The Whitsunday Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Airlie Beach in Queensland, Australia. While there are 74 islands, only seven of them are inhabited. Located in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef you will find beautiful beaches and lots of marine life! In this post we’re going through everything you need to know and our honest thoughts to answer the question: Is it worth visiting the Whitsundays in Australia?
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Where Are the Whitsundays?
The Whitsundays are in Queensland, Australia. Airlie Beach is the most common place to reach the Whitsundays from. It’s over 600 kms from Cairns to Airlie Beach so it’s quite a long drive. But there are plenty of places to stop along the way including Mission Beach and Townsville.
- The Whitsundays sit along the Great Barrier Reef so it’s a great place to see all kinds of marine life such as coral, fish and so much more!
From Airlie Beach you can either fly or take a boat to access islands within the Whitsundays. If your budget allows you can also see the Whitsundays from above by taking a scenic flight. The flights cost significantly more than the ferry but allow you to look over the incredible beaches and reefs. For a scenic flight expect to pay at least 250 AUD ($160 USD) per person at the very least.
You first have to decide where you want to go within the Whitsundays. Two of the most popular locations to visit are Hamilton Island and Whitehaven Beach.
- Hamilton Island is a very popular destination as it’s one of only four islands that you can stay on within the Whitsundays.
- Whitehaven Beach is known as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and is where we visited. Whitehaven Beach is a 7 kilometer beach located on Whitsunday Island. This beautiful beach has hands down the softest sand we have ever felt!
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Getting to Hamilton Island
To get to Hamilton Beach you can either fly or take a ferry. You can fly directly to Hamilton Island Airport from Sydney or Brisbane if you’re not already in the area. Otherwise it makes more sense to take the ferry from the Port of Airlie to Hamilton Island Marina.
- Cruise Whitsundays offers a ferry service that cost 59.90 AUD ($38 USD) one way per adult.
Getting to Whitehaven Beach
You can get to Whitehaven beach either by a scenic flight or a boat. There is no ferry that goes directly from Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach. By boat you can either charter your own boat if you have a large enough group or go on a boat tour that includes a stop at this pristine beach.
- From Hamilton Island you can also take a short boat ride to Whitehaven Beach if you want to stay on Hamilton Island and visit Whitehaven Beach for the day.
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Whitsundays Boat Tours
If you have the budget for a scenic flight or to charter your own boat then by all means take advantage of the incredible experience! It also would have been incredible to stay somewhere within the Whitsundays but we didn’t have the time or budget for that. The next best option is to take a boat tour for the day that includes one or two stops within the Whitsundays.
Our boat tour in the Whitsundays included a stop to snorkel in a section of the Great Barrier Reef, a visit to Whitehaven Beach and then a hike up to Hill Inlet Lookout.
- We chose this tour because we really wanted to visit Whitehaven Beach. We had to see this world renowned beach and it was seriously incredible! There is a reason why it has been so well ranked!
How Much Does a Whitsundays Tour Cost?
Our Whitsundays boat tour included:
- A boat ride to and from Airlie Beach
- 2 stops
- Snorkeling a section of the Great Barrier Reef
- Whitehaven Beach
- Hiking up to Hill Inlet Lookout
- Snorkel gear including masks, fins, and noodles
We booked the Southern Lights tour with Ocean Rafting. It cost 169 AUD or about $110 USD per person. It’s definitely not the cheapest boat tour especially compared to the islands tours in Asia.
- We met at the marina in Airlie Beach at 9:00 AM, left around 10 AM and got back to the marina around 4:00 PM.
- If you’re looking to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and see the Whitsundays this tour is a great way to do both while only paying for one.
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Is It Worth Visiting the Whitsundays?
Even if you don’t take a boat tour but just take the ferry to Hamilton Island, visiting the Whitsundays is expensive. So as budget travelers it was definitely more than we usually spend. But it’s an incredibly beautiful place!
The crystal clear water and almost entirely pure silica sand on Whitehaven Beach makes it like paradise. It is hands down one of the prettiest beaches we have ever visited! The views from Hill Inlet Lookout are absolutely incredible!
So we would say yes it is worth visiting the Whitsundays. It was something we definitely wanted to do and are really glad to have experienced this beautiful place! It definitely does deserve to be called one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Travel Truth: Our philosophy when choosing to visit places like the Whitsundays is to spend more money to experience amazing places like that and then save money on other things. We packed our own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of spending the additional 16 AUD per person for the buffet lunch on the boat.
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5 Things to Bring to the Whitsundays
Here are a few things you should bring with you for your day in the Whitsundays:
1. Sunscreen
The sun on Whitehaven Beach is very strong! We both got so sunburnt that by the time we were hiking up to Hill Inlet Lookout we were wearing our towels over our shoulders to stop from getting anymore red!
- This sunscreen is our favorite because it doesn’t wash off if you sweat or go in the water. We brought it from home in this reusable container but we actually saw it sold in Australia as well as in the Philippines.
2. Towels
You definitely want to bring a towel with you to lay out on the beach or dry off after jumping in the water. These microfiber towels pack up really small and dry so quickly that we never have to worry about traveling with wet towels!
3. Water Bottle
The day we visited Whitehaven Beach was so incredibly hot! We found ourselves drinking all of our water and then we were able to refill our water bottles with water from the boat. We were really glad to have brought our own especially during the hike!
4. Camera
You definitely want to bring your camera to visit these incredible islands! We almost didn’t bring our Sony A7iii because bringing an expensive camera on a boat tour can be risky but we’re so glad we did! There are so many amazing places to take pictures on Whitehaven Beach as well as from Hill Inlet Lookout looking out over the water.
- If you’re worried about your equipment consider bringing it in a dry bag that way you can be completely sure everything stays dry!
5. Lunch
Our boat trip didn’t include lunch so we packed our own. Some tour companies do include lunch but if not you definitely want to bring your own because you’ll be out in the sun all day and be hungry! We packed sandwiches in this reusable sandwich bag.
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