Every tour from Airlie Beach is outdoors, and most are on the water, so the weather shapes your whole day. Rain dulls the view from the lookouts, wind roughens the crossing, and a storm can ground a flight. Match the month to the Airlie Beach Whitsundays tour you want before you book.
Boat days usually run in rain and wind. The crew may change the route or the order of the stops, but you still go. The flights are different: they depend on the weather, so book one early in your stay and leave room to rebook.
What rain costs you is the view. The white sand and the blue channels at Hill Inlet need sun to show their colour, and Heart Reef from the air is at its clearest on a bright day. Wind costs you comfort on the crossing, and it makes a raft ride wetter. On land, the rain decides whether Cedar Creek Falls is flowing.
The figures below are the Bureau of Meteorology's. Temperature, rain, clear days and wind are from Proserpine Airport (033247), the long-running station nearest the town, about 25 km inland; beside the rain is Hamilton Island Airport (033106), out among the islands. They are long-run averages, not a forecast.
Highs average 31.6 °C and lows 22.7 °C at Proserpine. Expect 308 mm of rain on about 11 days (298 mm on Hamilton Island), 2 clear days and a 21 km/h wind at 3pm. Summer school holidays run on. Rain comes as afternoon storms, and stingers are in their higher-risk months.
Highs average 31.2 °C and lows 22.8 °C at Proserpine. Expect 352 mm of rain on about 12 days (289 mm on Hamilton Island), 2 clear days and a 20 km/h wind at 3pm. The wettest month and the fewest clear days. It falls outside the school holidays, so boats have space.
Highs average 30.4 °C and lows 21.8 °C at Proserpine. Expect 210 mm of rain on about 10 days (232 mm on Hamilton Island), 3 clear days and a 23 km/h wind at 3pm. The tail of the wet, and Cedar Creek Falls runs. Afternoon wind is among the year's strongest.
Highs average 28.8 °C and lows 19.3 °C at Proserpine. Expect 116 mm of rain on about 8 days (154 mm on Hamilton Island), 4 clear days and a 22 km/h wind at 3pm. Rain falls away. The Easter school holidays bring about two and a half busy weeks.
Highs average 26.6 °C and lows 15.9 °C at Proserpine. Expect 65 mm of rain on about 6 days (98 mm on Hamilton Island), 5 clear days and a 20 km/h wind at 3pm. The first humpbacks arrive and the humidity drops. Bring a layer for early boats.
Highs average 24.8 °C and lows 12.8 °C at Proserpine. Expect 36 mm of rain on about 4 days (57 mm on Hamilton Island), 7 clear days and a 20 km/h wind at 3pm. The dry season sets in, with the lightest afternoon wind. Winter school holidays start late in the month.
Highs average 24.5 °C and lows 11.3 °C at Proserpine. Expect 26 mm of rain on about 3 days (52 mm on Hamilton Island), 9 clear days and a 20 km/h wind at 3pm. The coolest nights of the year. Whale numbers build, and the winter events begin late in the month.
Highs average 25.9 °C and lows 11.6 °C at Proserpine. Expect 25 mm of rain on about 2 days (26 mm on Hamilton Island), 9 clear days and a 21 km/h wind at 3pm. Whale numbers peak and it books out earliest. The Cedar Creek bus warns the waterfall may not run.
Highs average 28.5 °C and lows 14.6 °C at Proserpine. Expect 18 mm of rain on about 2 days (25 mm on Hamilton Island), 8 clear days and a 22 km/h wind at 3pm. The driest month. Tourism Whitsundays calls it the calmest for time on the water.
Highs average 30.5 °C and lows 17.5 °C at Proserpine. Expect 41 mm of rain on about 4 days (27 mm on Hamilton Island), 4 clear days and a 23 km/h wind at 3pm. Still dry and warming. Coral spawning follows the full moons, and stinger risk rises.
Highs average 31.8 °C and lows 19.9 °C at Proserpine. Expect 80 mm of rain on about 5 days (74 mm on Hamilton Island), 4 clear days and a 23 km/h wind at 3pm. Hot, with rain building towards the wet. Wear a stinger suit in the sea.
Highs average 32.2 °C and lows 21.8 °C at Proserpine. Expect 178 mm of rain on about 8 days (157 mm on Hamilton Island), 2 clear days and a 22 km/h wind at 3pm. The wet season returns with the summer holidays. Book any flight early in your stay.
| Season | Average high | Average low | Rain, Proserpine | Rain, Hamilton Island | Clear days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer: December–February | 31.7 °C | 22.4 °C | 838 mm | 744 mm | 5 |
| Autumn: March–May | 28.6 °C | 19.0 °C | 391 mm | 483 mm | 13 |
| Winter: June–August | 25.1 °C | 11.9 °C | 88 mm | 135 mm | 25 |
| Spring: September–November | 30.3 °C | 17.3 °C | 138 mm | 126 mm | 16 |
Winter and spring are the easy answer. From June to October, rain at Proserpine stays under 41 mm a month, clear days run to 7 to 9 a month from June to September, and highs sit between 24 and 31 °C. September is the driest month of all.
Summer is hot and wet. February brings 351.7 mm of rain and only one or two clear days, and more than half of the year's 1,457.9 mm falls from January to March. The boats still run, but the view is a gamble.
The stingers do not follow the weather. They can be in the sea in any month, with the higher risk from October to May, so you wear a stinger suit to swim whatever the forecast. See the best time to visit for whales and school holidays.
Mornings are calmer. At Proserpine the average wind is 13.9 km/h at 9am and 21.6 km/h at 3pm across the year, so an early boat usually has the smoother crossing. Most boat days leave between 7:30am and 10am anyway.
In summer, the rain tends to come as an afternoon build-up rather than all day, Tourism Whitsundays says. The sunset sail leaves at 4:30pm, and the Bicentennial Walkway is coolest early in the morning or at sunset.
Temperatures, rainfall, rain days, clear days and wind are the Bureau of Meteorology's climate statistics for Proserpine Airport (033247) and Hamilton Island Airport (033106), checked 21 September 2026. The seasons, the school holidays and the stinger window are Tourism Whitsundays'; the flight and falls warnings are the operators' own terms.
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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Seven hours by road to two beaches and a cape, with three hours at the cape and a 9am pickup in town. Snacks and water refills are in the fare; lunch at a beachfront resort is at your own cost, and the group stays at ten or fewer.
From $112 per person
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Two nights aboard a sailing trimaran among the islands, with about three hours on the beach. All meals, the activities and the park fees are in the fare; drinks and hotel pickup are not.
From $434 per person
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