Here’s a little secret – I never thought I was a “beach person” until I set foot on Whitehaven Beach.
I’m a mountains-and-lakes person, I decided firmly, when I first moved to Australia after spending 7 years in New Zealand. Sure, beaches are pretty, but they don’t speak to my heart like the mountains do.
Then I visited Whitehaven Beach, and promptly figured out that I could be both.
The sand was so fine that it squeaked under our feet as we walked, and blew away in the gentle breeze when we scooped it up with our hands. So white that the contrast between the shore and the clear turquoise waters looked like a watercolor painting.
We spent a whole afternoon lying on the soft, soft sand, just soaking it all in. It didn’t feel anywhere near enough.
Whitehaven Beach was “the one” that kicked off my love affair with all things beachy. To say that I recommend it highly would be an understatement.
In hindsight, it wasn’t entirely surprising. Whitehaven Beach is no stranger to receiving trophies, from topping Lonely Planet’s 2025 list of “Best beaches in the world”, to winning Tripadvisor’s #1 Traveller’s Choice award in 2021.
Here’s my guide on how to get from Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach, and how to pick a tour operator for your day trip.
Overview
Whitehaven Beach is located on Whitsunday Island, which is part of the Whitsundays group in the – you guessed it – Whitsunday region of Queensland.
Airlie Beach is the closest town on the mainland, and is thus the base for most tours. There’s a huge range of tour operators offering day trips from Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach by both sea and air.
It takes 1-2 hours to get there by sea (depending on which boat you take), and 15-30 minutes to fly. Many tours include other attractions in the same day (e.g. Heart Reef or Daydream Island), but I wouldn’t recommend those unless you are short on time.
It’s also possible to get to Whitehaven Beach directly from Hamilton Island, which is much closer and thus requires less travel time. However, you won’t have as many options as you would from Airlie.
Both Hamilton Island and Airlie Beach have airports that allow jet planes, so you can take a 737 or A320 directly from other Australian major cities.
The airport in Airlie Beach (Proserpine) is a 40 minute drive away from the harbor, whereas the airport on Hamilton Island is right next to the ocean. Proserpine receives more flights and the flights there are generally cheaper, however.
Just like anywhere else in northern Queensland, Whitehaven Beach is best visited during winter or the dry season (May to October).
There’s a higher chance of calm sunny days, a lower risk of tropical cyclones, you don’t have to worry about marine stingers, and the temperatures aren’t blistering hot. The water is north Queensland is warm enough to swim in any time of the year.
I’ve done the research on the plethora of options available for getting from Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach, so you can spend your time doing fun stuff instead – like chilling out on Whitehaven Beach!
It’s also updated for 2025, so you can be sure that you’re getting the latest information.
Things you need to know before picking a tour operator
Make sure your tour includes Hill Inlet
You know that gorgeous photo that keeps popping up on your Insta feed, the one with turquoise waters swirling around against a backdrop of white sand?
Yeah, that’s actually the view from Hill Inlet Lookout, not Whitehaven Beach.
Hill Inlet is on the same island as Whitehaven Beach, but you will not get those views from Whitehaven Beach itself, nor can you walk to Hill Inlet from Whitehaven Beach. The only way to get to the start of the Hill Inlet Lookout hike is by sea or air (i.e. through your tour operator).
Not all tours include Hill Inlet, even though that lookout is where practically every photo of “Whitehaven Beach” was taken.
The first time we were in Airlie, we booked a half day tour to Whitehaven Beach with Cruise Whitsundays, which did not include Hill Inlet. Don’t get me wrong, Whitehaven Beach itself was still spectacular and we had an amazing time, but boy was I disappointed that we missed out.
(Their website has since changed to state explicitly that Hill Inlet isn’t included.)
Give yourself an extra day or two in Airlie
The second time we were in Airlie, we were older and wiser. We did our research and booked a full day tour to Whitehaven Beach that did include Hill Inlet.
Unfortunately it was cancelled due to bad weather, and we were leaving the next day so we couldn’t rebook.
Queensland generally has phenomenally good weather during the dry season, but these things still happen. When the weather is bad, your tour operator will cancel and offer you either a full refund or the option to rebook.
Sometimes, if they can’t find enough customers to cover their operating costs, they will also cancel and offer you a refund or rebook. This happened for our glass bottom boat ride in Airlie.
Give yourself an extra day or two for the possibility of needing to rebook. There are plenty of things to do in Airlie if you need to fill up the extra day.
Check the tide times for the day of your trip
The time that you spend on Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet should ideally coincide with medium tide. The second best option is low tide.
High tide is your enemy here. When the tides are high, Whitehaven Beach will be mostly covered in water, so you won’t experience the wide expanse of white sand. The swirling sands of Hill Inlet will also be covered, and it’ll appear like any other stretch of ocean.
Some tour operators will tell you this, and some won’t. I’d recommend that you talk to your tour operator about tide timings before you pay for a booking.
Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach by sea
Whitsunday Island is located in sheltered waters and the ride from Airlie Beach is usually fairly calm. So it’s a great day trip for people who are new to taking boats on the open ocean, or people who are prone to seasickness (if you pick the large modern catamarans).
The ride itself is a sight to behold, as you cruise past dozens of tiny islands shrouded in emerald-green rainforest.
Group day tours
Group day tours by sea are the most economical way of getting to Whitehaven Beach from Airlie Beach. Tour operators vary greatly in terms of vessel used, as well as group size and activities included.
All prices are per person, and in AUD. Prices valid as of 5 March 2025.
