Airlie Beach sits on the Whitsunday coast of Queensland, and you reach it by air, by rail, by coach or by car. Most visitors fly into Proserpine or Hamilton Island and finish the trip by road or ferry. Once you are in town, the Whitsundays tours from Airlie Beach leave from marinas you can walk or ride to.
The town faces Pioneer Bay, between Conway National Park and the Coral Sea. The Whitsunday Islands lie offshore to the east, and every boat day starts from one of the marinas on this stretch of coast.
Two airports serve the Whitsundays every day, with flights from Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne and Sydney. Brisbane has the widest choice of connections, Tourism Whitsundays says, so it is the easiest place to change planes.
Whitsunday Coast Airport at Proserpine is on the mainland, about 40 minutes by road from town. Buses and taxis meet every flight, and you can hire a car there. Great Barrier Reef Airport is on Hamilton Island, and from there you cross to Airlie Beach on a Cruise Whitsundays ferry.
| Airport | Where | Who flies there | Onward to Airlie Beach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) | Proserpine, on the mainland | Skytrans, Virgin Australia and Jetstar are named | About 40 minutes by road; buses and taxis meet every flight; car hire |
| Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI) | Hamilton Island | Qantas and Virgin Australia | A Cruise Whitsundays ferry across the water |
| Whitsunday Airport | 12 Air Whitsunday Road, Flametree | No airline: the scenic flights and the helicopter | You are already there |
Do not confuse the airline airport with Whitsunday Airport at Flametree. That small airfield on the way to Shute Harbour is where the scenic flights and the helicopter take off. No airline lands there, so you cannot fly in to it from a city.
Queensland Rail's Spirit of Queensland links Proserpine with the coast from Cairns to Brisbane. There is no station in the town itself. The route in runs like this:
Greyhound Australia and Premier run scheduled coaches into the town. If you drive, the route is short once you leave the highway:
Arrive the day before your tour. Most boat days board between 7:30am and 10am, and a long drive up the coast that morning leaves you no margin. Parking at the marinas is not free everywhere: the jet boat listing warns of a parking fee at Coral Sea Marina.
Coral Sea Marina, the Port of Airlie and Shute Harbour are the three departure points on the water. Public ferries run from the Port of Airlie and Shute Harbour to Hamilton Island and Daydream Island, according to Tourism Whitsundays. The Long Island resorts, Palm Bay and Elysian, are reached from Shute Harbour, and Hayman Island through Coral Sea Marina or Hamilton Island.
| From | To | How |
|---|---|---|
| Port of Airlie | Hamilton Island, Daydream Island | Public ferry transfer |
| Shute Harbour | Hamilton Island, Daydream Island, the Long Island resorts | Public ferry or resort transfer |
| Coral Sea Marina | Hayman Island | Resort transfer, or via Hamilton Island |
| Coral Sea Marina, Port of Airlie, Shute Harbour | Whitehaven Beach, Langford Island and the fringing reefs | A day tour: $172 to $187 for a Whitehaven Beach day |
| Coral Sea Marina, Hamilton Island, Daydream Island, Long Island | A route you choose | A private charter: $2,769 to $2,793 per group of up to 8 |
No public ferry calls at Whitehaven Beach, Langford Island or the reefs. For those, you book a day tour or a charter. The meeting point for each one is on the departure map.
Compare the day tours by where they go, how long you spend there and what the fare includes.
The same goes for Hill Inlet and Heart Reef. Boats reach Hill Inlet from the water, and Heart Reef is seen only from the air on the flights sold here.
The hinterland bus collects you from the cruise-ship port. Wings III says it will not suit you if your tender leaves before 3:45pm, and Big Fury cannot guarantee a return by 5pm. Ocean Rafting's fly-raft day and its raft day say their schedules do not fit cruise passengers.
If you base yourself on Hamilton Island, your choice of tours from the mainland shrinks. Both private charters board at Hamilton Island Marina, as well as at Daydream Island and Long Island. The jet ski and Ocean Rafting's scenic flight say they do not collect from Hamilton Island.
For the rest, you ride the ferry to the Port of Airlie or Shute Harbour first. Fly Australia's flight runs a courtesy bus from two stops in town, on request.
Airports, trains, coaches, the road and the ferries are Tourism Whitsundays' own, checked 21 September 2026. The park distances and the ways onto Whitsunday Island are Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service's. Every tour detail is from the operator's own description of that tour.
An hour in a small plane over the reef and the inlet, window seat guaranteed, then the raft day: about two hours on the beach, the lookout walk and a reef snorkel. Lunch is in the fare, and a courtesy coach collects you in town.
From $401 per person
Check Availability
Eight hours on a big catamaran with a toilet on board, three meals and snacks, the guided lookout walk and about two hours on the beach. A free bus from town is in the fare; drinks are not.
From $172 per person
Check Availability
Three hours on a Segway along the whole waterfront boardwalk, with a pizza or pasta dinner as the sun goes down and pickup from your accommodation. Riders from 12, and 45 to 117 kg.
From $97 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: find each meeting point on the departure map, see what the town is like on what to expect, or compare every tour on Airlie Beach Tours.