WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS
- INDEX
- DESTINATIONS
- YOUR ITINERARY
- ACCOMMODATION
- THINGS TO DO
- TRANSPORT
- TOURS
- ATTRACTIONS
- WEDDING / HONEYMOON
- CAR HIRE
- DINING OUT
- BACKPACKERS
- INTERNET@CAFES
- EQUIPMENT HIRE
- MAPS and INFO
- SAFE TRAVEL
- LINKS
It's hard to imagine as you're sailing the magnificent Whitsundays, but these islands were once mountain peaks on the Australian mainland. After the last ice age, rising oceans drowned the valleys between the mountains, creating 74 islands from the highest peaks, the shining jewels of Tropical North Queensland's crown. Today, these islands are renowned for their luxury resorts, but there are a great range of accommodation options and activities to suit every taste and budget. It's a bit cliche, but there really is something for everyone in the Whitsundays.
WE'VE SELECTED THE TOP NINE WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS TO SHOWCASE HERE, CHOSEN BY ACCESSIBILITY, NATURAL BEAUTY, AND GENERAL APPEAL. EACH ONE IS DESCRIBED IN DETAIL, INCLUDING THE SERVICES AVAILABLE ON EACH.
It was Captain James Cook, the man credited with the DISCOVERY of Australia, who gave the Whitsundays their name on his journey up the east coast in 1770. He passed through the narrow channel between the mainland and the islands on Sunday 4th June (the seventh Sunday after easter, which is known as 'Whit Sunday'). It is now widely accepted that he didn't actually pass through on this date, as he had failed to take into account the yet to be brought into existence International Date Line.
The Whitsundays started to attract tourists in the early 1930's, with the construction of a 'resort' on Daydream Island. Consisting of unfloored timber huts, with iron roofs and iron windows, the first Whitsunday Islands tourist resort was a far cry from the unmitigated luxury that can be found in some of our island resorts today.
ATTRACTIONS AND THINGS TO DO - WHITSUNDAYS
There are a wide range of one-day trips to the reef and the world famous island resorts - such as Hamilton, Daydream and Hook - with some cruises taking in more than one resort during the day.
As you sail among deserted islands, beaches and reefs, backpackers can dive and snorkel among colourful fish and coral, bushwalk through tropical forest and sunbake on deserted beaches while the boat's crew pampers you.
While cruising during July to September, you might spot a Humpback whale as these gentle giants migrate to the Whitsundays from Antarctica to breed.
ISLANDIVE
3 Abel Point Marina, Airlie Beach (MAP)
Phone (07) 4946 4167 / Mobile 0408 339 998
www.islandive.com
Sail, dive or cruise!
Four vessels to choose with three dive vessels and one luxury sailing catamaran. Sail around the spectacular Whitsunday Islands and see where lush rainforest meets crystal clear waters. Experience the wonders of abundant marine life and visit the breath taking Whitehaven Beach. Dine on fine local cuisine and meet some new friends. Enjoy the worlds best scenery in comfort and style.. Each of Whitsundays boats have unique features and you can choose your tour based on age group, style, budget or time...
OZ ADVENTURE SAILING
Level 2/293 Shute Harbour Road, Airlie Beach (MAP)
Phone: (07) 4940 2000 / Fax (07) 4948 2352
Tollfree 1300 653 100
www.ozsailing.com.au
Oz Adventure Sailing offers you the opportunity to explore both above and below the protected tropical waters of the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. As Australia's number one crewed yacht charter company, Oz Adventure Sailing offers you the ability to charter a sailing boat that suits not only your time schedule and your budget but also your personal sailing desires. Whether you are looking for the ease of a by the cabin charter on a racing yacht, cruising yacht, Tallship or a luxury yacht Oz Adventure Sailing can cater for all your sailing holiday desires!
WHITSUNDAY RENT A YACHT
6 Bay Terrace, Shute Harbour (MAP)
Phone (07) 4946 9232 / Fax (07) 4946 9512
Tollfree 1800 075 000 or 1800 075 111
www.rentayacht.com.au
Cruise your cares away!
Imagine the fun and freedom, on a "skipper yourself" boating holiday, as you cruise through tropical Whitsunday Islands. Whitsunday Rent A Yacht, the biggest bareboat operator in the area, have coordinated fun family vacations, romantic getaways & group adventure trips for 25 years. Choose from 40 sailing yachts, motor cruisers and catamarans from 28ft to 50ft (2 to 12 berth). There's a vessel to suit every taste, every budget. All are fully equipped for your maximum comfort and pleasure. No boat licence required.
