Whitsunday Islands Travel Tips

In this page you will find practical information to plan a scuba diving trip to Whitsunday Islands:

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The Whitsunday Islands are made up of a group of 74 wondrous little Islands in Queensland. They are a very popular travelling destination in Australia. The Whitsundays are located between the mainland and the Great Barrier Reef, offering excellent scuba diving and snorkelling possibilities on the local coral reefs. It is also a good starting point to take a liveaboard cruise to dive the Great Barrier Reef.

Most of the Islands are included in the Whitsunday Islands National Park and feature crystal clear water and pristine beaches such as the famous Whitehaven Beach! Most accommodation and the tourist centre is situated on Hamilton Island but it is possible to go camping on many of the surrounding deserted Islands!

Activities and excursions in Whitsunday Islands

The Whitsunday Islands really are amazing to visit, not only as a superb diving destination but also for the fun activities on offer in between your dives! You can for example :

• Enjoy a sailing cruise around the archipelago
• Make a snorkelling day trip on the Great Barrier Reef
• Visit the awesome Whitehaven Beach
• Play Golf on Hamilton Island
• Go on a Fishing tour
• Go on a Whale Watching tour
• Just relax on the pristine beaches

Where is Whitsunday Islands?

These beautiful Islands are located 630 kilometres South of Cairns and about 1120 kilometres North of Brisbane.

How to get to Whitsunday Islands?

The main gateway to reach the Whitsunday Islands is via Airlie Beach city on the mainland. Flying directly to Hamilton Island is also possible.

Plane

You can take a flight directly to Hamilton Island airport or to the Proserpine Airport on the mainland.

• Hamilton Island airport, also called the Great Reef Airport: The airlines companies deserving Hamilton Airport are Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia. They offer flights to Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Cairns. Ferry companies like Cruise Whitsundays or Fantasea Adventure Cruising will take you to your Island Resort of to other places.
• Proserpine Airport, also called the Whitsunday Coast Airport: Virgin Australia and Jetstar have flights to Proserpine Airport from Brisbane. From Proserpine Airport to Shute Harbour, in Airlie Beach, you then need to take a bus or a taxi for 25 min.

The transfer from the airport to your Island Resort is sometimes included in the holiday package.

Bus

You can reach Airlie Beach with Greyhound and Premier Coaches bus companies from Brisbane and from Cairns.

Train

You can stop in Proserpine Train Station and then take the bus or a taxi to reach Airlie Beach, then take the boat to the Whitsundays Islands!

Car

If you want to drive from Cairns or Brisbane to Airlie Beach, you have to take the Bruce Highway.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremy_vandel/193986347/

Getting Around

There are 74 Islands. Only a few of them are inhabited. The main and most easily accessible islands are:

• Daydream Island
• Hamilton Island
• Hayman Island
• Hook Island
• Lindeman Island
• Long Island
• South Molle Island

To get around between the Whitsundays, there are many boat companies. Most of them also offer sailing cruises. It is also possible to take a short liveaboard for a snorkelling and diving trip for 2 or 3 nights. Longer Liveaboards will take you to the Great Barrier Reef too!

You can also fly from one island to another by SeaPlanes or small aircrafts! The two companies are Island Air Taxis (Airlie Beach to Hamiliton Island and Lindeman Island) and Air Whitsunday Seaplanes (From Airlie Beach to Daydream, Long Island and South Molle Island, $450, the flight).

Where to stay?

Most accommodation is located on Hamilton Islands. You will find numerous options, from backpackers hostels, to comfortable hotels and luxurious resorts.

There are also isolated resorts on several islands of the Whitsundays. The resorts are luxurious and offer high quality services. It is possible to find low prices if you book well in advance!

The Fantasea’s Reefsleep offers the possibility to sleep on a floating Pontoon with an underwater viewing chamber!

For the more adventurous, camping on the islands is also possible. There are numerous campsites. You can camp on the following Islands: Henning, Hook, Denman, Lindeman, Long, North Molle, Planton, Shaw, South Molle, South Repulse, Tancred, Thomas and the biggest one the Whitsunday Island.

You just need to register at the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. The cost is 4 dollars per night per person. You will have to bring your own food, water and tent. Tents can be purchased or rented on Hamilton Island and in Airlie Beach.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidgrant/2702812639/

Scuba diving

You will find all information about sea life, best time to visit, top dive spots, etc. in our review: Whitsunday Islands Diving