Hinchinbrook Island lies 8 kilometres off Cardwell, and no boat sails there to a timetable. Getting across means booking a transfer with one of two small operators whose trips revolve around the Thorsborne Trail, its permits and the tide.
No timetable is published. Departure arrangements as described by Hinchinbrook Island Cruises and Absolute North Charters, and trail season from Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, all read on 7 October 2026 Hinchinbrook Island Cruises – Departure and pick-up times · 2026-10-07
Hinchinbrook is a mountain range surrounded by sea. The national park lies 8 kilometres from the Cardwell shoreline, about 171 kilometres north of Townsville, and stretches south to Lucinda near Ingham. A narrow, mangrove-lined channel separates its western side from the mainland; the east coast is a run of bays, beaches and rocky headlands below peaks that are often in cloud.
That shape decides how you get there. The Thorsborne Trail follows the east coast for 32 kilometres from Ramsay Bay in the north to George Point in the south, and Queensland Parks lets the commercial boats set down and collect walkers only at those two trailheads. So the usual journey is two one-way boat trips several days apart: out to Ramsay Bay at the start, and back from George Point at the end, with the pick-up timed around the tide at Mulligan Creek.
Two operators hold that work, and both must be booked ahead. Hinchinbrook Island Cruises runs from the public boat ramp at Hinchinbrook Harbour, the former Port Hinchinbrook just south of Cardwell, and also from Lucinda. Absolute North Charters is based at Lucinda and will collect from Cardwell only by arrangement. There is no walk-up service and no fixed departure from Cardwell: the time depends on the tide and is set when you book.
Transfers are sold as a return package for a hiker: one boat out to the start of the trail and one back from the other end, a few days later. You book and pay in advance with the operator, and there is no single-trip or walk-up fare on either company's price list.
The Cardwell price below comes from Hinchinbrook Island Cruises' transfer page, the only place it is published, so ask the operator to repeat it as you reserve. The Lucinda price is identical at both operators.
| Adult | $ 295 |
| Child | $ 240 |
| Adult | $ 285 |
| Child | $ 235 |
| Toddler 0–4 (Absolute North Charters) | Free |
Operators' published transfer prices, read on 7 October 2026; neither operator dates them Hinchinbrook Island Cruises – Transfers · 2026-10-07
Cardwell faces the island across the Hinchinbrook Channel, the mangrove-lined strait that separates Hinchinbrook from the mainland on its western side. The Thorsborne Trail does not start on that western shore: it runs 32 kilometres down the exposed east coast, from Ramsay Bay to George Point near the island's southern tip, which is why the boats make for Ramsay Bay, round on the island's eastern shore, and why Lucinda, close to the southern end, is the other departure town. Further up the same coast, Fitzroy Island off Cairns is the opposite case: a national-park island reached by scheduled ferries.
Hinchinbrook Island Cruises meets its passengers at the public boat ramp inside Hinchinbrook Harbour, the marina development south of the town that used to be called Port Hinchinbrook. Without a car, ask the operator to collect you from your accommodation in Cardwell. The map pin marks the marina, not the ramp itself.
Most walkers land here and hike south. The transfer boats may only set down and pick up at the two ends of the trail — Ramsay Bay in the north and George Point in the south — so this is not a jetty you can visit for an afternoon. The pin marks the bay rather than an exact landing spot.
Camping permits for independent hikers are released in seasons: the 1 March to 31 December 2027 season goes on sale on Tuesday 15 December 2026 at 10am Queensland time, with no more than six people per group. Book the transfer once your dates are secured.
Do not plan a bus or train connection in Cardwell until the operator has confirmed your departure. If a fixed time matters more, the 7.45am from Dungeness at Lucinda does not depend on the tide.
Queensland Parks only lets the transfer boats set down and pick up at Ramsay Bay and George Point. You cannot be dropped off to walk a single section, except in an emergency.
A park alert covers 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 for heat, humidity and creeks that dry up or flood. Queensland Parks names April to September as the best months to walk.
Mobile coverage is unreliable on the island. Hinchinbrook Island Cruises hires out personal locator beacons, and in an emergency the Coast Guard at Cardwell (VMR423) and Ingham (VMR407) listen on VHF channel 16.
For the Bandjin and Girramay people the island is Munamudanamy, and it has been a national park since 1932, within the Reef's World Heritage boundary. Its popularity with walkers is managed tightly. Queensland Parks releases Thorsborne Trail permits for a whole season at once, caps independent groups at six people, and is trialling a limit of 12 hikers starting each day instead of the old ceiling of 40 people on the trail at any one time. That system, rather than the boats, is usually the bottleneck: the transfer operators simply fit their trips around the permits that walkers hold.
The conditions are the other reason this crossing does not run like a ferry. Tides here range up to four metres, estuarine crocodiles live in the creeks and along the beaches, stingers turn up mostly in the hotter months, and there are no wheelchair-accessible facilities anywhere on the island. Domestic animals are banned. Each year the trail is shut for the whole of January and February, and Queensland Parks warns that October to March is hot, humid and hard on walkers. If you want a Queensland island walk without that commitment, the Green Island ferry from Cairns is a timetabled trip to a much smaller park.
No. Nothing runs to a timetable. Access is by private boat or by booking a transfer with Hinchinbrook Island Cruises or Absolute North Charters, the two operators Queensland Parks lists for the Thorsborne Trail.
It changes daily with the tide, and Hinchinbrook Island Cruises gives you the time when you book. From Lucinda the departure is fixed at 7.45am from Dungeness and does not depend on the tide.
From Cardwell, Hinchinbrook Island Cruises charges $295 for an adult and $240 for a child. From Lucinda both operators charge $285 for an adult and $235 for a child; Absolute North Charters carries under-fives free.
No. Under Queensland Parks rules the transfer operators may only drop off and pick up at the northern trailhead at Ramsay Bay and the southern one at George Point, except in an emergency.
The season runs from 1 March to 31 December; the trail closes every year from 1 January to the end of February. April to September is the recommended period. Absolute North Charters takes March transfers by appointment only because of wet-season creek levels.
Yes, a Queensland Parks camping permit for each night. Permits for the 2027 season go on sale on 15 December 2026 at 10am Queensland time, groups are limited to six, and the transfer should be booked around the permit dates.
Yes, by arrangement. Both operators offer day trips to the island in addition to hiker transfers; contact them for current destinations and prices.
Pick-ups are timed for walkers to cross Mulligan Creek 30 minutes earlier, and a Mulligan Bay pick-up can be arranged to avoid waiting for the tide. In an emergency call Triple Zero, or use VHF channel 16 to reach the Coast Guard.