* Approx. 3 hour area and boat briefing * Fully equipped vessel * Professional backup advice, via radio, whilst on charter * Departure Shute Harbour. Or Hamilton Island (fee applies) * Free overnight mooring Shute Harbour if required *
CRUISE WHITSUNDAYS
Shingley Drive, Abel Point Marina, Airlie Beach (MAP)
Phone (07) 4946 4662 / Fax (07) 4946 4382
www.cruisewhitsundays.com
Experience the ultimate reef trip!
Cruise on board ‘Seaflight’ the Whitsundays premier day cruise vessel with its spacious, air-conditioned lounges, bar and external viewing decks. Travel through the stunning Whitsunday Islands and onto the outer Great Barrier Reef site pristine Knuckle Reef Lagoon.
Here you will spend time on Queensland’s most innovative reef pontoon – the only reef pontoon in Australia with a giant waterslide! The spacious pontoon features the largest and most spectacular underwater viewing chamber in the region, a choice of areas to relax and an awesome range of activities.
Well protected and boasting its own ecosystem, Knuckle Reef has a higher concentration and greater diversity of live coral than any other commercial site in Queensland. Nowhere will you experience the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef better than here at Knuckle Reef Lagoon.
CAMIRA SAILING ADVENTURE
Shingley Drive, Abel Point Marina, Airlie Beach (MAP)
Phone (07) 4946 4662 / Fax (07) 4946 4382
www.cruisewhitsundays.com
85ft of awesome fun!
Experience the thrill of high speed sailing through the spectacular Whitsunday Islands and explore famous Whitehaven Beach. ‘Camira’ is a world first with her sleek lines, spacious deck areas and mind-blowing performance – she is one of the worlds fastest catamarans capable of sailing at speeds up to 30 knots!
On this full day adventure, you’ll enjoy swimming, snorkelling, beautiful beaches and bays, an all you can eat BBQ lunch plus exhilarating sailing – altogether an awesome day out on the water. This is a fully inclusive trip. All activities including snorkelling, with all gear provided (conditions permitting) are included. Morning, and afternoon tea, a delicious BBQ lunch and all refreshments are included whilst on board. This is not just a cruise but an awesome experience.
QUEENSLAND YACHT CHARTERS
Abel Point Marina, Airlie Beach (MAP)
Phone (07) 4946 7400 / Fax (07) 4946 7698
www.yachtcharters.com.au
The best in Whitsunday sailing and boating holidays!
Multi-award winning Whitsunday bareboat charter company, Queensland Yacht Charters is well known as the Whitsunday Islands largest owner-operated charter company with a fleet of international Sailing Vessels such as Bavaria, Beneteau, Catalina and Dufour Yachts, Seawind Catamarans as well as a range of flybridge powerboats - Scimitar power catamarans, Fairway and Sundecker cruisers.
On your floating holiday home, you'll quickly be able to leave your everyday life behind and sail away to explore and relax among 74 perfect Whitsunday tropical islands lying in a brilliant blue and turquoise sea with secluded anchorages, magnificent coral reefs and lushly forested islands.
AIR WHITSUNDAY
Whitsunday Airport, Airlie Beach (MAP)
Phone (07) 4946 9111 / Fax (07) 4946 9100
www.airwhitsunday.com.au
Experience the wonder of the Whitsundays!
Air Whitsunday offer a wide range of scenic flights over the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. Some of Air Whitsunday scenic flight tours also offer snorkelling inside Hardy Reef and this is what makes Air Whitsunday's tours unique. Hardy Reef is a convenient location for both the first time snorkeller and the more experienced, thanks to the coral lagoon it creates.
Along with their snorkelling tours to the reef, Air Whitsunday also provide day trips to island resorts, picnics at Whitehaven Beach, scenic flights with the added bonus of a water landing and with the Whitsundays being so well known for its yachting compatibility, what could be more romantic than being picked up from your yacht by seaplane for any of their amazing scenic flights tours.
REEF JET
Airlie Beach (MAP)
Phone (07) 4946 5366 / Fax (07) 4946 6033
www.reefjet.com.au
Less time to travel, more time to play!
Reefjet has been operating in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park for more than 20 years so they are the "experts" with all the experience required to make your day not a good one but a GREAT ONE !
Experience the thrill of seeing first hand the reef and its vast array of colours, enjoy it all at your own pace under their team's expert supervision. Try scuba diving for the very first time with Reef Jet's friendly and very experienced dive team. Enjoy the trip of a lifetime to one of the world‘s best beaches, Whitehaven Beach. Take a leisurely stroll along six kilometres of beautiful white silica sand, swim in the crystal clear waters, join in the beach games, or just relax and enjoy the beauty of the spectacular surrounds. And during the months July - September let Reef Jet show you the humpback whales.
