📍Curtis Ferry Services: An Honest Gladstone Harbour Transfer Review To Curtis & Facing Island. (2025.)

LOOKING FOR AN IN-DEPTH REVIEW OF CURTIS FERRY SERVICES’ GLADSTONE HARBOUR TRANSFER?
Gladstone is a gorgeous and unique city in the Central Coast region of sunny Queensland. This extensive industrial hub is home to some of Australia’s and the world’s largest manufacturing plants and refineries, creating an inconceivable amount of aluminium, coal, electricity, cement and liquid natural gas (LNG), which it ships out nationally and globally through its massive multi-commodity shipping port, the country’s biggest, which occupies much of the sizeable Gladstone Harbour.
But if you think that’s all there is to this city that wasn’t even on a northbound Bruce Highway sign for 500km until you were basically at the turn-off for it, then you’d be pleasantly surprised. Along with having some great attractions on the mainland, the three beautiful islands of Curtis, Facing and Quoin that form the edge of the harbour offer a fantastic nature-based escape for those seeking serenity, all of which you can reach with Curtis Ferry Services, either with a 4WD, 2WD or as a foot passenger. I visited the first two of these stunning offshore destinations with this company as the latter and here are my honest thoughts on travelling there with them.
NOTE: This company also has a separate service for the Great Barrier Reef Islands of North West, Mast Head & Lady Musgrave. I went to the North West with them and there’ll be a couple of posts of that place coming soon. For my thoughts on camping on Lady Musgrave Island which I went to from Bundaberg, click here.
Curtis Ferry Services Transfer: Review Overview.
In this honest and comprehensive review of the Curtis Ferry Services’ Gladstone Harbour Islands transfer, I cover all aspects of travelling with them, such as the boat, boarding and disembarking process, scenery, the crew, and whether travelling as a foot passenger was good value for money.
- Curtis Island. – 2WD, 4WD or passenger.
- Facing Island. – 4WD or passenger.
- Are Curtis & – Passenger only I believe.
Are Curtis & Facing Island Worth Visiting?
Curtis Island is absolutely worth visiting. Although I was only able to see some of the islands on foot as I don’t have a 4WD or boat, nor did I have a bicycle with me to reach some of the more remote places, I had a fantastic time hiking and camping in the national park and at the South End township and discovering the picturesque seascapes. Plus, I saw a couple of beautiful sea turtles that had come up to nest on the sand dunes behind the beach (October-December) during my stay at the Turtle Street Camping Area, which was incredibly special, making it well worth spending a few days there.
As for Facing Island, I was only able to visit the top peninsula area during my overnight stay, which was lovely, although not nearly as memorable as Curtis Island. The very top was scenic and a lovely lookout on the harbour side of views looking back towards the city was a nice place to enjoy the scenery. The cool rock formation at the bend was also a highlight, but not the many burs that kept sticking to everything!
Is The Curtis Ferry Services Transfer Worth It?
Yes. I think the Curtis Ferry Service is worth it. There was practically nothing to it. It was affordable and the process was very streamlined and it offers an affordable escape to some beautiful islands where you can camp and reconnect in nature.
Boarding & Disembarking Process.
✔️ Pros.
- The onboarding process was super simple. A worker just came to me in the car park and asked if I going to Curtis Island, and whether it was with my vehicle. Then it was a straight walk on.
- There wasn’t a formal check-in process, making everything more streamlined too.
- I was able to get on an earlier Facing Island to Curtis Island ferry than I booked, which was great as I had arrived at Farmers Point a fair bit earlier than the allotted pick-up time, so I didn’t have to wait around nearly as long.*
❌ Cons.
- The office is closed on weekends, which is probably not usually a problem. However, I don’t know if the boat crew are permitted to let you on with a vehicle without doing it formally if you decide you want to head over, for example. I needed to pop in and finish arranging my later trip to North West Island in the office due to issues with my devices so this was a little inconvenient for me who was doing my Gladstone Harbour transfers on the weekends.
- It’s not a drive-though ferry, which means you have to reverse on, so if that’s weak point for you, you might not feel comfortable doing that up a ramp and navigating between cars if there are many other vehicles on board.
Side note: *The ferry I caught between Facing & Curtis isn’t on the timetable listed on the website, which only has two services… So I’m not sure what was going on… Were there just extra services that day?
Curtis Endeavor II Vessel.
The ferry has three stories. The bottom is for vehicles, the middle has indoor seating with an open area at the back while the top is fully open with a large shade cloth.
✔️ Pros.
- The vessel is spacious and can probably fit about 15 regular-sized vehicles, meaning if you are towing a trailer, there’s heaps of room.
- People travelling with cars can park it in the shade if they are able to nab the spots at the back.
- The view from the top is awesome.
- The shade cloth on the top level was great for enjoying the breeze and not getting burnt.
