This is what you can expect on a two day / two night voyage on the fully crewed deluxe catamaran Whitsunday Getaway. The new catamaran is set to raise the bar in deluxe charter vessels in the Whitsundays and is the second luxurious vessel added into the Islandive "Deluxe Sailing Catamarans" Division.

The moment you walk on the boat, you'll feel like you've already escaped the pace and troubles of everyday day life, as your skipper and host endeavour to take care of everything for you. "Whitsunday Getaway" allows you to escape from your busy world into the laid back tropical lifestyle of the Whitsunday Islands, a world where you are our priority.

The Belize 43 catamaran is a vessel ideal for honeymooners or partners wanting a romantic getaway as it takes only four couples at a time, each with their own private cabin and ensuite ensuring extra privacy. With such an intimate number of passengers (Maximum 8) there is plenty of room to sunbake on the front nets, watch a late release movie on your private DVD player in your cabin, enjoy pleasant conversation with new friends in the plush saloon or just lounge on the back deck with that book youve been meaning to read for ages.

Whitsunday Getaway stands above and beyond other charter boats not only because of its exclusive appearance and low guest numbers, but also by the quality service provided by the live aboard crew. Whitsunday Getaway is driven by an experienced skipper who encourages passengers to participate in choosing from a myriad of possible destinations, from World Famous Whitehaven Beach to the countless spectacular snorkelling sites. This flexible itinerary also allows keen sailors to take the helm, or enthusiastic snorkelers may wish to spend most of the day in the warm tropical waters. After a long day in the sun, another possibility is to be dropped off on a tropical beach like Bali Hi to watch the sunset over a bottle of wine and a delicious freshly prepared antipasto platter. Whatever the combination of destinations, each tour will always visit the magnificent Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet lookout (of course weather permitting).

Whitsunday Getaway will spend its evenings at peaceful, protected anchorages like Nara Inlet on Hook Island. After dinner and dessert, you could spend a little quality time with your loved one under the stars, relax with a DVD in the privacy of your own cabin or get to know your fellow travellers over a drink or two. All gourmet meals are freshly prepared for you by your onboard Hostess, as we intend to indulge your tastebuds as well.

Departure days and times have been custom designed to coincide as close as possible to airline arrival times to suit busy lifestyles, and to cater for the guests needs for an affordable holiday whilst minimising the time away from work or business, or even a tight holiday schedule. Whitsunday Blue runs three "two day trips" every week and Whitsunday Getaway will follow suit early 2008 (on alternate days) to suit almost every preference. Private charters are available on request for an array of voyage lengths (two day minimum).

The Islandive group of vessels have always endeavoured to maintain their first-class reputation by always striving to anticipate its guests needs and desires, and proactively provide the solutions necessary to ensure a well-organized and enjoyable voyage. We would love to show you our Whitsundays, and look forward to welcoming you aboard any of our vessels.

Itinerary

Whitsunday Getaway is an exclusive way to experience the stunning Whitsunday Islands, in style at a relaxed pace. With our friendly crew, gourmet food and spacious accommodation, you'll love seeing the Whitsundays on one of Islandive's Deluxe Sailing Catamarans. Below is an example of a voyage itinerary, which we endeavour to tailor to suit your interests.

Day One

You are welcomed at the marina (at the seats under the awning near the roundabout) between 2.15 pm and 2.30 pm by the hostess on your voyage. After handing in your completed paperwork (a necessary evil), we move onboard Whitsunday Getaway at the private marina berths of Islandive. Waiting to welcome you aboard will be your experienced professional skipper, where you will be settled into your private cabin, and explained through its features. After an onboard safety briefing, enjoy a delicious fruit platter, hoist the sails and we begin to build your once in a lifetime memory.
Soon you'll arrive at your evenings anchorage, the calm waters of Nara Inlet on Hook Island. On arrival you'll be spoilt with a gourmet platter of fresh king tiger prawns. Sit back, relax, watch a sunset and enjoy some conversation over a drink with the other passengers while dinner is being freshly prepared. The meal will be served for you, either inside the comfortable saloon or alfresco style on the back deck experiencing the evening sky melting into the silver blue.
After dinner, and more importantly dessert, you have a difficult choice to make. You can enjoy some entertaining conversation with your new friends over a drink, spend a little quality time with your partner under a magnificent southern sky, sneak off and relax in the privacy of your own cabin and watch a late release movie on your in-cabin DVD player or unwind with that book that you bought ages ago but haven’t had the time to read.

Day Two

Wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and warm croissants to compliment the continental breakfast at a civilised 8am. After breakfast, we cruise effortlessly through turquoise waters to arrive at stunning Dumbell Island, one of our favourite snorkelling spots. After receiving a brief on the finer points of snorkelling, dive in and experience the vast array of marine life from multi-colour parrot fish right through to endless varieties of coral. This is what the Whitsundays is all about. After all that in-water excitement, Whitsunday Getaway will whisk you off towards the world famous Whitehaven Beach. Here you can spend as long as you like sunbaking on the pure white silica sand, or explore the variety of marine life in the shallow waters. Nearby is a low incline bush walk to the lookout, the viewpoint over the 7km stretch of Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet, where most of the local postcards try inadequately to do this scene justice. As the evening sets in, enjoy a spectacular sunset over an antipasto platter on the back deck, or maybe you would prefer to enjoy it from your own deserted island beach...

