Travel to Townsville

 
 

Townsville is a regional city in the Australian state of Queensland. It is located on the coast adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef and is 2,400 km (1,500 miles) north of Sydney, 1,380 km (855 miles) north of Brisbane and 350 km (220 miles) south of Cairns. Further details for visitors to Townsville are available at the Life in the Tropics web site.

Despite the best efforts of the IPMEN’08 conference committee, we have been unable to obtain group discounts for delegates who choose to fly to Townsville. As a result, IPMEN’08 conference delegates will need to make their own travel arrangements to get to Townsville. All international IPMEN’08 conference delegates, other than New Zealand citizens, will also need a passport and a valid visa or authority to enter Australia for immigration clearance upon arrival in Australia (see below for details).

All IPMEN’08 conference delegates should aim to arrive in Townsville on Thursday October 16. As international IPMEN’08 delegates would most likely fly to Townsville via Brisbane, Sydney or Cairns, they should look carefully at connecting flights to Townsville to make sure they arrive on October 16. International delegates travelling from central or the eastern Pacific should also factor in crossing the International Date Line.

Finally, as part of the IPMEN’08 conference committee’s plans to “walk the (environmental) talk” we will be asking all delegates who fly to Townsville to consider opting for an airline that offers carbon offsets. The overall aim is to run a carbon neutral conference and delegates can assist us in achieving that aim (please go to Walk the Talk for details).


Queensland, Australia map
   
Australian visas
All international IPMEN’08 conference delegates, other than Australian or New Zealand citizens, will need a valid visa or authority to enter Australia (including electronic visas) for immigration clearance upon arrival in Australia.

Travellers holding the following passports may now apply for an electronic visa (ETA) through the Australian ETA web site (you are only eligible to apply for an ETA while you are outside of Australia):

Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Brunei
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong SAR
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
San Marino
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States Of America
Vatican City

If you do not meet the criteria above, then you should contact your nearest Australian visa office to organise a visa in person. The IPMEN’08 conference has been registered with this office so we recommend that you first register for the conference and then apply for your visa.