Magnetic Island Sunset Cruises Out Of Nelly Bay And Across Cleveland Bay

Every price on Magnetic Island Sunset Cruises is a from-price: the lowest adult price shown on the booking page, quoted per person in USD. It is the entry point for that tour, not a package total, and no tour on this site is sold per group.

The Three Sunset Sails

The three sunset and twilight sails run from $78.58 to $101.73 per person. The cheapest is the "Shipwreck Sunset Cruise" from Aquascene Magnetic Island at $78.58, rated 4.9 across 75 reviews. At the top of the sunset band sits the "Pilgrim Twilight Sail" at $101.73, rated 5.0 across 272 reviews, which makes it the most reviewed sunset sail on the site. Between them, the "Townsville Departure Sunset Sail" from Casual Fare Sailing Charters costs $80.68, rated 4.7 across 27 reviews.

The Four Daytime Tours

The four daytime sailing and boat days run from $125.58 to $199.95 per person. Two Aquascene Magnetic Island tours, the "Snorkel and Paddle Board Tour" and the "Circumnavigation, 5 Hours", both start at $125.58. The "Prawn And Antipasto Lunch Sail" from Pilgrim Magnetic Island starts at $167.68, and the dearest tour overall is the "6-Hour Sail, Ferry From Townsville Included" at $199.95, rated 5.0 across 8 reviews.

Where The Median Sits

Across all 7 tours, the median from-price is $125.58. The full spread runs $78.58 to $199.95, and every row is priced per person. The price ladder chart below shows each tour against that range.

A from-price answers what the seat costs. It says nothing about what the trip is worth, because the seven tours differ sharply in length, inclusions and group size.

Length And Inclusions Drive The Gap

Durations run from 1 hour 30 minutes to 6 hours. Alcoholic drinks are included on four tours, the "Pilgrim Twilight Sail", the "Townsville Departure Sunset Sail", the "Prawn And Antipasto Lunch Sail" and the "6-Hour Sail, Ferry From Townsville Included". The "Shipwreck Sunset Cruise" works the other way: bring your own drinks and snacks. On the "Townsville Departure Sunset Sail" food is not stated on the booking page. Group sizes span 6 to 30 passengers.

The Ferry Question

Transport to the island is priced inconsistently across the seven. Ferry tickets are excluded on the "Shipwreck Sunset Cruise", while the "6-Hour Sail, Ferry From Townsville Included" includes return ferry tickets between Townsville and Magnetic Island in its price.

Cancellation And Review Counts

Free cancellation is stated on 7 of 7 tours, up to 24 hours before the experience for a full refund. Review counts vary widely, from 8 on the "6-Hour Sail, Ferry From Townsville Included" to 1,506 on the "Snorkel and Paddle Board Tour", so read each count beside its rating rather than treating a high rating alone as a signal.

Six of the seven tours depart from Nelly Bay on Magnetic Island. One leaves from the Townsville mainland.

Nelly Bay, Six Tours

The "Pilgrim Twilight Sail" and the "Shipwreck Sunset Cruise", plus all four daytime tours, meet in the Nelly Bay marina area, a short walk from the ferry terminal. The Pilgrim tours meet next to the car ferry ramp, and Aquascene Magnetic Island describes its meeting spot as about a minute's walk to the left of the Nelly Bay ferry terminal, boarding at Magnetic Island Marina. Travellers coming from Townsville reach Nelly Bay on the SeaLink passenger ferry, a crossing of about 20 minutes.

Townsville, One Tour

The "Townsville Departure Sunset Sail" from Casual Fare Sailing Charters departs from the Townsville Yacht Club and Marina in South Townsville. The booking page says the sail passes Magnetic Island on its way across Cleveland Bay.

No Horseshoe Bay Departure

No tour on this site departs from Horseshoe Bay. Horseshoe Bay is reached by road.

Getting to the right meeting point is the one piece of logistics every traveller shares.

The Ferry From Townsville

The SeaLink passenger ferry runs from the Breakwater Ferry Terminal in Townsville to the Nelly Bay Ferry Terminal on Magnetic Island, a crossing of about 20 minutes, with no pre-booking needed. The ferry is not part of every tour price: ferry tickets are excluded on the "Shipwreck Sunset Cruise", while the "6-Hour Sail, Ferry From Townsville Included" includes return ferry tickets between Townsville and Magnetic Island.

