The Whitsundays are a group of 74 pristine islands situated in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef, just off Australia’s East Coast.
If you are short on time and only have a few days up your sleeve to get a taste test of the reef then Airlie beach is a great point to base yourself.
You can take many day trips from here and even get transfers to some of the more luxurious islands such as Hamilton and Hayman…which are great for honeymooners.
Getting there
If you do not have your own car or a hire car coming from another location then you have two options:
Fly
Whitsunday Coast Airport (or Proserpine Airport) is located. 37 km from Airlie beach. Direct flights operate to and from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with Jetstar and Virgin. You can easily book a bus transfer from the airport into town with Whitsundays Transit. They meet each inbound and outbound flight. Travel time is around 40 minutes. Prices listed below:
Bus
If you are on a backpacker budget travelling the iconic East Coast trail from Sydney all the way to North Queensland, then a Greyhound bus may be a good option. It can give you great flexibility to stay at different towns and cities along the way and they offer a range of passes, all of varying lengths.
Getting around
No need for a car on a quick trip, the town is walkable and you can easily get transport on the day tours you choose to take. For those wanting a car Hertz, Avis and Budget are all easily located once you have collected your luggage.
Where to stay
$ Magnums, Nomads Airlie Beach and Airlie Beach YHA are good options for those on a tighter budget.
$ $ Airlie Beach Hotel is great for those on a mid range budget that don;t want shared bathroom facilities, and want a bit more privacy and comfort without the 5* price tag.
$ $ $ Mantra Boathouse Apartments are great for a bit more space and luxury but start at $500 AUD + per night.
What to see and do
Snorkel or Scuba Dive the reef.
This is a given. No trip to the GBR is complete without a marine activity. We did a day trip to Hardy Reef with Cruise Whitsundays with all wetsuit and snorkel gear included for the day. They have options for you to snorkel or even do an assisted Scuba Dive that does not require PADI certification from their pontoon located well away from the mainland. They have a photographer in the water capturing everyone’s best angles under the water with pictures available for purchase at the end of the day, and the staff were lovely and super helpful…especially when I got horrendously sea sick on the journey back to dry land.
I also have my eye on another highly recommended company called Ocean Rafting. They offer a range of amazing tours with a slightly smaller group feel than Cruise Whitsundays. These guys offer packages with scenic flights and rafting which gives you the opportunity to snorkel, soak up the beach and see the Whitsundays from above, which to me seems like a better deal. Some of their tours even offer walks or hikes as well as Whitehaven experiences (see below). I wish I knew about them when I was up at Airlie and you can bet after checking out their website and instagram page I have them tagged for my next trip back up there.
Take it slow by the Lagoon
A great place to take a dip after a big day or unwind with a book in your hand if that is more your speed. It’s also super kid friendly. I found that although a little chilly initially, the temperature of the water in the lagoon to be quite pleasant and we were there in the middle of winter!
Whitehaven beach
Many have argued that Whitehaven is possibly the best and most perfect beach in the world, and it’s not hard to see why. The 7 kilometre stretch of pristine white sand on Whitsunday Island is coupled with the most amazing water in many beautiful shades of blue 💙 You can access the beach by private boat, on a day tour from the the mainland (Airlie) or on a scenic flight/helicopter. HILL INLET is a must. This lookout gives the most amazing views where the sand and water form these incredible swirl patterns. Ocean Rafting and Cruise Whitsundays both offer Whitehaven tours.
Get a taste for resort life on one of the islands
Hamilton Island and Hayman Island are two popular choices. When planning our trip Charlotte and I decided we wanted to get a small taste of Hamilton but not with the price tag of overnight accommodation… so visiting as part of a day trip for a few hours is a good alternative, although you won’t have time to do a hike. Hiking on Hamilton looks great from the pictures I have seen and I know there are several trail options. We did however, hire a golf buggy to drive around for a few hours and check out a few good spots, as well as treating ourself to lunch at the Marina with lots of cockatoos making themselves at home. All part and parcel of a true Aussie experience.
If you are looking to stay on Hamilton for a few days you can book an island transfer ferry with Cruise Whitsundays or it does have it’s own airport, which while a bit more expensive can save the hassle of transiting via Proserpine airport and Airlie Beach. Direct flights operate from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with Jetstar, Virgin and QANTAS. Keep in mind that as this is a small airport with only one runway so flights from major cities may not operate every day and the airport is only open from 8am to 4pm.
Hayman is the more expensive of the two and slightly harder to reach. From what I can gather the island has only one option in the way of accommodation (The Intercontinental). All transfers can be arranged via the resort but it really comes down to a ‘Luxury Launch’ boat transfer from Hamilton Island or you can take a Helicopter from Hamilton for $800 AUD priced for 2 adults. The boat transfer definitely seems the more economical way to go. From everything I have seen it screams LUXURY 😍 My friend and her hubby went for their honeymoon and gave it a rave review. It’s definitely still on my list for my next trip back to QLD.
Take a Scenic flight
Experience the bright blues and pristine white sands of the Whitsundays from above in either a small plane or a helicopter. Options include:
Ocean Rafting Scenic Flights (60 minutes). Priced around 284 for adults.
HeliReef tours offer both scenic flights and helicopter experiences. FYI Helicopter flights are much more expensive!
Alternatively you could check out Red Balloon to see if there are any good deals currently on offer.
Take a sunset walk along the beach before dinner
Soak up life on the water on a Catamaran.
This is on my bucket list but lands on the very expensive side …unless split multiple ways with a group of people. In case you haven’t noticed, much of visiting the Whitsundays lands on the very expensive side but I threw this one in here because even if we are travelling on a relatively tight budget, that doesn’t mean we can’t splurge every now and then. You can take these out with no special training, just a little bit of prior boat experience and you are given a full information briefing beforehand, with no licences required. You can set your own itinerary and explore the islands at your own pace.
Check out Whitsunday Escape to view the vessels or to get a quote. The cheapest option comes in around 750 a night with a maximum capacity of 6. My favourite looking vessel is around $1900 per night and caters for 8-11 guests.
Other noteworthy base points
Cairns and Port Douglass both offer good points to begin your Great Barrier Reef adventure. Although you cannot access the Whitsundays from here, there are plenty of other islands teeming with marine life and water activities to keep you busy and interested. I plan on exploring both in the hopes of narrowing down where the best GBR experiences lie.
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