Airlie Beach Activities For Families
Looking for the best Airlie Beach activities for families? Airlie Beach and the wider Whitsundays region offer so many incredible activities that the whole family can enjoy. With crystal clear waters, endless blue skies, and a vibrant atmosphere, Airlie Beach boasts something to excite everyone from the kids to the grandparents. There’s an endless range of activities to do and natural gems to explore, making it the perfect relaxing holiday destination. Here are our favourite Airlie Beach activities for families!
Airlie Beach Activities For Families
If you're visiting Airlie Beach with your family, there are plenty of ways to keep everyone entertained. From venturing out to the Whitsunday Islands, to soaking in the local cuisine and culture on the mainland, here are our top Airlie Beach activities for families!
Have a barbecue at the lagoon
Perched right at the forefront of Airlie Beach, the lagoon is a wonderful oasis of cool during the sweaty summers. With no admission fee, a relaxing atmosphere, a sandy beach, a children’s pool, and plenty of shady spots to wind down, it’s the perfect place to spend a day, whether you’re a local or a traveller.
One of the major benefits of the lagoon is that it offers a safe haven for both kids and adults to enjoy a cooling swim without worrying about stingers or rough waves. The lagoon is also surrounded by a beautifully manicured garden and plenty of public barbecues - so be sure to throw a couple of snags on the BBQ, bring a book, and enjoy a relaxing day out with the whole family.
Chill out at a resort pool
For families who want a little extra luxe, it’s worth venturing to one of Airlie Beach’s beloved resorts and snapping up a day pass for the pool. There’s a myriad of resorts to choose from, including Mantra Club Croc, Pinnacles Resort and Coral Sea Resort at The Rocks. At The Rocks, you can take a dip for only $40 per person - your fee is offset against your food and beverage bill. It’s the perfect place to enjoy a scrumptious lunch and beer, ending it with a relaxing dip in the pool.
Take a private charter
It’s not everyday you get to enjoy the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef, so why not make the most of it by taking a private charter? The only thing more delightful than exploring the deep blue and its colourful coral counterparts is traversing the magical aquamarine waters privately.
Hiring a private sailing boat in the Whitsundays is what dreams are made of: unwind on untouched beaches, swim the crystal clear waters with nobody else in sight, and make friends with the fish without being on a time constraint! Private charters like Entice Catamarans and Whitsunday Adventurer catamarans, or the incredible sailing ship Waltzing Matilda, are a perfect way to enjoy the Whitsundays as a family.
Go for a bush walk
While the hues of blue draw tourists to Airlie Beach, there’s so much to offer back on land as well. Airlie Beach and its surroundings have incredible hiking and walking trails, which are a great family-friendly activity if the kids are full of restless energy.
Hill Inlet Lookout is one of the best family-friendly tracks: at just one kilometre round-trip, the short walk loops through one of the regions’ best views. From the top, you can spot the incredibe blue and white swirls of the sea below. As one of the most cherished sites in the country, it’s well worth the hike! You can get there on any day trip from Airlie Beach.
Another great family-friendly hike is Airlie Creek, featuring a lush 1.7 kilometre return track that swirls through gorgeous subtropical forests, leading to a beautiful creek and a massive fig tree. You can walk to this trail right from downtown Airlie!
Spend a day at Northerlies
As one of Airlie Beach’s most renowned places to relax, Northerlies is a family-friendly alfresco dining restaurant and bar tucked underneath a tropical-style large hut. With the ultimate Bali vibe, the huge venue boasts some of the best cocktails in town, alongside scrumptious bites to eat. The venue is often graced with the sweet sounds of live music, making it enjoyable for the kids and setting the scene for a lovely little groove. One of the most incredible parts of Northerlies is its dedication to your crew having a grand time: they offer a free courtesy bus as well as up to $10 off your taxi voucher!
Take a family trip to the reef
If hiring a private charter isn’t up your alley, you and the family can still experience an incredible day on the Great Barrier Reef! There’s an abundance of great family-friendly day trips to the Great Barrier Reef, departing from both Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island daily. This is absolutely one of the best Airlie Beach activities for families, even though you're heading a few hours outside Airlie Beach! But you really can't visit this part of Australia without seeing the amazing marine life of the Great Barrier Reef!
Go fishing with Grandpa
The beauty of the Great Barrier Reef doesn’t stop at the scenery - it’s also home to an incredibly diverse range of lively marine life! Because of this, it’s one of the best fishing spots on the East Coast, giving you the opportunity to snag a feed around the islands or from the mainland. You can opt to take a fishing tour like Full Day Fishing or even cast a line yourself! Find the best insider tips on where to go so you'll have a better chance of catching something!
Stroll through the Airlie Beach Markets
One of Airlie’s most loved events is the weekly Whitsunday Lions Airlie Beach Community Markets. Taking place every Saturday from 7am to 1pm, it offers a huge range of unique stalls that sell clothing, gifts, food, plants and more. Located on the Airlie Beach foreshore, it’s bound to be your one-stop-shop for a lovely morning with the whole family. There are often food trucks with ice creams, smoothies, and snacks, and you can listen to some live music as you stroll around.
Take a day trip to Bowen
Bowen makes a lovely day trip from Airlie Beach. Rent a car if you don't have one already, and go for a scenic drive up the coast to explore the peaceful country town of Bowen. Or you can even book a tour with a friendly local if you don't want to worry about driving yourself! check out the beaches, grab some food, and explore the quaint town.
Here’s an activity the whole family will love: catch a flick at the gorgeous Bowen Summergarden Cinemas. It’s a delightful and retro building that has been keeping Bowen up to date with pop culture since 1948. With its authentic decor in place, it’s the perfect place to catch a film with Grandma and Grandpa in tow.
Eat lunch at the local airport
It’s a lovely place to catch a scenic flight, but it’s an even better place to grab a bite. With a renowned menu and an even groovier location, it may seem like an odd place to eat lunch - but it’s well worth the trip. The Hangar Cafe & Bar features scrumptious food and drinks, and it’s also filled to the brim with entertainment - in the form of watching planes and helicopters take off.
Throw dad out of a plane and skydive
It may be one of the more extreme methods of seeing Airlie Beach, but it’s also one of the most memorable. What could be better than throwing mum or dad off a plane to watch them skydive above the turquoise waters? As one of the best places to skydive in the world, you’ll get to enjoy a whole minute of free falling while taking in the stunning views of the Whitsunday Islands.