On The Island

Hotel pickup is stated as not included on five of the seven tours and is not stated on the other two, so plan to make your own way to the Peppers deck or the marina. For drivers, Aquascene notes free car parking at the Magnetic Island car park on arrival, but says it can be full on certain days and advises allowing extra time. Passengers coming from Townsville for the "Townsville Departure Sunset Sail" go straight to the yacht club in South Townsville and skip the ferry entirely.

Price, Rating And Group Size

The "Pilgrim Twilight Sail" is run by Pilgrim Magnetic Island and is the dearest sunset sail on this page at $101.73 per person. It is also the most reviewed sunset sail, rated 5.0 across 272 reviews. The group is capped at up to 12 guests on a sailing yacht.

What Is Included

Drinks and food are both covered. The booking page lists unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks alongside light refreshments, which sets it apart from the bring-your-own "Shipwreck Sunset Cruise". Hotel pickup and drop-off are excluded.

Departure Point And Length

The tour departs Nelly Bay at the corner of the Peppers Boardwalk restaurant and the car ferry ramp at the Nelly Bay terminal. The sailing time is 1 hour 30 minutes, and on the operator's listed full-moon dates Pilgrim extends the cruise by up to 30 minutes to watch the moon rise, returning after dark. Pilgrim also states on its own page that ex-Townsville cruise times are aligned to the SeaLink timetable and that it can package ferry tickets.

Cancellation

Free cancellation applies: guests can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Price, Rating And Group Size

The "Shipwreck Sunset Cruise" is the cheapest sunset sail and the cheapest tour on this page at $78.58 per person, rated 4.9 across 75 reviews. Aquascene Magnetic Island takes up to 18 guests for a 2 hour trip.

The SS City Of Adelaide

The cruise covers the coastal area between Nelly Bay and Cockle Bay and visits the SS City of Adelaide. History sources record it as an iron-hulled ship built in Glasgow, launched in 1863, gutted by fire in 1912 and run aground at Cockle Bay in 1916 while under tow. Shipwreck history is the listed inclusion on the booking page.

Dates, Tides And Practical Points

Aquascene says the tour runs on a select few nights each month when the high tide and sunset combine, with an operator window of 4:15 to 6:15pm on selected days April to August, adjusted for the season otherwise. Guests bring their own beverages and nibbles. Ferry tickets are not included. If the trip is cancelled for poor weather, the booking page offers a different date or a full refund.

Price, Rating And Group Size

The "Townsville Departure Sunset Sail" by Casual Fare Sailing Charters costs $80.68 per person and is rated 4.7 across 27 reviews. At up to 6 guests it is the smallest group on this page, sailing for 1 hour 30 minutes on a sailing yacht.

Who It Suits

This is the only tour of the seven that leaves from Townsville, departing Townsville Yacht Club and Marina, South Townsville. No ferry is needed. The booking page says the trip passes Magnetic Island, sailing Cleveland Bay toward the island. Two standard alcoholic drinks per person, sparkling wine, and bottled water are included, with a skipper and deckhand on board. The minimum age is 2, the lowest stated age among the sunset sails. Food is not stated.

Against The Nelly Bay Sails

On price it sits between the $78.58 "Shipwreck Sunset Cruise" and the $101.73 "Pilgrim Twilight Sail". On group size it is the most intimate of the three, at up to 6 against up to 12 and up to 18.

Two Sailing Days With Lunch

Pilgrim Magnetic Island runs the "Prawn And Antipasto Lunch Sail" at $167.68 per person, rated 5.0 across 196 reviews, a 4 hour sail for up to 12 with lunch and alcoholic drinks included and snorkel equipment excluded. Its "6-Hour Sail, Ferry From Townsville Included" is the dearest tour on this page at $199.95, rated 5.0 across 8 reviews. Despite the name, it meets on the Peppers Blue on Blue deck at Nelly Bay at 10:00am after the included SeaLink ferry from Townsville, with return ferry tickets, lunch and alcoholic drinks included. Snorkelling equipment is excluded, and snorkelling is not guaranteed.

Two Aquascene Boat Days

Aquascene Magnetic Island offers the "Snorkel and Paddle Board Tour", $125.58 per person, rated 5.0 across 1,506 reviews, making it the most reviewed tour on this page. The 5 hour trip takes up to 30 guests and includes all snorkelling equipment with a lesson, free UV suits or wetsuits, free stand-up paddle boards, morning tea, coffee, tea and bottled water, and Master Reef Guides. The "Circumnavigation, 5 Hours" matches the price, the 5.0 rating and the 30-guest cap across 237 reviews, with snacks, coffee and tea, snorkel gear, wetsuits, paddle boards, toilets on board and landing and facility fees included.

