The Whitsundays & Hamilton Island Travelers Recommend

Home to white-sand beaches, beautiful scenery, wildlife, and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia’s Whitsunday Islands is one of the country’s most attractive destinations. With three days to spend here, you can explore by boat, plane, and Segway. Here’s how to make the most of three days in the Whitsundays.

Day 1: Cruise to Whitehaven Beach and Hamilton Island

Kick off your visit to the Whitsundays with a day cruise on a high-speed, air-conditioned catamaran. Start by exploring cosmopolitan Hamilton Island, the South Pacific’s largest resort island, and enjoying its many pools, boutiques, galleries, bars, restaurants, walking trails, and more. In the afternoon, head to picturesque Whitehaven Beach, which is considered one of the best beaches in the world, and enjoy its white sand and shallow waters, which are home to sea turtles. Go for a swim, take a leisurely walk along the beach, or just relax and soak up the sunshine. Day cruises typically include a generous buffet lunch and morning and afternoon tea. And if you want more island time, you can even book an overnight (or two day) adventure.

Day 2: Get Adventurous

Start your second day by getting out into the wild on a crocodile safari. You’ll travel on an open-air, tractor-pulled wagon through the Goorganga wetlands, then transfer to a boat for a cruising adventure through the calm, croc-filled waters of the Proserpine River. Many tours also include an Aussie-style barbecue lunch.

Round out an adventurous day by zipping around the town of Cannonvale on a Segway tour. Glide along the Whitsunday Bicentennial Walkway and see Pioneer Bay, Shingley Beach, and the Whitsunday Botanic Gardens as your guide highlights points of interest and shares insights into the area. Tours typically wrap up at a local restaurant where you can grab dinner and watch the sunset over the offshore islands.

Day 3: Enjoy a Bird’s Eye View

Finish up your visit to the Whitsundays by getting a completely different view of the islands: Head for Whitsunday Airport, and board a small plane for a bird’s eye view of the islands and the Great Barrier Reef. Sightseeing flights typically include views of landmarks like Heart Reef, the sparkling white sands of Whitehaven Beach, and Daydream Island, and in most cases all passengers are seated by a window to ensure that they have unobstructed views. If you’d like to extend your trip, longer seaplane tours offer the chance to land at Whitehaven Beach, where you can make the most of a final opportunity for swimming and snorkeling, or to head to Hardy Lagoon, where you can enjoy a glass-bottom boat excursion.

Beloved by sunseekers, divers, yachters, and adventurers, the Whitsunday Islands are one of Australia’s most alluring destinations. With just one day to spare, you’ll likely be based in Airlie Beach on the mainland, but there are still many opportunities to explore the islands. Here’s how to make the most of 24 hours in the Whitsundays.

Morning: Get Out Onto the Water

Either spend the whole day cruising around the Whitsundays, or break up your day into several different excursions. Full-day catamaran tours typically leave from the Airlie Beach area in the early morning and take you sailing, swimming, snorkeling, and sunbathing all around the Whitsundays and the UNESCO-listed Great Barrier Reef. An onboard lunch is often included. Otherwise, take a much shorter jet-skiing excursion around the islands, with options to explore South Molle and Daydream islands, Long Island, or Paradise Cove Resort in Airlie Beach.

Afternoon: Fly Over the Islands

If you’re not already on a full-day boat tour, head for Whitsunday Airport (most tour operators provide transfers) and board a small plane for a bird’s-eye view of the reef and islands. Short sightseeing flights typically fly over landmarks such as the aptly named heart-shaped Heart Reef, the sparkling Whitehaven Beach, Daydream Island, and Hill Inlet. Usually, all passengers have window seats for unobstructed views. To extend your trip, options include touching down on Whitehaven Beach, with time for swimming and snorkeling, or landing on the water at Hardy Lagoon, where you embark on a glass-bottom boat excursion before flying back to the airport.

