Melbourne to Townsville runs about 2 times a day, with the first departure around 07:30 and the last around 07:30. One passenger pays €188.35, every fee included. The fastest door to door is 8h 37m over 2,331 km, on services run by 2 operators across 1 mode.
What one seat costs
Every operator we hold on this corridor starts at €188.35, so there is no spread to show.
Typical fares · Priced for 13 October 2026
€188.35
- 164%Moves across the booking window
164%When it runs, leaving Melbourne
Typical first and last departure on this corridor.
- 07:30First departure
- 07:30Last departure
- 2Services per day
- 0%Run direct
07:30
07:30
2
0%Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €557.10Fri25
- about €642.06Sat26
- about €384.23Sun27
- about €331.72Mon28
- about €391.31Tue29
- about €399.57Wed30
- about €337.03Thu1
- about €337.62Fri2
- about €341.75Sat3
- about €313.43Sun4
- about €275.67Mon5
- about €298.68Tue6
- about €320.51Wed7
- about €312.84Thu8
- about €243.22Fri9
- about €244.99Sat10
- about €233.19Sun11
- about €194.84Mon12
- about €188.35Tue13
- about €237.91Wed14
- about €263.28Thu15
Based on what this route has cost recently. The live fare is confirmed when you book.
The flight gets you into Townsville. These two partners take it from there, and the bed is theirs to book.
A room in Townsville for the night the flight gets in
Sort by distance from Townsville railway station and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
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When to book Melbourne to Townsville
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €236.7390 days
- €210.7760 days
- €227.2945 days
- €278.6230 days
- €263.2821 days
- €312.8414 days
- €337.037 days
- €384.233 days
- €557.101 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €210.77.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 164 percent. The dearest point is €557.10, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 60 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 60 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Melbourne to Townsville and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
2,331 km
2,070 km as the crow flies, 13% further by the route services take. The bearing runs north.
Who lives at each end
5,435,590 → 201,313
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 0% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 100% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 2,331 km against 2,070 km in a straight line, a detour of 13 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Mackay, Rockhampton. The gap between arriving and leaving is 70 minutes, of which about 14 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 14 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
Who runs this route
The flight gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Left luggage near Townsville railway station
Most of the points near Townsville railway station open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Townsville on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Melbourne to Townsville
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Melbourne to Townsville?
The fastest journey from Melbourne to Townsville takes 8h 37m door to door, of which 5h 38m is spent moving, on the flight. Most services take around 9h 51m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Melbourne to Townsville?
The cheapest fare from Melbourne to Townsville is €188.35, as of 24 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €319.63. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Melbourne to Townsville?
The cheapest way from Melbourne to Townsville is by flight, at €188.35 for one passenger on 13 October 2026. That journey takes 8h 45m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
When should I book Melbourne to Townsville?
Fares from Melbourne to Townsville bottom out around 60 days before departure, at €210.77. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 164 percent, measured on 24 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Melbourne to Townsville?
Monday is the cheapest day to depart from Melbourne to Townsville, at €275.67. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 24 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Melbourne to Townsville?
February is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from Melbourne to Townsville, at €204.87 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Melbourne to Townsville?
2 operators sell services from Melbourne to Townsville across 1 mode: Bonza Airlines, Queensland Rail. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Melbourne to Townsville?
0 percent of the services we sell from Melbourne to Townsville are direct. The rest connect at Mackay, Rockhampton, with about 70 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
Which station or terminal do services from Melbourne to Townsville use?
Services from Melbourne to Townsville by flight leave from Melbourne Airport MEL and arrive at Townsville railway station. Allow about 1h 57m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Melbourne to Townsville?
1 of the 2 operators we sell from Melbourne to Townsville allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Observed service A carrier record names this operator on this pair, carried through unchanged.
Prices come from the supplier wherever we hold a live quote. Elsewhere we show an indicative price built from the real distance, the real operator and a fare curve over lead time, day of the week and season. Those are labelled Estimated fare and cannot be booked.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Melbourne to Townsville on 24 September 2026: 2331 km of route against 2070 km in a straight line, 2 services a day, 2 operators a cheapest fare of €188.35, and 8h 37m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Being on the water gives Townsville a set of days out that do not start at a station.
Day trips out of Townsville and across Australia
Day trips that leave Townsville in the morning and cover a good part of Australia by evening.
See Townsville on KlookOr browse GetYourGuide
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The two ends, compared
Melbourne reaches 101 places in 31 countries on services we hold, over distances from 42 to 14,950 km. Townsville reaches 19 places in 2 countries, from 13 to 3,347 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Melbourne
- 101Places you can leave for
- 31Countries
- 38Operators
31
38Arriving in Townsville
Leaving Townsville
- 19Places you can leave for
- 2Countries
- 6Operators