Price And Time

The four daytime tours cost $125.58 to $199.95 per person against $78.58 to $101.73 for the three sunset sails. The time commitment is the bigger gap: 4 to 6 hours on the water during the day, against 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours for the evening sails. Group caps run from 12 to 30 on the day tours against 6 to 18 in the evening.

Drinks Differ By Operator

Alcoholic drinks are included on the two Pilgrim day tours. The two Aquascene tours, "Snorkel and Paddle Board Tour" and "Circumnavigation, 5 Hours", state coffee, tea and bottled water only, both non-alcoholic.

Choosing Between Them

A daytime tour suits a fuller day: snorkel gear is included on the two Aquascene trips, and the "6-Hour Sail, Ferry From Townsville Included" is the only tour of the seven with ferry tickets folded into the price. No tour promises wildlife or particular reef sights, and the booking page for each tour states what is and is not included.

The month table packs three different kinds of information side by side: computed times for Nelly Bay, rainfall averages from the Bureau of Meteorology, and the two official seasonal windows that affect a visit.

What The Table Holds

The computed columns show sunset, golden hour and civil dusk for Nelly Bay, month by month. The times are calculations, not promises, and the table is the place to read them rather than any prose on this page.

Rainfall, Cyclones And Stingers

Rainfall figures come from the Bureau of Meteorology's Townsville station. The wettest months in the averages are January at 274.4 mm, February at 312.9 mm and March at 197.9 mm. The driest run from July at 15.5 mm to September at 9.9 mm. The cyclone season, November to April, is the official tropical cyclone season stated by the Bureau of Meteorology. The stinger season runs 1 November to 31 May per Townsville City Council.

No month is singled out here as the best one.

Across the twelve months computed for Nelly Bay, the earliest sunset is 17:41, reached in May and June, and the latest is 18:56 in January.

Read the table with your own trip in mind and a few patterns stand out.

Timing The Evening

Sunset comes noticeably earlier in the middle of the year and pushes later through the summer months. The month table carries the exact computed figures for Nelly Bay.

Seasons That Stack

The wetter months in the averages, January through March, sit inside both official windows: the cyclone season of November to April and the stinger season of 1 November to 31 May. Stingers, per Surf Life Saving Queensland, may be present throughout the entire year in tropical Queensland, with risk higher in the season that runs from November through to May. The sunset cruises compared on this site are boat trips, and no swimming is listed on any of them.

Whales And Flexibility

Humpback whales migrate through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park from May to September, per the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, so no whale is promised on a sunset cruise. All seven tours state free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience.

Weather policy on these tours is an operator-by-operator matter, and only one operator publishes one.

Aquascene's Stated Policy

Aquascene Magnetic Island, operator of the "Shipwreck Sunset Cruise", says it keeps an eye on weather conditions and will contact customers to advise of a cancellation or offer an alternative date. On its sunset tour, if the trip is cancelled for poor weather the booking page offers a different date or a full refund. The same stated arrangement applies to its two day tours, the "Snorkel and Paddle Board Tour" and the "Circumnavigation, 5 Hours".

What The Other Operators Say

No weather, stinger or cyclone policy was found for Pilgrim Magnetic Island or Casual Fare Sailing Charters. Nothing on their pages should be assumed to match Aquascene's terms. For their tours, the booking page governs, and it is the document to read before paying.

The Blanket Terms That Do Apply

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience is stated on 7 of 7 tours compared here. The Bureau of Meteorology defines the official tropical cyclone season as November to April.

Three Habits Before Departure Day

Check the SeaLink timetable on the day itself, because a late sailing home shapes how much margin an evening trip needs. Keep the booking page open and reachable, since an operator that cancels will contact you through it, as Aquascene states it does. And note the 24 hour free cancellation rule: stated on all seven tours, it sets the latest clean exit if the forecast turns.

Nothing About The Sky Is Promised

These are evening boat trips. The colour of the sky, the visibility of the moon and the conditions on the water all depend on the day, and no operator or page on this site promises otherwise. The sunset table holds the computed times; what the evening delivers is another matter entirely.