Whitsundays, a complete guide ...
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'The Whitsundays' are 74 tropical islands nestled against the back drop of the mainland's tropical rainforest. All the Islands are located very close to each other providing a myriad of passages, lagoons and inlets for you to explore. We have an exhaustive database of places to see and visit in the Whitsunday Islands, from Beaches and Bays to Dive Sites, townships, dive sites, resorts and cool things to do and see ...
You can refine the page by selecting a type of place in the drop down list and if there's something you'd like to see here, and we haven't got it online yet, drop us a line and we'll get it up for you !
Also see the Whitsundays Maps page.
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Abel Point Marina is located in Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, Queensland. It is the departure point for many day and overnight sailing vacations in the Whitsunday Island Chain.. More...
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Airlie Beach is located on the north east tropical coast of Australia in Queensland. Being a mainly tourist town, Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays supports a large number of adventure tours and styles of accomodation to suit every budget.. More...
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Airlie Beach Bus and Coach Station |
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Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays has a bus station that is virtually on the Airlie Beach main beach! About 1 minute from the centre of Airlie Beach and only a stones throw from the main beach, Airlie Beach swimming lagoon and the Airlie Beach sailing club. Most of the local backpacker hostels are waiting at the bus station when buses arrive, so you can choose when you get there.. More...
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The Airlie Beach Lagoon was opened to the public on 8th January 2001 and this beautiful addition to the Whitsunday region is very popular with locals and visitors alike. The swimming area contains a children’s wading pool, another shallow children’s pool which is a maximum depth of 1.5 metres. The remainder of the pool has a maximum depth of 2 metres. Supervision is undertaken by Lifeguards from the Royal Life Saving Society of Queensland who are in attendance from 7.00am to 9.00pm, 7 days per week. Dedicated security staff patrol the site from 9.00pm to 5.00am, 7 days per week.. More...
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Airlie Beach Market, Whitsundays is held every Sauturday on the Airlie Beach foreshore. Entry is free.. More...
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Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays is a party town. With thousands of backpackers visiting each year, every night is huge. . More...
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Located Due north of Airlie Beach, Armit Island is rarely visited by anyone other than local yachts and sheltering trawlers. It offers a reasonably sheltered anchorage and a lovely beach.. More...
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Bait Reef is located on the Outer Great Barrier Reef near the Whitsunday Island Chain, Whitsundays, Australia. It is one of the most pristine scuba diving locations in the world and benefits from protection under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.. More...
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Black Island (Also known by a few as Bali Hai), is anything but black. Infact it's one of the prettiest islands the Whitsundays has to offer. Only a tiny islands, it has small numbers of visitors daily who are usually gone by 3pm leaving the island to just yourselves or maybe one other overnight yacht.. More...
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Blue pearl bay is a poular dive and snorkel site located on the western shores of Hayman Island. The water here is deep just off the fringing reef, gradually shelving to the shore while it meanders it's way around countless bommies and coral ledges. Blue pearl bay is a popular dive site used by Charter vessels for Introductory diving as it's possible to begin your dive from the shore in clear, calm water.. More...
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Bowen is about 45 minutes drive north of Airlie Beach and Proserpine in the Whitsundays Coast. Bowen is famous for it's mangoes, a wonderfull fruit that almost everyone loves !. More...
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Butterfly bay at the top end of Hook Island is a popular overnight stop over for Bareboats. There are a few moorings here and anchoring within the bay is not allowed. You'll find a nice beach here at the entrance to the bay, but the coral here is not so great due to constantly poor visibility inside the bay.. More...
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Caves Cove - Whitsundays. Caves Cove is located on Hook Island in the northern part of the Whitsunday Islands.. More...
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Chalkies beach on the western side of Haslewood Island is a popular anchorage in stronger Southerly winds as it is less swelly than anchoring off Whitehaven Beach itself. The beach is made of the same sand as Whitehaven Beach.. More...
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Chance Bay, found on the southern side of Whitsunday Island is a beautiful anchorage in northerly conditions when they prevail in the area. The anchorage is exposed to the south though, and it's not uncommon for a thunderstorm, passing by, to make conditions swing suddenly to the south and produce strong to very strong winds for an hour or so. If thunderstorms are likely, this is not a great anchorage. Otherwise, most of the time in northerly conditions, it's great.
Chance Bay also boasts the same Silica sand that < a href='http://sailing-whitsundays.com/WhitsundaysPlaces.php?id=7'>Whitehaven Beach has.. More...
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Cid Harbour is a large, mostly sheltered, harbour on Whitsunday Island, Whitsundays. Comonly used by bareboats, crewed charter boats and private vessels as an overnight stop.. More...
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The Circuit walk is located on the Shute Harbour Road, Between Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour. The walk is aproximately 1.6km long and a very easy gradient.. More...