- The middle interior deck has plenty of seating and windows if you want to let the breeze in.
- On the days I travelled with them (two Saturdays and a Sunday.), there was hardly anyone on board, so it was great for enjoying the boat ride from all three levels.
- You can also get some cold drinks and light snacks too.
- The toilets were clean.
- It was a smooth ride.
❌ Cons.
- Some people might be disappointed that it’s not a tourist-y barge, asits going to Curtis Island whic is a tourist attraction.
- Most of the cars will be in the sun.
- The middle interior deck doesn’t have air conditioning, which definitely would have been nice after my hiking trips to Curtis & Facing Island.
- It is also hard to open and close some of the windows if it’s too hot or too breezy.
- It is also fairly noisy.
- The toilets are pretty small enclosures and were hot. The water for washing your hands is also sometimes hot, which I assume is because it is stored or travels in pipes near the engine.
Scenery.
✔️ Pros.
- It was fantastic seeing Gladstone from the water.
- I loved going past the marina the HMAS Gladstone that sits at the edge of the gorgeous East Shores park.
- Even though I am more of an environmentalist, it was also fascinating to see more of the industrial ports and marvelling at the various industrial ships coming in and out of the harbour, some which were like massive cruise ships and just appreciate the entire scale of the operations that take place here.
- Further out, it was nice to have the scenery change and the gently undulating hills of Curtis Island.
- Looking back Gladstone was fantastic with the mountains in the background.
❌ Cons.
- I’d imagine some people will not like the heavily-industrial aspect of Gladstone and would not be interested in seeing more of it.
Crew.
✔️ Pros.
- There wasn’t much interaction with the crew, just a short and polite interaction with one of them asking if I was heading to Curtis Island with the car, and one later when I was booking my transfer from Facing Island to Curtis Island.
❌ Cons.
- We were a little late departing
- There’s no notification that you’re arriving at any island. You just need to be aware of it, which might be a problem if you’re taking a nap or stuck on the can with a stomach ache.
Booking Process.
✔️ Pros.
- The website is pretty easy to read.
- Travel is slightly cheaper if you book online.
- Foot passengers can just come on any trip, which is great for spontaneous last-minute trips.
❌ Cons.
- There’s a booking link for the Gladstone Harbour Islands on the homepage, but only at the bottom of the Harbour Islands page. Alternatively, you can click the Timetable button at the top and there’ll be a button there, but I think the information pages need to be more streamlined where the booking button is at the top.
- The options for vehicular passage and foot passengers are lumped together in one box on the second page, which makes it harder to easily find and distinguish between the two options.
- You can’t book island-to-island transfers online. However, you can just do it easily while you’re on board, but you just need to remember to do so!
Other Information.
- The office is closed on weekends.
- Vehicles need to be booked ahead.
- Foot passengers can board any ferry without pre-booking. Just pay when you get on board.
- You can’t book island-to-island transfers online, only onboard.
- Paid on-site parking is available.
- However, I think that the area out the front and to the side is free parking, but I can’t say for sure.
Overall Experience.
Would I Do The Curtis Ferry Services Curtis Island & Facing Island Transfer Again?
My experience travelling with Curtis Ferry Services was positive one. While it’s not the fanciest boat, with it being a vehicular barge, I loved how simple, streamlined and affordable it was and would pick them again for re-visiting Curtis Island if I get a 4WD so I can discover remote areas of the island, which will be even more inviting if their cabin has air-conditioning.
Is It Good Value For Money?
For a round trip that’s over two hours across the harbour to visit some of Gladstone’s most breathtaking landscapes and island escapes, I thought it was well worth the money as a foot passenger, especially to Curtis Island.
Who Is The Ferry Service Suitable For?
- Travellers looking to explore the Gladstone Harbour islands.
- 4WD enthusiasts.
- Nature lovers.
- Hikers.
- Turtle lovers – Oct-December for nesting turtles & Jan-March for hatching turtles.
- Cyclist.
- Those who enjoy long walks on remote beaches.
- Landscape photographers.
- Locals looking for a quick escape.
Who Would The Transfer Not Be Suitable For?
- Those with 2WD (Facing Island only have beach access and sandy roads. However, Curtis Island has a few roads you can traverse. I walked along the road from the Conner Bluff Lookout to the Turtle Street Camping Area, and the main road was suitable for these vehicles, but the rest of the way to the camping area was narrow and soft and sandy especially as you get closer to the end. As for the rest of the road, I am no sure, but I suspect you can go most of the way, which, had I known that before, could have saved me hours of walking!
Conclusion: Curtis Ferry Services To The Gladstone Harbour Islands Review.
The Curtis Ferry Service is an easy and streamlined way to access the Gladstone Harbour Islands and enjoy a memorable single or multi-day beach escape in some of the region’s most beautiful and affordable scenic destinations.