Day Three

Wake up to another freshly prepared breakfast before enjoying the opportunity to go snorkelling in the warm tropical waters for one last time. All this exercise develops an appetite, so as you re-board morning tea is waiting. On the trip back to Airlie Beach, lounge around on the forward nets and soak up the sun and stunning views. After a delicious light lunch, you'll arrive back in Airlie Beach between 12.30 pm and 1.00 pm.

Menu

You will be impressed with the gourmet meals freshly prepared onboard Whitsunday Getaway, right down to the captivating presentation of the food. All meals are freshly prepared onboard by our specially trained Hostess. We have included below an example of the menu. Please note it may vary slightly due to the availability and seasonal availability of some fruits and local produce. Fresh fruit is included free of charge throughout the trip, and a range of soft drinks and bottled water are available for purchase. All dietary requirements are catered for, from vegetarian to gluten free, but please advise us ahead of time so we can cater for your needs. We are happy to help you celebrate any special occasions such as birthdays, engagements and anniversaries. Please let us know when booking your trip so we can do something extra. Whitsunday Getaway does not sell alcohol, but guests are welcome to bring their own alcohol (we have cold storage onboard). On request, we can pre purchase wine, beer etc for you and have it chilled and waiting onboard. Bottled wine is fine, however we request that beer is in cans not bottles for safety reasons.

Day One

Arrival
Exotic tropical/seasonal fruit platter
Sunset
Locally caught fresh Australian prawns served with choices of dressing on a bed of Cos lettuce.
Dinner
Specially marinated chicken barbequed onboard to perfection. Serve with a side of fresh Greek salad, including lashings of fetta, sun-dried tomatoes and kalamata olives. Accompany this with pan fried herb potato shapes together with oven baked crisp dinner rolls, and a selection of condiments.
Dessert
A New York style cheesecake served with a berry coulisse and cream.


Day Two

Breakfast
A fresh fruit platter served with warm croissants, muesli, cereals, toast, juice, tea and coffee.
Morning Tea
Individual French pastries
Lunch
A superb smorgasbord, including Tasmania smoked salmon, champagne leg ham, Waldorf salad, spinach and pine nut salad, traditional Greek salad with wholegrain and oven baked fresh scotch rolls and condiments.
Afternoon Tea
Mrs Fields fudge cookies and tea/coffee.
Sunset
Antipasto Including stuffed olives, marinated eggplant, King Island Cheeses, gourmet dips and crisp vegetable sticks.
Dinner
A prime rib fillet or select cut Kangaroo fillet topped with a choice of sauces. Stacked on a base of sweet potato mash and steamed vegetables, accompanied by a side of freshly toasted cheese and herb Ciabatta bread.
*Suggested wine - a Barossa Valley Merlot
Dessert
Oven fresh Apple and Blackberry pie crowned with fresh cream.


Day Three

Breakfast
A Continental breakfast with thick Raisin Toast and English Muffins, Muesli, Assorted Cereals, Fruit Juice, Tea and freshly brewed Coffee.
Morning Tea
Assorted berry and chocolate muffins with tea and coffee
Lunch
Antipasto and tapas platter with dips and accompanied with French bread rolls

Layout of Vessel

Whitsunday Getaway is a spacious vessel with four fully private queen cabins all with adjoining ensuites.
Enjoy the privacy of your own cabin with a queen size bed and your own DVD movie player, shelf storage and hanging space as well as an ocean viewing window, with adjoining ensuite.
The saloon will seat everyone for dinner or enjoy the opportunity of dining alfresco on the cockpit dinning table. The large aft Biminis (covers) offer substantial shade to hide away from the sun if you would prefer. The spacious lounging area on the foredeck has large comfortable nets as well as plenty of deckspace to relax on whilst you soak up the Whitsunday sunshine. Sailing catamarans are wonderful stable platforms that enable beautiful 360 degree views. Feel free to join the skipper at the helm and spend a little time extracting a little of their extensive sailing knowledge as you sail from one beautiful spot to the next.

Snorkelling

The Whitsunday islands are an important part of the Great Barrier Reef. The fringing reefs of the islands are a snorkeler's paradise. Whitsunday Getaway carries a full compliment of snorkel gear aboard including stinger suits/ wet suits, fins, mask and flotation assistance devices.

Snorkel with schools of tropical fish, and be amazed by the bright and vivid colours of the spectacular coral formations. The warm waters and calm seas of the Whitsundays is ideal for snorkelling year round, with an average water temperature of 25`C.

Our favourite snorkel spots are based around Dumbell Island, Hayman Island and Hook Island. Dumbell Island is known as the "fish tank" because of the huge quantity of fish life, and they play right at the back of the boat. The spectacular Mantaray Bay is popular because of the resident giant fish called George, a 1.6m Maori Wrasse. He's very friendly and always seeking attention, and has been known to be a bit of a camera hog.

Whitsunday Getaway always puts passenger safety first. Novice snorkelers are closely supervised by qualified rescue diver crew. Meanwhile, experienced snorkelers can be shown the best places to explore by the knowledgeable crew.

Combine a great sailing adventure with snorkelling in one of the world's most spectacular cruising grounds.