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The Coral Beach bushwalk is located in Shute Harbour, just 10 minutes drive from Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays. The Walk is about 1km long and ends at a secluded beach after providing glimpses of Shute Harbour and the Whitsunday Passage.. More...
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Dugong Beach, Cid Harbour, Whitsundays is on the western side of Whitsunday Island. Camping and bushwalking are popular here. The best way to get here is by boat, either with a camping ferry or by cruising the area in a bareboat or crewed charter.. More...
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Flagstaff Hill - Bowen. Located in Bowen on the Whitsundays coast, Flagstaff hill gives great panoramic views of Edgecombe Bay and Bowen. More...
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The very correctly named Funnel Bay, just east of Airlie Beach, tends to funnel the south easterly winds into strong gusts and bullets well beyond the average wind strength at the time.. More...
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Grassy Island, just a few of miles north of Airlie Beach offers a secluded anchorage away from the hustle an bustle of the main island group anchorages. Boasting excellent fishing, beautiful beaches and great beach combing, this is supprisingly a rarely visited island.. More...
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Perfectly situated in the Great Barrier Reef, amongst the 74 Whitsunday Islands, Hamilton Island offers an experience like no other: glorious weather, azure waters, brilliant beaches, awe-inspiring coral reefs, fascinating flora and fauna, fine food and wines, and activities almost too numerous to mention. Plus daily departures by boat or helicopter to Whitehaven beach and the outer barrier reef.
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Hamilton Island along with almost everything else, boasts a domesic passenger jet terminal. Although it is often more expensive to fly to Hamilton Island than to the Whitsunday Coast Airport, if you're staying on one of the islands such as Hamilton Island, Hayman Island or Lindeman Island, this is often the easier choice.. More...
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Happy bay, at the northern end of long island boasts a small resort 'Club Croc' which is a great place to hop ashore, grab a cooked meal and enjoy a cold beer when the wind is strong from the South. The typicl guests here are budget travellers and backpackers, so you'll find it unpretentious and 'just very nice' as I recently had it described to me.
It's often used as a first night stop over for bareboats that use Shute Harbour as their base and also as a final night 'Whitsundays send off' for the same crews.. More...
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Hill inlet is one of the most popular walks in the Whitsundays. Offering spectacular views of Whitehaven Beach and Hill inlet from it's easy to reach lookout.. More...
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Hook Passage - Whitsundays. Found between Whitsunday Island and Hook Island is the narrow stretch of water opposite Hook Island Resort, known as Hook Passage.. More...
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Horse Shoe Bay - Bowen. Located on Bowens northern beaches on the Whitsundays coast, Horseshoe Bay is a beautifull little beach surrounded by stunning rock formations.. More...
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Joes beach, found in Cid Harbour, is one of the smallest and most picturesque beaches in the Whitsundays. Although it is possible to anchor a small vessel that has shallow draught off the beach, it is not a place for your average keel boat. You'll also find a truly beautiful caping location here and to top it all off, it is rarely visited. So peace and quiet on a perfect small beach is this beaches best qualities.. More...
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Langford Reef is a beautiful sand and coral spit extending from Langford Island in the Whitsundays. Surrounded by coral reef on all sides, it is often seen in Promotional pictures and films of the Whitsundays. On the high tide, there is only a small spit of sand left to walk along which makes for some very coo photo's !. More...
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Luncheon bay is a very popular dive location with overnight charter boats operating in the Whitsundays. There is often great visibility and the coral reefs here are completely protcted ensuring huge quantities of fish life and amazing coral formations. . More...
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Mantaray Bay - Whitsundays. The Authors Opinion, This is the best snorkelling and dive site in the Whitsundays and the worst overnight anchorage !. More...
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Marcona Inlet (Macona Inlet) |
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Marcona Inlet, also known as Macona Inlet is a sister bay to Nara Inlet on the South western side of Hook Island. It provides protection in most conditions although it's not snug at all as the wind strengthens from the south.. More...
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Maureens cove is probably my favourite snorkelling site in the Whitsundays. When I take my own yacht to the islands for a whiz with the fish, this is my first choice. The coral and fish here are superb with fantastic coral formations and drop offs forming swim throughs and small caves full of marine life.. More...
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May's bay, just north of Cid Harbour is a nice spot to get away from the usual crowd at Cid Harbour. Boasting a pretty little beach (Bernies Beach), May's bay offers quite good shelter from South - South Easterly winds. There's not much snorkelling here to speak of, but if you're desperate, in can be interesting. Don't expect good visibility though.. More...
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Mt. Roper bush walk Whitsundays |
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Mt.Roper Bushwalk, Airlie Beach, Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia.. More...
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Mullers Lagoon - Bowen. At the heart of Bowen is a beautiful picnic area called Mullers Lagoon. It is on magnificent lawns beside a lagoon with lovely gardens.. More...
