Charters Towers is a historic gold mining town in northern Queensland just inland from Townsville on the coast. Just over 8,000 people live here although at one point, it was the second-largest city in the state only after Brisbane.
We're currently living full-time in our campervan, a 2018 Mercedes Sprinter, and exploring Australia, with a plan of "driving the lap" (completing the entire perimeter of the country). I first visited Australia in 2019, following the classic backpacker route, mostly visiting big cities, staying in hostels and traveling by public transport. This time, with the freedom of our campervan, we're trying to hit the lesser known spots and go slower.
For tens of thousands of years, the Gudjal people lived on this land, long before any Europeans arrived.
The first Europeans to explore the area of present-day Charters Towers arrived in 1844 led by Ludwig Leichhardt who sailed along the Burdekin River on his way to Port Essington. Further surveying was completed in 1859, opening the area for settlement from 1861. Gold was found in 1871 by Jupiter Mosman, a 12-year-old Aboriginal boy, while looking for the horses of his prospecting group who had bolted during a lighting strike. The gold led to a major population boom and the town was officially established in 1877 and a railway station connecting Charters Towers with Townsville on the coast just a few years later in 1882. With a population of about 27,500 during the gold boom, Charters Towers was the second largest city outside Brisbane at the time! The First World War saw the decline of the town after nearly 50 years of profitable gold mining.
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Useful Inforrmation for Charters Towers
Below is some useful information for preparing for your trip to Charters Towers. In all cases, please be sure to check with the relevant local authorities for the latest and accurate information.
Language: The official language of Australia is English. In Charters Towers, the traditional language of the Gudjal people is Gudjal.
→ Learn more about the language of the Gudjal people.
Currency: The currency used in Australia is the Australian dollar, denoted as AUD $. I use a Wise account when I travel which allows me to have a single, free account with multiple currencies. I only have to pay once to convert my money in the app and then I can pay in AUD $!
→ Check the latest currency conversion between AUD $ and your local currency.
Data/WiFi: Before you arrive, I recommend purchasing an eSim on your phone so that you can access data the moment you land. eSims are much more convenient as it means you don't have to put a separate physical Sim into your phone. AirAlo offers great deals for eSims of various data sizes and time lengths with Optus.
→ Load an international eSim on your phone with AirAlo.
If you are visiting Australia long term, you might wish to put a physical Sim in your phone as AirAlo is geared more towards short term visitors on holiday. This way you can access a local phone plan. There are three main mobile phone network providers in Australia: Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. Telstra has the best coverage across the country whereas Optus and Vodafone are good within cities. I recommend Telstra as it means you have the best coverage while you travel around the country, especially in rural areas.
We travel with a Starlink in our campervan which enables us to have unlimited WiFi wherever we are, even in places without coverage.
Free WiFi is available at the Charters Towers Visitor Information Centre as well as in a number of public spaces in town provided by Charters Towers Regional Council.
Visa: All passport holders except New Zealand require a visa to visit Australia. All arrivals must fill out an Australian arrival card before landing.
→ Check which visa you need for Australia.
Time of year to visit: Australia can be visited all year-round. Charters Towers is in the northeast of Australia which has a very wet season in the summer from November to April. I recommend visiting between May and October for pleasant, dry, sunny days.
Length of stay: We spent just one day in Charters Towers on our way from the Northern Territory toward the east coast. It's a pretty small town so a day should be sufficient to explore!
How to Get to Charters Towers
By flight: The closest airport to Charters Towers is in the coastal city of Townsville connecting domestically to nine destinations within Australia including Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne and Sydney. From Townsville Airport, Charters Towers is about an hour and a half drive.
→ Rent a car at Townsville Airport.
If you don't want to drive, take bus 222 from the airport to the Breakwater Terminal in Townsville where a direct Greyhound coach line connects Townsville with Charters Towers in less than two hours.
By car: If you're driving around the country as we are in our campervan, then the easiest way to get to Charters Towers is with your own wheels. The most popular way of exploring Australia is by camping - whether with a motorhome, campervan, caravan or a roof tent on top of a car. This gives you the ultimate freedom of going as fast or as slow as you like.
We stopped through the town on our way from the Northern Territory headed toward the east coast.
Sunset on the A6
By coach: Greyhound runs long distance coaches around Australia connecting Charters Towers to Townsville and beyond.
By train: Charters Towers is serviced by QueenslandRail's Inlander which connects Townsville to Mount Isa twice-weekly in each direction.
QueenslandRail connections
How to Get Around Charters Towers
Charters Towers is a small town of just over 8,000 people.
On foot: The main downtown area of Charters Towers is very walkable, with restaurants, accommodation and shops.
By car: The easiest and most popular way of getting around is by car so you can park wherever you like and explore. This also means you can get out of the downtown area and out to other neighbourhoods, such as up to Towers Hill.
By guided tour: There are a number of guided tours available in Charters Towers, bookable through the Visitor Information Centre.
Where to Stay Near Charters Towers
Hotel: Not traveling by campervan? Driving in a car? Stopping over on your way between the Northern Territory and the east coast? Whatever your reason for needing a place to stay, there are some great accommodation options in Charters Towers.
→ Check out places to stay to suit your budget and accommodation type.
Camping: We are driving "the lap" around Australia, exploring the country in our campervan. As with the rest of Australia, Queensland permits freedom camping on designated sites. These sites can vary greatly; some offer a variety of facilities such as toilets, trash bins, picnic tables, outdoor cooking stations and others have none of this and might simply be a pull-out on the side of the road.
The best way to find legal freedom camping spots is to use an app. We use Wikicamps Australia, a cheap app that has every single amenity listed (both free and paid) that you might need on the road. This includes things like where to fill up fresh water, where to dump grey water, where to empty toilets, where to stay, gas stations, information points and also has suggestions for things to do as you go.
→ Download the Wikicamps Australia app.
We didn't actually stay within Charters Towers, instead camping along the way as we drove from the Northern Territory eastward.
There is a lovely free camp in Julia Creek, another town on the A6 directly west of Charters Towers. Julia Creek didn't have much to offer in terms of the town itself but it was the perfect spot to stop over while driving across and the campsite is located right on a river, about 1km outside of town.
Julia Creek Free Camp
There is also a lovely free camp in Hughenden, another town on the A6 directly west of Charters Towers. The campsite is basically a big field with lots of space to park up as well as both a dump point and fresh water fill up. There are no toilets though so they do ask that you're self-contained to stay here.
Hughenden Free Camp
Where to Eat in Charters Towers
We had an outstanding dinner while visiting Charters Towers. I can really recommend stopping at the delightful, family-run Heera Indian Cuisine for mouthwatering curries and fluffy naan.
Best Things to Do in Charters Towers
Charters Towers is a historic gold mining town with a rich history, at its peak the second-largest city in Queensland only after Brisbane. We only spent a day here but there are museums and guided tours to keep you going for longer!
Take in the view from Towers Hill
Towers Hill has the best view in Charters Towers with plenty of information panels sharing the fascinating history of the town. If you're lucky, you'll also get to spot the resident wallabies who call this hill home!
You can drive up or hike up from town.
Find the largest mosaic in Australia
We were honestly amazed by the Charters Towers Wall of History, the largest mosaic in Australia, which shares the history of the town using over five million tiny tiles.
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Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
