Airlie Beach snorkeling tours take you by boat to the fringing reefs off the islands, inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Gear is in every fare, and most add a suit against the stingers.
A snorkel on an inner fringing reef with a sunsuit or wetsuit, mask and snorkel, led by reef guides and a marine biologist. The day adds the lookout walk and lunch on the beach.
From $180 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Sail out to the fringing reef at Langford Island, snorkel in a stinger suit, then walk up to a lookout and out onto a sandbar. Bring fins; ages 12 and over.
From $142 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Buy the snorkel ticket for mask, snorkel and fins, or the beach ticket for more time on the sand. A wetsuit or stinger suit comes with both, and families can split tickets on one boat.
From $173 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Snorkel gear with a lesson for anyone who has not tried it, and the snorkel sits at the beach after a picnic lunch. A good first swim for children from three.
From $174 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Snorkel gear, wetsuits and flotation noodles, plus paddle boards and a clear-bottom kayak to see the reef from above. Non-swimmers stay on board; no big-beach stop.
From $174 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Two snorkel sites in one day, with mask and snorkel in the fare, plus the lookout and an hour on the beach. Fins and prescription masks are not supplied, so pack your own.
From $181 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A fringing-reef snorkel after about three hours on the beach, on a sailing catamaran. There are no flotation aids, so you need to swim well; the drinks pour after the swim.
From $187 per person
Free cancellation up to 3 days in advance
The one day that pairs a reef flight with a reef swim: an hour in the air, then a raft to an inner fringing reef with gear and a sunsuit or wetsuit.
From $401 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
An inner fringing reef with a sunsuit or wetsuit and gear, led by reef guides, then the lookout walk and a tropical lunch on the sand.
See this tourCoral grows straight off the Whitsunday islands, and these fringing reefs sit inside the same Great Barrier Reef Marine Park as the outer reef, according to Tourism Whitsundays. A snorkel tour takes you by boat to one of them, puts a mask on your face and lets you float over the coral.
Every snorkel stop here is a fringing reef off the islands. No boat day from town goes out to the outer reef. To see that, you fly over it.
The snorkel is usually part of a bigger day. Some boats pair it with Whitehaven Beach and the lookout. Tongarra and Wings III sail to Langford Island, and the snorkel is their main event.
Every one of these days supplies at least a mask and snorkel. Most add a stinger suit, a wetsuit or a sunsuit. Check fins: some boats leave them out.
Ocean Rafting's reef talks come from Master Reef Guides and a marine biologist. Big Fury gives a lesson if you have never snorkelled. You learn what you are looking at.
Most snorkel days also land you on Whitehaven Beach. You swim over coral in the morning and lie on the sand after lunch.
Stingers, including the Irukandji, can be in the sea in any month. Tourism Whitsundays calls October to May the higher-risk window. A full stinger suit is the standard precaution, and most of these fares include one.
Here is a snorkel day beside the days with no swim, from the listings' own figures.
| A snorkel day | A day that stays dry | |
|---|---|---|
| Snorkel gear | In the fare | None |
| A suit for the water | On most | Not needed |
| Swimming ability | Needed on some boats | Not needed |
| The outer reef | No, fringing reefs only | From the air, on a flight |
| Fare, per person | $142 to $401 | $172 to $257 |
| Examples | Raft, catamarans, sailing days | Full-day cruise, the flights |
If you want to see coral but not get wet, the Airlie Beach flight tours show you the reef from above. If the beach is the point, compare all the Airlie Beach tours to Whitehaven Beach.
Eight and a half hours on a sailing catamaran, with snorkel gear and a stinger suit, a lookout walk, a sandbar and a sunset return. Ages 12 and over.
Check availabilityOur guide to choosing a tour weighs the snorkel days against the rest.
Would you rather stay dry? Every kind of trip is compared on Airlie Beach Tours.