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Nara Inlet on Hook Island in the Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia is a very sheltered anchorage often used by yachts in windy weather for a comfortable nights sleep. It also boasts a short walk and aboriginal cave paintings.. More...
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Ngaro Aboriginal Group - Whitsundays |
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The Aborigines of the Whitsunday Islands were called the Ngaro. The Ngaro are one of the earliest recorded Aboriginal groups in Australia. In 1770, Captain James Cook recorded a sighting of two Ngaro people while exploring the Whitsunday Passage. The Ngaro were often called the `Island People', as their territory extended north - south along the island chain which make up the Cumberland Group. It also included the coast on the adjacent mainland, but no further than the coastal fringe. More...
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North Molle Island Whitsundays is in the Whitsunday Passage, Queensland, Australia. Not often visited, it is a beautifull camping site.. More...
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Olden Island is located a few miles north of Airlie Beach, towards the north of the mainland bays and beaches of that area. Snuggled in closely to the mainland it is a reasonable anchorage, but more importantly a beatiful Island, and rarely visited by the bareboat brigade.. More...
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Pioneer bay is the large bay forming the yachts entrance to Airlie Beach. Pioneer bay always has room for one more yacht, and the holding is good. There are plenty of private moorings here so be careful when making your entrance in the dark as these vessels will probably not be displaying their anchor lights. (Nor for that matter will the majority of yachts anchored here !). More...
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Proserpine Railway Station |
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Proserpine is found on the Bruce Highway (The main highway between Cairns and Brisbane)just a few minutes from the Whitsundays and Airlie Beach. The Railway station is perfectly located to service the Whitsunday area.. More...
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Sawmill Beach Whitsundays is found in Cid Harbour. The beach is a beautifull swimming beach and a great camp site. Located on Whitsunday Island, Queensland, on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, it also boasts a short bush walk and a simple camp site. Permits for camping are available from the National Parks office in Airlie Beach.. More...
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Shute Harbour is located about 10 minutes drive from Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays and is a major ferry port, servicing the Whitsunday islands and resort with daily ferry transferrs.
Although it's a working port, Shute harbour is a very pretty one and has recently undergone improvements and developments. Many people fish here in the evenings from the Jetty's when the ferry's are not operating. Fishing can be excellent here.. More...
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Stonehaven on the north western shores of Hook Island is a very popular anchorage used by most of the 'Bareboat Brigade' and commerciak and private vessels alike. There is always room for another vessel here, but you will find anchorage depths can be large outside the lines of public moorings. You'll also find this area is subject to 'Bullets' of wind in strong southerly trade winds that can be quite violent at times. . More...
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Sunlovers bay, on the northern shore of Daydream Island offers the best snorkelling and diving of any island I know of located so close to the mainland. Constantly cleaned by stronf tides in the passage between the Molle group of islands and the mainland, visibility here is pleasantly suprising as is the marine life.. More...
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Tongue Bay - Whitsundays - Whitsunday Island. Tongue Bay is often used to access Whitehaven Beach by boat via the Hill Inlet lookout walk.. More...
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Unsafe Passage - Whitsundays. Between South Molle Island and North Molle Islands lies Unsafe Passage. Even the the name implies danger, it's really quite safe enough for small ships and even the local large ferries. More...
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Whitehaven Beach is located in the Whitsunday Islands and Airlie Beach Region. Whitehaven Beach is almost 6km long and consists of a very fine dazzling white sand that is 98% pure Silica!
You can visit Whitehaven on board the awesome sailing catamaran Camira. For a great day out all Inclusive, Whitehaven, Snorkeling, Lunch and Drinks Check out this Day tour:
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The Whitsunday Airport, Airlie Beach, Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia. The Whitsunday Airport is the departure point for most interisland small craft flights and scenic joy flights around the Whitsundays and Airlie Beach.
This airport should not be confused with the Propserpine or 'Whitsunday Coast' Airport in Proserpine which is used for most passenger jet arrivals and departures.. More...
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Whitsunday Coast airport, located just south of Proserpine is the main domestic airport for the region. Virgin blue, and Jetstar both have regular daily flights to and from this airport. More info about getting to and from the Whitsundays is available. It's about a 35 minuted drive from the airport to the central town of Airlie Beach through cane fields and undulating hill tops.. More...
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Woodwark bay is one of my favourite yacht anchorages as it's only a few miles from Airlie Beach (Down wind in a strong SE), and offers a huge, sheltered bay with so many choices of anchorage.
The most popular being at the largest beach s you first enter the bay. This offers a nice sand beach, good holding and very little swell (If any). It's only draw back is that the ridge is only low and doesn't provide much protection from strong winds.
In Strong wind conditions, yachts often move further down into the bay finding shelter behind the hill of their choice. Beaches as virtually non existant along the Eastern shore line and those that are there, are small and generally rocky.
The fishing here is often excellent (So the successful fishermen tell me !). More...
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