsville, Magentic Island Ferries - Vehicle Waiting Area
- 1marinasNelly Bay Marina
- 2named peaksMount Cook, Mt Paluma
- 3waterfallsEndeavour Falls
- 3castles and fortsGun Emplacemant, Gun Emplacement, The Forts - Command Post
- 8ruins and archaeological sitesWomen's Sleeping Quarters, Women's Latrine, Workshop and 5 more
- 2dive centresPleasure Divers
- 1campsitesNomads Camping
- 27hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 28restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Magnetic Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Magnetic Island, each with its own numbers.
1mountainPeakyas
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 128 m above the sea. 74 % of it is below 200 m.
- 36 %0–50 m
- 38 %50–200 m
- 26 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Magnetic Island2,107 people
- Nelly Bay1,661 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 27 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 26 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 184 | 216 | 143 | 55 | 34 | 25 | 22 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 39 | 78 |
| Wet days | 19 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 |
| Sun h/day | 7.8 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 8.3 | 9.1 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 20 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 19 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +0.3 | +0.8 | −0.3 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | −0.3 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.7 | −0.4 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.3 |
| 2022 | +1.0 | +0.3 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.6 | −1.0 | −0.3 | +0.5 | +1.5 | +1.1 | +0.6 |
| 2023 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +2.0 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +0.2 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
| 2024 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +1.0 |
| 2025 | +1.4 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +1.1 | +1.7 | +0.3 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q765710) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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