WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS
The Whitsunday Islands are located on the Queensland’s coast and it is considered as the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. There are 74 islands in the Whitsundays from which 8 are inhabited with resorts, the most famous resorts are on Hamilton, Daydream and Hayman islands.
HISTORY
In 1770 Captain James Cook on the board of HMB Endeavour sailed through these islands during the Whitsun festival, hence the name Whitsunday Passage and islands. Although it is believed that the N’garo aboriginal people lived on these islands for 8000-9000 years prior to the European discovery. Several fish traps and rock paints were discovered as proof for the aboriginal occupation.
Tourism only started in the 1920’s with the first resorts appearing on islands. The region quickly became a luxury getaway for most. Pre-covid times 3 and a half million visitor nights were spent yearly in the region, which makes it one of the most visited destinations in Australia.
Arriving to…
Hamilton Island Airport
For this trip I have decided to fly to Hamilton Island instead of Prosperine Airport since it was the easier and cheaper choice from Sydney. There are daily flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. If you are not staying on Hamilton Island then after landing you have the option to take the island transfer provided by CruiseWhitsundays. They can take you either to Daydream Island or to Airlie Beach. The check-in desk is right next to the baggage reclaim area and you will board the vessel a few metres from there.
Important to check the timetable before arriving and make sure that you catch the last transfer. Check it HERE.
Accomodation - where to stay?
You have quite a lot of options when considering where to stay in the area. Although since the Whitsundays are considered to be as one of the most luxurious destinations in Australia you need to prepare yourself for heavy prices. Not only that hotels are expensive and filling up fast but the restaurants and activities will cost you a smaller fortunate as well. But after considering the beauty of the area you can definitely see why you pay that extra.
Staying on the islands
Even though they are pricier but still lot of people choose to stay on one of the island’s resorts to get that exclusive feeling the Whitsundays can offer, the two most popular resorts are on Hamilton Island and on Daydream Island with a wider range of room selection and prices. If you are looking for an even more exclusive stay then you should check out the Intercontinental on Hayman Island, prices starting from a thousand bucks a night but only resort guests are allowed on the island so you can truly have a piece of heaven to yourself.
Staying in Airlie Beach
There are no such thing as cheap option around the Whitsundays but Airlie Beach do offer an extended selection of accommodation from AirBnbs to luxury retreat stays. If you are planning to do several cruises to the different islands I suggest to find something closer to the marina otherwise you either have to rent a car or get a taxi each morning. There are several nice beach tracks in Airlie so even if you do live further away the morning / afternoon strolls will be amazing.
I have stayed at Mantra Club Croc, which was a 30-40 minutes walk from the marina (or 7-10 minutes with a taxi), which was doable although getting an accommodation even further from the marina will require you to have a car or get taxis everyday.
ITINEARY
Day 1 - Visit the Hardy Reef (full day tour)
Pick-up: The vessel departs from Port of Airlie but stops on Daydream and Hamilton Island to pick up more passengers.
On the first day of my trip I headed out to Hardy Reef, one of the 2900+ small reefs which build up the Great Barrier Reef. CruiseWhitsundays is operating a pontoon just right next to the reef from where you have a few activities to choose from in those 3-4 hours you are there:
Activities
Snorkeling | Snorkel safari
Get into the water and get close up encounters with lots of different fish species while seeing the reef wall below you.
Scuba diving
No matter if you are an experienced diver or someone who never tried scuba diving before at Hardy reef you have the chance to try yourself out. In my opinion it is very hard to beat the diving experience you can get at the Great Barrier Reef, especially if you are a complete beginner. This activity is not included in your ticket.
Semi-submarine tour
Explore a part of the reef wall while staying dry. They will take you on a 15-20 minutes ride and introduce the reef. If you get lucky you may even see sea turtles along the way. Included in your ticket.
Helicopter ride to see the Heart Reef
I’m sure if you are considering a visit to the Whitsunday Islands you have already seen images from the famous reef formation, which reminds you of a heart when you are looking at it from above. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to capture this natural reef formation.
The Heart Reef can only be viewed from the sky as it is a heavily protected area so you can either book a flight from Airlie Beach (more on this opportunity later) or take a short helicopter flight once you arrive to Hardy Reef. It’s an expensive experience and as I mentioned you have a few other more options if you want to see the area from above - which in some cases are cheaper.