- Cruise Whitsundays ($149 half day, $269 full day). Cruise Whitsundays is one of the two big operators, offering multiple trips every day in a sheltered, modern catamaran. Don’t do the half day tour – it doesn’t include Hill Inlet. If you go with Cruise Whitsundays, I’d personally choose the full day option as it allows the most time on Whitehaven Beach. However, their prices for a full day tour are higher than the other operators.
- Sealink ($239 full day, with discounts for families). The other big operator, Sealink only offers 1 option, a full day tour, and it includes both Hill Inlet and Whitehaven Beach. They also run modern catamarans with air conditioning, toilets, and a bar on board. I’d recommend this over Cruise Whitsunday’s full day tour, both due to the price as well as the fact that you won’t have to waste time picking up passengers at Daydream Island and Hamilton Island, so you can sleep in a bit (Sealink departs at 9am while Cruise Whitsundays departs at 7.15am for the full day tour, and both offer the same amount of time at the destination).
- Whitehaven Xpress ($205 full day, with discounts for students). This family-run operator runs smaller boats with AC and toilets, and boasts “more time allowed at Hill Inlet than most other tours”. It’s great for people on a budget who still want to get there in reasonable comfort, and they are also the only operator that allows you to pay on the day itself.
- Ocean Rafting ($199 full day “Southern Lights” tour). Not sure about the choice of name, since you most definitely will not be seeing any southern lights on this tour! You will, however, be taking a small, speedy inflatable “ocean raft” to Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet. It’s great for thrill-seekers… but if you’re prone to seasickness, or just want a quiet trip with AC and toilets, this isn’t the one for you.
- Whitsunday Bullet ($220 full day). This very action-packed tour on a small fast catamaran takes you snorkeling, stand-up paddleboarding, AND visiting Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet. Personally, I’m not a fan – the area isn’t great for snorkeling due to being on the inner or fringing reef, and when you add so many activities, you reduce the amount of time that you have in Whitehaven Beach.
- Lady Enid ($279 full day). Lady Enid advertises itself as a “high end, barefoot luxury sailing tour”. And it does look very romantic, with a small, adults-only group aboard a beautiful classic yacht. However, it’s the most expensive of the lot, and the thing with “classic” monohull boats is that they aren’t the most stable. If I wanted to splurge a bit and didn’t easily get seasick, I think this is one that I’d consider!
Private charter
If you’re rolling in dough or have a large group of friends to share with, there are several private boat and yacht charters that ply these waters. With these, you get more control over your itinerary and complete privacy.
You can also visit Hill Inlet closer to sunrise or sunset, and have the place all to yourself.
I can’t really comment much on the available options as they are all far too expensive for us, but here’s a list of some of the more well-known ones.
All prices are per charter, and in AUD. Prices valid as of 5 March 2025.
- Whitsunday Private Charters ($5950 for 8 hours)
- Charter Plus Whitsundays ($3,850 for 8 hours, but varies depending on vessel chosen)
- Salty Whitsundays ($2650 full day)
Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach by air
The beautiful swirling sands of Hill Inlet look incredible from the air, so it can be well worth booking a trip to Whitehaven Beach by air! However, it is significantly more expensive than taking a group day tour by sea.
Interestingly, while Airlie Beach has far more options than Hamilton Island does for getting to Whitehaven Beach by sea, they are a more even split when it comes to getting there by air. About half of the scenic flights to (or over) Whitehaven Beach that I found, depart from Hamilton Island. I’ll only list the ones from Airlie Beach in this post.
When you are booking, make sure to check whether they land at Whitehaven Beach or not (if you care about spending time at Whitehaven Beach). Some of the options are just fly-overs.
All prices are per person, and in AUD. Prices valid as of 5 March 2025.
Helicopter
- Whitehaven Beach Heli Tour ($499 for 2 hours). This becomes a “private tour” if you book for 2 people, which is a nice bonus! You’ll fly over the Whitsundays by helicopter, then land on Whitehaven Beach for 1 hour.
- Helireef ($455 for 30 min, $820 for 60 min including outer reef). This does not land on Whitehaven Beach at all.
Small plane
- FlyAus ($299 for 1 hour scenic flight, or $469 for a scenic flight + boat trip). Note that this operator does not land at Whitehaven Beach. If you choose the scenic flight + boat trip, you will do the scenic flight, land back in Airlie, and then take the boat to and fro.
- Air Whitsunday used to do seaplane tours to Whitehaven Beach, but they have since ceased operating that particular tour.
Additional tips
- Wear insect repellent! The midges in northern Queensland have a nasty bite, and you’re going to be encountering a lot of them in the wilderness. Aerogard makes some good spray-ons.
- Wear reef-safe sunscreen, and bring sunglasses and a hat. Queensland isn’t known as the “sunshine state” for nothing, and the UV rays in Australia are intense due to the hole in the ozone that we have over here. There isn’t much natural shade along Whitehaven Beach, although some tour operators will set up shade tents.
- Bring plenty of water. There are toilets on Whitehaven Beach and at Hill Lookout, but no potable water sources. The bigger boats do sell (very expensive) water, and some tours include a drink with lunch, but otherwise you’re on your own.
- If you are very prone to seasickness, medication can help. There is no pharmacy (or any stores for that matter) on the island, so talk to a pharmacist at Airlie Beach the day before your trip.
- You can potentially get wet when you are getting in and out of the boat. Not all boats can go all the way in to shore, so you might need to wade in and out. Put your water-sensitive equipment inside a waterproof bag.
Thoughts, comments, questions? Feel free to post them below, I’d be happy to help!
