Whitsundays are some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Everyone loves to go snorkelling and diving in the turquoise blue waters or laze a day away on white sand beaches, but the area is most popular with sailing. The 74 Whitsunday Islands are not all coral islands, so you can’t watch coral reef, but there are plenty of things to do. Here’s some information for your holiday in Whitsundays Australia, whether you are after just a laid-back weekend, honeymoon in Whitsunday islands or Whitsunday charter yachts. Here is also Whitsunday mainland accommodation, and in the end of the page is a map of Whitsundays.
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Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Airlie Beach Whitsunday Islands Australia Airlie Beach on the mainland is not only the gateway to the Whitsunday islands, it’s a town worth spending a few days in. Airlie Beach is a major tourist town with plenty of accommodation, bars and restaurants, a lively night life and a stinger-free lagoon to swim in, open 24 hours. As in many Australian tourist towns, there is a wildlife park where you can see Australian animals, cuddle a koala and watch the crocs being fed, and next door is a Fun Park with a large water slide and all sorts of fun.
Airlie Beach. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Whitsunday Islands Australia: Whitsundays Guided Tours Airlie Beach is one of the best and most popular places to get your Scuba Diving licence which you can do with Kelly Dive, Oceania Dive, Pro-Dive or Reef Dive. Humpback whales are passing by between July and September and whale-watching tours are popular. A range of water sports equipment, including catamarans, jet skis and paddle skis can be hired in front of the Airlie Beach Hotel in season, and Salty Dog Sea Kayaking offers paddling tours. Morrison’s Trail Rides takes you horse riding through the bush to the lovely Cedar Creek Falls, and Fawlty’s 4WD Tropical Tours goes to the same place with a 4WD. You can book parasailing and tandem skydiving through the agencies in town, and Reeforest Adventure Tours offers full-day trips to Eungella National Park with the beautiful Finch Hatton Gorge in the lush rainforest.
Whitsunday Islands Australia: Hamilton Island Whitsundays Australia Hamilton Island is the most heavily developed island of the Whitsunday islands. It’s almost like a small town with accommodation for more than 2000 people, high-rise tower blocks, shops, restaurants and bars, and almost as wide range of water-sports as in Airlie Beach. You can go paragliding and water skiing, take a helicopter ride, join fishing trips, or do your course for scuba diving licence. From Catseye Beach you can hire jet skis, windsurfers and catamarans, and there are several bushwalking trails on the island.
Hamilton Island. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Hamilton also caters for families with a Day-care Centre and a free Fun Club for kids. The bad news is that accommodation is not cheap, but if you can afford it, here are the options starting with the cheapest: Palm Terraces, Palm Bungalows, Reef View Hotel, Whitsunday Appartments, Marina Village, Acacia Heights, The Beach Club and North Point Appartments and Villas. You have to book them all via Hamilton Island Resort. Unless you are sailing, the way to get to Hamilton is to catch Blue Ferries from Shute Harbour where there is about 10 departures every day and the trip takes 30 minutes.
Hayman Island. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Whitsunday Islands Australia: Hayman Island Resort Whitsundays The most expensive of the Whitsunday islands is Hayman Island. But it has also the most luxurious accommodation, and resort guests have free use of windsurfers, paddle skis and catamarans. There are also tennis, squash and golf clubs, an 8km-long bushwalk and dinghies can be hired with fishing gear. Reef Goddess offers a variety of snorkelling and diving trips to the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Air Whitsunday offers seaplane tours to Blue Lagoon at Hardy Reef, and other Whitsunday Islands. All accommodation on the island is provided by the private Hayman Resort. It is an impressive five-star resort as luxury as it ever gets, but you pay for it. To get to Hayman Island, catch the Whitsunday Allower from Shute Harbour. Coral Air Whitsunday does seaplane trips from the mainland, including day trips.
Daydream Island. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Whitsunday Islands Australia: Daydream Island Australia The tiny Daydream Island is a popular day-trip destination from Airlie Beach. The usual watersports are offered and there are a few bushwalks which take no longer than 30 minutes in total, and if you just want to relax and do nothing, a few days pass by quickly laying in a hammock with ocean views. All accommodation on the Daydream Island island is offered by Daydream Island Resort. Whitsunday Allover takes you to Daydream from Shute Harbour, and a day-trip package includes lunch.
Lindeman Island. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Whitsunday Islands Australia: Lindeman Island Whitsundays Lindeman Island has the oldest Club Med resort in Australia. It is one of the southernmost of the Whitsunday islands, and most of it is national park with 20km of walking trails to small bays and beaches that you can have all for yourself. There is also a golf course, tennis courts and the usual range of watersports, dive courses and snorkelling tours. The Club Med Resort provides all accommodation on Lindeman Island with three-storey accommodation blocks, restaurants, pool and nightly entertainment with a live show in the main theatre and later on there is a night show. Lindeman Island Island Air Taxis fly to Lindeman Island from Shute Harbour; and Whitsunday Allover does day trips.
Hook Island. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Whitsunday Islands Australia: Hook Island Hook Island is the second largest of the Whitsunday islands, with some good beaches and some of the best diving and snorkelling spots in the area. Prosail Dive offers sailing and a diving license course, and good snorkelling is just offshore. Hook Island is also a low-key island, having the cheapest resort in the Whitsundays – Hook Island Resort, and you can camp in the national park. If you are on a low budget and like bushwalking, Hook is the island to visit.
Long Island. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Whitsunday Islands Australia: Long Island Whitsundays Long Island is smaller, and a bit more expensive than Hook, but it is still a low-key island compared to the other luxurious Whitsunday islands mentioned above. Long Island is mostly national park with some nice views along the walking tracks, and you can hire dinghies, jet skis and the usual watersports’ equipment. You can camp in the national park (book with EPA), or you have three options for resorts on the island. Long Island Resort is the large mainstream resort with lots of activities, swimming pools, tennis courts, mini golf and a gym. The other two are quiet getaways: Palm Bay Hideaway Resort has no TVs, phones or powered water equipment; and at Whitsunday Wilderness Lodge you skip day visitors and kids under 15 years of age. The resort runs on solar power and most of the meals are cooked on campfire. Both Blue Ferries and Whitsunday Allover connect Long Island to Shute Harbour by daily ferry services, many trips per day are available and the trip takes 15 minutes.
South Molle. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Whitsunday Islands Australia: South Molle Island Resort Whitsundays South Molle Island is bushwalkers’ and birdwatchers’ paradise – if you like nature, South Molle is a good one. The whole island is national park, except the resort and golf course. The island is full of walking tracks with some good views over the blue ocean and a lot of birdlife. Beaches are good at the high tide and the resort has a pool. The South Molle Island Resort is the only resort on the island and apart from the pool, it has a gym, tennis and squash courts, and water-sports gear for hire. You can also camp in the bush in South Molle National Park. Both Blue Ferries and Whitsunday Allover have numerous departures from Shute Harbour to South Molle every day.
Whitsunday Island. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Whitsunday Islands Australia: Whitsunday Island Queensland Australia And finally, the Whitsunday Island is the largest and wildest of the Whitsunday islands: there is no resort, there is plenty of bushwalking, there is the 6km-long white-sand Whitehaven Beach, and there are national parks camping grounds at Joe’s, Dugongs and Sawmill Beaches. How to get there? Go sailing.
Here's a map of Whitsundays, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