Night: Glide Into Sunset

Head back onto solid ground and round out an action-packed day with a guided Segway tour that goes from Airlie Beach to Cannonvale. Typically happening around sunset, these tours often take you along the Whitsunday Bicentennial Boardwalk, and past Pioneer Bay, Shingley Beach, and the Whitsunday Botanic Gardens. Some tours wrap up at a local restaurant, where you can grab a bite to eat and toast the sun setting over the offshore islands.

Two full days in the Whitsundays give you enough time to soak up the majestic scenery of the islands and the Great Barrier Reef and embark on unique adventures such as crocodile spotting. Here’s how to make the most of 48 hours in one of Australia’s most alluring regions.

Day 1: Island Exploration

Spend your first day in the Whitsundays out on the water. Full-day high-speed catamaran tours typically leave from the Airlie Beach area in the early morning and take you sailing, swimming, snorkeling, and sunbathing all around the Whitsundays and the UNESCO-listed Great Barrier Reef. Lunch and tea are often included. Some tours also offer guided walks to Hill Inlet lookout on Whitehaven Beach.

You also have the option of taking an overnight sailing trip. These two-day excursions usually provide meals and resort accommodation.

Day 2: Diverse Adventures

**Morning:**Kick off your second day with a bang by going on a crocodile safari. Spot crocs on a cruise along the Proserpine River and a tractor-pulled wagon tour through the bush. Tours typically include traditional billy tea and damper and an Aussie-style barbecue lunch.

**Afternoon:**Get a different perspective on the reef and islands with a short sightseeing flight that soars over landmarks such as Heart Reef, Whitehaven Beach, and Daydream Island. Or, choose a longer experience that includes landing on Whitehaven Beach or on the water at Hardy Lagoon.

**Night:**Conclude your visit to the Whitsundays with a fun Segway tour from Airlie Beach to Cannonvale. Glide along the Whitsunday Bicentennial Boardwalk, and past Pioneer Bay, Shingley Beach, and the Whitsunday Botanic Gardens. Tours sometimes conclude at a local restaurant, where you can grab dinner and toast the sunset.

With 74 islands and miles of sandy shores, the Whitsunday Islands have some of Australia’s most beautiful beaches. Whether you’re looking for sunset views, pristine, swimming-friendly waters, or exotic marine life—here are our picks for the best beaches in the Whitsundays. 

Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island

The sweeping sands of Whitehaven Beach are the quintessential postcard image of an Australian beach, and its guidebook fame has made Whitehaven Beach the most visited of the Whitsunday beaches. For a view of Whitehaven’s magnificent swirling sands—almost 3 miles (5 kilometers) of white silica sands that disappear beneath the deep aqua waters to create a melange of colors—head to Hill Inlet Lookout or, better yet, soar overhead in a helicopter.

Catseye Beach, Hamilton Island

Hamilton Island is the Whitsundays’ top resort island, and Catseye Beach is its No. 1 resort beach. With access to resort facilities, Catseye straddles creature comforts and the wild outdoors at once; you’ll find pool loungers and a multitude of rentable water-sports gear, including snorkels, paddle boards, and catamarans 

Chalkies Beach, Haselwood Island

Across the water from Whitehaven Beach, Chalkies Beach serves up a stretch of powder-fine white sand to rival its more famous neighbor. Benefitting from far fewer crowds, Chalkies is an idyllic spot for swimming and snorkeling, with vibrant coral gardens just beneath the water’s surface. 

Pebble Beach, Hook Island

A pocket of wilderness far from the more developed beach resorts, Hook Island is a rugged national park with spectacular lookouts and colorful coral reefs. The little-known Pebble Beach is one of its best-kept secrets, with some of the most spectacular snorkeling on the island. 

Turtle Bay, Whitsunday Island

Situated on the south side of Whitsunday Island, Turtle Bay often gets passed over by travelers making a beeline for Whitehaven Beach, but trust us: It’s well worth the detour. The glass-clear waters teem with tropical fish, and there’s a good chance of spotting sea turtles as you swim and snorkel.