*Please make sure that you respect the marine life around. Don’t break, touch the corals or the fishes around when you are out snorkelling!*
Day 2 - Explore Hamilton Island for a day
As I mentioned before you can stay in Hamilton Island Resort but if you are not then CruiseWhitsundays does offer island transfers throughout the day from Airlie Beach to Daydream Island and to Hamilton Island.
When you are arriving to Hamilton Island probably you are already mesmerised by its marina. Filled with yachts and sailing boats truly gives you the feeling of the exclusivity people seek when coming to the Whitsundays. Several coffees and restaurants are located in the marina and as you start to walk upwards you come across the resort. As you pass the resort and walk alongside the beach you get to the end of the sealed road, this is the place from where all the hiking trails are starting - LINK FOR ISLAND MAP.
During my day on the island I did a round trip touching Passage Peak, South East Head and Escape Beach. I wasn’t in a rush and still finished the hike in 3,5 hours and since I started walking around 10am I barely met anyone - except at Passage Peak which is the most popular hike on the island. If I have a few hours and keen to adventure a bit I would definitely recommend checking out these trails because the views are breathtaking along the way.
Day 3 - Whitehaven Beach & Hill Inlet (either half or full day tour)
Pick-up: The vessel departs from Port of Airlie but stops on Daydream and Hamilton Island to pick up more passengers.
There are various tour companies who provides either full or half day experiences to these locations. I have chosen CruiseWhitsundays but each company has something different to offer so make sure to evaluate the alternatives before going depending on your priorities.
Whitehaven Beach
Visit Australia’s No. 1 beach and walk on the 7km long 98% pure white sand. The sand is so pure that it’s perfect for polishing you family jewels (just don’t take them off because there is a high chance you will lose them). To top it all the sand doesn’t retain heat from the sun so even during the hottest summer days you can walk barefoot on it. I wouldn’t recommend walking on the sand in shoes anyway because if you do you will find sand even after a week in it.
You can hike up to the Whitehaven Beach Lookout from where you have a perfect view all over the beach. It will take you around 40-50 minutes to get up and back, but it’s an easy hike through the forest.
After the hike enjoy a fantastic BBQ and some time on the beach before heading back.
Hill Inlet
Trust me you don’t want to miss one of the world’s most photographed locations. Most tours offer this hike as an addition to their day trip to the Whitehaven Beach. Once you arrive to the drop off point there is a very short track which takes you up to three lookouts from where you see how the tide shifts the water and the sand to create this astonishing combination of colours. The interesting thing about Hill Inlet is that it is completely dependant on the tide levels as it’s completely changing. You will be able to see reef sharks and rays in the water.
Day 4 - Take a flight over the islands and the Great Barrier Reef (few hours of the day)
Similarly to the Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet day tour there are a wide range of companies who offer scenic flights over the Whitsunday Islands and Great Barrier Reef either with a plane or a helicopter. This activity is highly dependent on your budget but if you can I would definitely recommend taking a flight, I can guarantee it’s an experience you will never forget. I take thousands of pictures each year but the ones I took during the 60 minutes we spent in the skies are some of my favourite captures ever.
Most of the flights include the islands, Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet and the Heart Reef and in some cases they are cheaper than doing just the Heart Reef flight on the first day (and you see much more!). I have chosen the 60 minutes tour provided by GSL Aviation at 8:30am, they picked me up near my accommodation an hour earlier than the flight and it costed me $249. It is expensive for a 60 minutes flight but trust me it’s not around the Whitsundays.
Day 5 - JetSki Tour | Other activities & Beach day
On the last day I have decided to take one last adrenaline rush and head out for a 2 hours JetSki ride from Airlie Beach to South Molle Island. It’s been years I have been on a JetSki but riding around the Whitsundays cannot be explained in words. I cannot think of a more perfect destination to ride a JetSki and if you are visiting during whale season there are a very high chance you cross paths with those beautiful giants.
As other activities considered there are a few more day trips which could be fun and show you a different side of the Whitsundays:
Crocodile safari
RedCat Adventures - different side of the Whitsundays
Whale season
If you are visiting between June until September/October the chances you see whales are very high. During all of the tours above mentioned we saw at least one whale throughout the trip and with the newborn calves jumping it can be truly a special scene to watch.
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