An Airlie Beach Itinerary: Three Days, Then More

Three days in Airlie Beach is enough to see the town, spend a full day on Whitehaven Beach and add the reef, a jet ski or the air. This itinerary puts them in an order that leaves room for the weather, then shows a shorter version, a longer one with two nights at sea, and a land day for when the wind is up. For every fare in one place, see the Airlie Beach Whitsundays tour and their prices.

How many days do you need in Airlie Beach?

Three is a good minimum. You need one day to arrive and find your marina, one for Whitehaven Beach, and one for whatever you want most after it: a snorkel, a jet ski or a flight. Add a fourth if you can, because wind can move a boat day.

Getting here takes time too. Whitsunday Coast Airport at Proserpine is about 40 minutes from town, and the Spirit of Queensland train stops at Proserpine. Tourism Whitsundays puts the Whitsundays about 1,120 km north of Brisbane and 630 km south of Cairns.

Day one: the lagoon, the boardwalk and a sunset sail

Spend your arrival day on foot. The Airlie Beach Lagoon sits on the foreshore in the middle of town, free, with lifeguards all year. It is open from 4:30am to 6pm every day, and it is stinger-free all year, according to Tourism Whitsundays.

From the lagoon, the Bicentennial Walkway runs for over five kilometres to Cannonvale Beach, past the marina and lookouts over Pioneer Bay. Walk part of it and you will pass Coral Sea Marina, where most boats leave. Find your meeting point now, and your morning pickup is easier.

For the evening, the sunset sail meets at 4:30pm at the Port of Airlie. It takes up to eight on a private yacht for two and a half hours, with champagne and canapés, for $87 a person. If you would rather stay on land, the Segway rides the whole boardwalk and stops for dinner as the sun goes down.

Day two: Whitehaven Beach

Put the beach on day two. It is the day most people come for, and a spare day after it lets you move the boat if the wind is up.

Red Cat's snorkel cruise is a good all-rounder. It spends eight hours on a high-speed catamaran with a driver-guide, stops twice to snorkel, walks you to the lookout and gives you about an hour on the sand, for $181. It meets at 8:30am, so eat early. If you want more time on the sand, Ocean Rafting gives you about two hours, and ZigZag's beach ticket up to four.

Pack swimwear, a towel, a hat, sunscreen and a refillable bottle, and wear closed shoes for the walk. You will be back in the late afternoon. Every boat that lands on the sand is compared on Airlie Beach tours to Whitehaven Beach.

Day three: reef, jet ski or the air?

Day three is for the thing you want most after the beach. There are three good choices.

• The reef. Tongarra or Wings III sail to Langford Island to snorkel, with a stinger suit or wetsuit in the fare. Tongarra takes ages 12 and over.
• A jet ski. About two hours on the water behind a guide, on one of three routes, for $93. Drivers must be 16.
• The air. An hour over Heart Reef and Hill Inlet in a small plane, for $253 to $257. It does not land.

Keep a spare morning if you can. Flights depend on the weather, and a cancelled one needs a new date.

What if the wind is up?

Wind is the thing most likely to change your plans. Boats may change their route, flights depend on the weather, and a small boat feels it most. The jet ski runs in most weather, and the hinterland bus runs rain or shine.

BoM's 3pm wind at Proserpine averages 21.6 km/h across the year, against 13.9 km/h at 9am. So if a day looks blowy, go out early. Tourism Whitsundays says September has the lightest winds of the year at Hamilton Island, with August close behind.

Keep a land day in reserve for a wind day. It is set out below, and the weather month by month shows what to expect when.

A two-day version

If you only have two days, skip the sunset sail and keep the beach. Arrive early on day one and spend the afternoon at the lagoon and on the boardwalk. Put Whitehaven Beach on day two.

If you fly out on day two, swap the beach for a shorter trip. The jet ski takes about two and a half hours with the briefing, and a flight about an hour in the air. Both leave you time to pack.

Adding two nights at sea

Two nights on a sailing boat is the other way to see the islands. You sleep on board, wake at anchor, and reach Whitehaven Beach without the morning rush. The boats leave between 10:30am and 2pm from Meeting Point C at Coral Sea Marina.

Avatar sails at 11am, 'Spank Me' at 10:30am and the Prosail yachts at 1:30pm for a 2pm start. The Prosail yachts are back at about 11am on day three. Fares run $434 to $506 a person, with meals and bunks included and drinks extra.

Put the sail after a night in town, not on the day you land. The Airlie Beach sailing tours page compares all the overnight boats.

A land day: the waterfall and the hinterland

Cedar Creek Falls is a rainforest swimming hole about 30 minutes from town by sealed road, and it is free. Its flow depends on recent rain, and in dry spells it may slow to a trickle, according to Tourism Whitsundays. Diving and jumping from the rocks are not allowed.

The hinterland bus makes a morning of it: a coffee farm with a tasting, the falls, a turtle talk at Conway Beach and lunch at a diner, in four hours, for $78. The Cedar Creek bus is shorter, with about an hour and 40 minutes at the water. For a longer road day, the Dingo Beach and Cape Gloucester trip takes seven hours with three at the cape.

What should you book first?

Book the Whitehaven Beach day first. It is the one the rest of the trip is built around, and most fares refund in full up to 24 hours before, so an early booking costs you little. Tourism Whitsundays says August books out earliest, because the Great Barrier Reef Festival and both race weeks fall back to back from late July.

Book the flight next, early in your stay rather than on your last morning. Leave the short trips until you arrive: the jet boat, the Segway and the Cedar Creek bus fit into whatever gap the weather leaves.

Book the two-night sails last, and only once your dates are certain. Both Prosail yachts are non-refundable, and 'Spank Me' needs four days' notice to cancel.

• First: the Whitehaven Beach day, with a spare day after it.
• Second: the flight or the snorkel day, early in your stay.
• On arrival: the sunset sail, the jet boat or the Segway.
• Last: anything that needs days of notice or never refunds.

Where to stay for early pickups

Stay in town if you can. Most boats leave from Coral Sea Marina, which Wings III calls a short walk from town, and ZigZag's meeting point is a 10 to 20 minute walk from most of Airlie Beach.

Many tours collect you from your accommodation: the raft, Red Cat, the full-day cruise, the jet ski, the Segway, the hinterland bus and the Dingo Beach day. If you stay on an island, check first. The jet ski does not collect from Hamilton Island or the island resorts, and Ocean Rafting's flight and the fly-raft day do not either.

Tours for these days

For day one, the sunset sail. For day two, Red Cat's snorkel cruise or any day on Airlie Beach tours to Whitehaven Beach. For a wind day, the hinterland bus. All three are in the block below, and the Airlie Beach half-day tours page lists the other short trips that fit around them.

Frequently asked questions

Tours for a three-day stay

Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet Lookout Snorkeling Cruise

Eight hours on a high-speed catamaran, with two snorkel stops, the guided lookout walk above the inlet and about an hour on the beach. Mask and snorkel are in the fare; fins and prescription masks are not.

From $181 per person

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Airlie Beach: Small Group Half Day Hinterland Sightseeing Tour

Four hours by small bus: a coffee farm with a tasting, a rainforest waterfall, a turtle talk on a quiet beach and lunch at a diner at your own cost. Pickup from your accommodation or the cruise-ship port.

From $78 per person

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Sunset Sail Cruise Airlie Beach

Two and a half hours under sail on the bay as the sun goes down behind the hills, for your group alone, up to eight. Champagne and canapés are in the fare, and you can take a turn at the helm.

From $87 per person

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