Visiting Airlie Beach: Tickets, Marinas and Getting Around
Nobody sells a ticket to Airlie Beach. It is a town on the Whitsunday mainland, and the lagoon, the boardwalk and the beaches cost nothing. If you are pricing an Airlie Beach Whitsundays tour, start with what the town charges, which is nothing, then decide where you want the day to go.
There is no gate and no ticket
Airlie Beach sits between Conway National Park and the Coral Sea, and it is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. There is no admission to the town. What you pay for is the boat, the plane or the bus that takes you somewhere.
The free things are the reason many people stay longer than planned. The Airlie Beach Lagoon is a public pool on the foreshore, open every day with lifeguards. The Bicentennial Walkway runs along the water to Cannonvale Beach. Honeyeater Lookout is a steep forest climb from town, and Conway National Park rises behind it. Cedar Creek Falls is a free waterhole about 30 minutes inland.
| What it is | What it costs | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Airlie Beach Lagoon | Nothing | Every day, 4:30am to 6pm; lifeguards all year; stinger-free |
| Bicentennial Walkway | Nothing | Over 5 km along the water, from the lagoon to Cannonvale Beach |
| Honeyeater Lookout | Nothing | A 5 km round-trip climb from Kara Crescent, through shaded forest |
| Conway National Park | Nothing | Walks from the Conway day-use area and the Mount Rooper and Coral Beach car parks |
| Cedar Creek Falls | Nothing: no entry fee | About 30 minutes by sealed road; the flow depends on recent rain |
| A tour to the islands, the reef or the air | The fare, set by each operator | The one thing here you pay for |
Getting to Airlie Beach
Two airports serve the Whitsundays. Whitsunday Coast Airport at Proserpine is about 40 minutes away by road, and buses and taxis meet every flight. Great Barrier Reef Airport on Hamilton Island is the other, and ferries run from there to Airlie Beach.
The Spirit of Queensland train stops at Proserpine, and coaches run on to town. By road, Airlie Beach is about 20 minutes off the Bruce Highway at Proserpine, along Shute Harbour Road. Brisbane is about 1,120 km south and Cairns about 630 km north. The details are in how to get here.
Where the tours leave from
Most boats leave from Coral Sea Marina, and it has several meeting points, so read the one on your confirmation. Coral Sea Marina was once called Abell Point Marina, and one listing still uses the old name. Camira and the sunset sail leave from the Port of Airlie, and one Whitehaven Beach cruise from Shute Harbour, beyond the town. The flights leave from Whitsunday Airport at Flametree, which is not the airline airport. Each spot is on the departure map.
| Where you board | Where it is | Who leaves from there |
|---|---|---|
| Coral Sea Marina, north | Shingley Drive: the Northern Village and Meeting Points B and D | Ocean Rafting, Red Cat, Big Fury, Wings III and ZigZag |
| Coral Sea Marina, south | Meeting Point C and the South Village | Prosail, OzSail, the guided jet ski and the jet boat |
| Port of Airlie | The Cruise Whitsundays terminal on The Cove Road, and Port Drive | Camira, and the sunset sail on Domino |
| Shute Harbour | The marine terminal on Whitsunday Drive, beyond the town | Red Cat's full-day Whitehaven Beach cruise, with a bus from town |
| Whitsunday Airport | 12 Air Whitsunday Road, Flametree | The scenic flights, the helicopter and the fly-raft day |
| The lagoon bus stop | Behind the Deck cafe, 275 Shute Harbour Road | The Cedar Creek Falls bus |
| Your accommodation | Pickup in town | The hinterland bus, the Segway and the Dingo Beach day |
| Hamilton Island and the resorts | Hamilton Island Marina, Daydream Island and Long Island | The private charters, by arrangement |
Many tours collect you from your accommodation and drive you to the boat or the airfield. Others meet you at the marina, a short walk from most of town. The card for each tour says which, and the reviews show how often a missed pickup time is the thing that goes wrong.
There is no road to the islands
Whitsunday Islands National Park lies offshore, about 25 km east of Airlie Beach. Nobody can drive to Whitehaven Beach: it is on Whitsunday Island, reached by boat, canoe or kayak. By sea it is about 40 km from Shute Harbour.
So every island day starts on a boat. The helicopter is the one tour that lands on the beach from the air, and the two plane flights pass over it without landing.
What a day costs
The fare is the only cost, so the real choice is where the day goes. The quickest comparison is how long you are out against what the fare puts in front of you.
| The day | What you pay | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Half a day on the mainland | $68 to $97 per person | A waterhole, the hinterland or the boardwalk, back the same morning or evening |
| Half an hour to an evening on Pioneer Bay | $71 to $87 per person | The jet boat, or a sunset sail with champagne |
| A guided jet ski | $93 per person | About two hours riding into the islands |
| A sail to the islands, not Whitehaven Beach | $142 to $174 per person | A snorkel, lunch and a beach at Langford Island or nearby |
| A day at Whitehaven Beach | $172 to $187 per person | Lunch, the Hill Inlet walk on most, a snorkel on most, one to four hours on the sand |
| An hour over Heart Reef | $253 to $257 per person | The reef, the islands and Hill Inlet from above; the planes do not land |
| The helicopter | $1,112 per person | Heart Reef from the air and about 90 minutes on Whitehaven Beach |
| Two nights on board | $434 to $506 per person | Bunks, meals, snorkel stops and Whitehaven Beach |
| A private boat | $2,769 to $2,793 per group (up to 8) | Your own skipper and your own route for six or eight hours |
Drinks are extra on most boats. Ocean Rafting adds a surcharge on Queensland public holidays, and the private charters charge catering at $30 a head.
Not sure where you want the day to go?
Whitehaven Beach by raft or catamaran, the reef from the air, or a morning on the mainland: compare them side by side.
Swimming, stingers and safety
Tourism Whitsundays says marine stingers can be in tropical Queensland waters in any month, and the higher-risk window runs from October to May. The dangerous ones are also known as Irukandji. Wear a stinger suit whenever you swim or snorkel in the sea. Most snorkel fares include one.
- In town: the lagoon is stinger-free all year, and Boathaven Beach has a stinger net in the summer months.
- If someone is stung: get them out of the water, pour vinegar on the sting and get urgent medical help.
- On the islands: there are no lifeguards, and medical help can be hours away.
- Crocodiles: estuarine crocodiles live around the Whitsundays, so never swim at dawn, dusk or night.
When a tour is worth paying for
In town you need no tour at all. You can swim, walk the boardwalk and climb to a lookout for nothing. The islands are different: without your own boat, a tour is the way out there.
Pay for Whitehaven Beach if you want the sand the region is known for. Go by air if you want the reef too, and take the jet ski or the jet boat if you only have a morning.
Asked before you go
Do you need a ticket for Airlie Beach?
Is the lagoon in town free?
Can you drive to Whitehaven Beach?
Can you swim at Airlie Beach?
Where do the tours leave from?
Is Whitsunday Airport the same as Whitsunday Coast Airport?
Do the tours include hotel pickup?
Next: read the best time to visit for the months, see things to do in town, or compare every fare on Airlie Beach Tours.