ACCOMMODATION - WHITSUNDAYS
Accommodation on the islands is, almost without exception, of an exceedingly high standard. Hook Island Wilderness Resort probably offers the Whitsundays' only real 'budget' accommodation option, with shared dormitory style accommodation from $35 per person, or a private beachfront cabin for $100.Five star Hayman Island resort is probably at the other end of the spectrum, an exclusive, premium island resort. Forbes Magazine declared Hayman Island 'The World's Best Beach Resort'. Definitely one for those who appreciate - and can afford- the best of everything.
Bustling Hamilton Island, with its busy airport, encompasses a number of hotels, form three star to five star, romantic palm-fringed bungalows, self-contained apartments, and an exclusive beach-front boutique resort. This is Australia's most visited island, and transport around the island is via golf buggy.
On Long Island, there are three separate resorts. Long Island Resort and Peppers Palm Bay Hideaway have similar attractions - a disco, parasailing, water-skiing and the usual arms length list of sports and activities. However, the latter is much more upmarket, with an emphasis on peace and quiet, while Long Island Resort attracts funseekers and offers some more affordable packages. South Long Island Nature Lodge is a unique 'no phone/no television' zone for the ultimate back to nature holiday.
South Molle Island is a family favourite, and has been for generations. Providing moderately priced accommodation, and no end of activities for the whole family, South Molle Resort is quite busy during school holiday periods.
Pristine Lindeman Island is home to Australia's only Club Med, with all the entertainment and activities that Club Med have become famous for. But apart from the area around the resort, the island is National Park, with walking tracks and panoramic views.
Daydream Island, tiny Daydream Island, with its immaculately renovated 4.5 star resort and world class health spa is a number one destination.
Brampton Island provides endless activities suitable for those looking for an adventurous vacation and peacefulness for those who want to break away from it all.
Whitsunday Island is an undeveloped wilderness, with little more than a few basic campsites and some established walking trails to give any indication of human presence. It's main drawcard is the gleamingly white Whitehaven Beach, which is the most photographed beach in the Whitsundays, and a topping point on many tours and island cruises.
You can pitch your tent at QPWS camping grounds on 17 of the islands, but you must haul along your own gear, food, drinking water, fuel stoves and nature-loving attitude (please, don't leave anything behind you but only footprints). Camping grounds are occasionally closed to alternate traffic between them in order to minimise the impact on the environment. To organise your trip, visit the excellent Airlie Beach QPWS, which provides permits and enthusiastic advice on highlights.
GETTING AROUND THE WHITSUNDAYS
CRUISE WHITSUNDAYS
Shingley Drive, Abel Point Marina, Airlie Beach (MAP)
Phone (07) 4946 4662 / Fax (07) 4946 4382
www.cruisewhitsundays.com
You’re on holiday so you want to be getting to your resort as quickly and as easily as possible. That’s what Cruise Whitsundays have designed with their seamless service from both airports.
Cruise Whitsundays provides a service connecting Hamilton Island Airport to Day Dream Island Resort & Spa, South Molle Island and all Airlie Beach properties. Cruise Whitsundays also operates a convenient connecting service from Whitsundays Coast Airport (Proserpine) through to Day Dream Island and South Molle. ALL FLIGHTS ARE MET – now you can always get to your resort on the same day with out the need to overnight on the mainland or at Hamilton.
AIR WHITSUNDAY
Whitsunday Airport, Airlie Beach (MAP)
Phone (07) 4946 9111 / Fax (07) 4946 9100
www.airwhitsunday.com.au
Experience the wonder of the Whitsundays!
Air Whitsunday are able to connect with all Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin flights entering or departing both Whitsunday Coast airport and Hamilton Island airport. With Air Whitsunday you will connect quickly to your island destination without wasting time... The aircraft are "amphibious" allowing them to land on runways and water.
Transfers are available to / from Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Hamilton Island, Whitsunday Coast Airport, Whitsunday Airport, Hayman Island, Long Island, Club Med Lindeman Island and Brampton Island. Transfer prices are per aircraft, one way. Air Whitsunday can also transfer you straight from your domestic flight to your chartered yacht or vice versa.
Depending on your choice of island, there are three major regional airports to choose from, and our three domestic airlines service them all:
Prosperpine (known as the Whitsunday Coast Airport) is 40 kilometres inland, the closest major airport to Airlie Beach.
Mackay airport is the most convenient for access to Brampton Island, at the south fo the Whitsundays.
Hamilton Island (known as the Great Barrier Reef Airport) is connected by regular ferry services to nearby Lindeman, Daydream and Long islands, and would be a convenient arrival point for visitors to those islands... and of course for visitors to Hamilton Island!
For more details about getting around the Whitsundays, please visit the individual island pages via the links in the right hand column.
ISLAND AIR TAXIS
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WHITSUNDAY SHUTTLE
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