WHITSUNDAYS Tours And Activities

Every tour listed above is run by a local Whitsundays operator and can be booked online, with live availability on most products. This Whitsundays tours directory puts day trips, overnight sailing, scenic flights and activities from Airlie Beach, Australia, in one place, so the right Whitsundays tour can be found without searching all over the internet. There are backpacker boats, private rooms for couples, family day tours and island stays.

The Whitsundays is one of the world’s best known sailing destinations: 74 islands in sheltered water inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, most of them uninhabited national park.

Day cruises and overnight sailing adventures leave Airlie Beach for Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet, with snorkelling stops on the island reefs along the way. Day tours range from fast boats that reach the beach in about 90 minutes to a full day under sail on a sailing catamaran.

Overnight tours run for 2 days and 1 night or 2 days and 2 nights on former racing maxi yachts, a trimaran and a 67-foot sailing ketch. Meals are included, and each tour page lists the operator, what is included and how to book. Couples and anyone on a honeymoon usually look for a boat with private rooms, and families tend to pick a day tour.

For backpackers, an overnight sailing tour is the classic Airlie Beach trip, and several boats are set up for that market with shared dorm-style bunks. Overnight tours book out up to 30 days in advance from October through January.

Airlie Beach is the mainland gateway to the area. The region also takes in Proserpine and Shute Harbour, and flights land daily at Whitsunday Coast Airport near Proserpine and on Hamilton Island. The town has a wide range of restaurants, activities and accommodation.

The Whitsundays map shows where each tour and activity provider is based.

Whitehaven Beach runs for 7 km along the eastern side of Whitsunday Island, opposite Chalkie’s Beach on Haslewood Island. The sand is 98% pure silica, which is why it is so white and why it stays cool underfoot in full sun, so walking barefoot is no problem.

There are no roads, shops or cafes. Whitehaven Beach is reached by boat or by air only, about 90 minutes from Airlie Beach on a fast day boat. At the northern end is Hill Inlet, where the tide reshapes the white sand and turquoise water into swirling patterns. The lookout track is 1.3 km return and the view is best around low tide.

Time on the sand varies by tour, from up to 2 hours on a half-day trip to 4 hours on a full-day Whitehaven Beach tour. Stinger suits are worn in the water from November to May.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is about 2,300 km long, can be seen from space, and is built entirely by living organisms. The Whitsundays sit inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and World Heritage Area.

There are three ways to see the Great Barrier Reef from Airlie Beach. Most Whitehaven Beach day tours and every overnight sailing tour include snorkelling on the reefs around the islands. The outer Great Barrier Reef tour goes to the Reefworld pontoon at Hardy Reef for snorkelling, with scuba diving as an optional extra, and guests can stay the night there on the Reefsleep. The third way is from the air.

One day tour, Viper Whitsundays, visits Hill Inlet, Whitehaven Beach and the outer Great Barrier Reef on the same day when the wind allows. For visitors travelling around Australia, a day or a few nights sailing the Whitsundays is the usual way to see both the Great Barrier Reef and Whitehaven Beach in one trip.

The Whitsunday Islands are a group of 74 islands off the Queensland coast, known for clear blue water and white sand. Tours depart from Airlie Beach, a small tropical town about 9 to 10 hours’ drive north of Hervey Bay, the gateway to Fraser Island (K’gari).

Only a handful of the islands have resorts. Hamilton Island and Daydream Island are the best known, and both are departure points for the outer Great Barrier Reef tour. Island resort accommodation is listed separately. The rest of the Whitsunday Islands are mostly national park.

Trips run from half-day cruises to full-day and overnight sailing. The options are day sailing, crewed overnight sailing, a private charter for up to 8 guests, or a bareboat charter for those who want to skipper their own yacht. The walk to the lookout over Hill Inlet is the highlight of most island trips.

On the mainland, activities include a sunset cruise, jet ski tours, skydiving, a crocodile safari on the Proserpine River and a segway tour through Conway National Park.

Heart Reef is a small heart-shaped coral formation in Hardy Reef, on the outer Great Barrier Reef. Boats and snorkellers are not allowed on it, so Heart Reef can only be seen from the air, by plane or helicopter.

The 1 hour scenic flight leaves from the airport 5 minutes from Airlie Beach and flies over the Great Barrier Reef, Heart Reef, Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet, the islands and Airlie Beach. It takes 60 to 70 minutes in a plane with a maximum of 13 guests, and every guest has a window seat.

A scenic flight at low tide gives the best view there is of the swirling sands at Hill Inlet. The flight can also be booked as a package with a Whitehaven Beach day tour, which covers the Great Barrier Reef from the air and the beach from the water. All 74 islands, the reef and the coast can be seen in a single flight, which makes it one of the best Whitsundays tours for visitors short on time.