Whitsundays destination guide

The Whitsundays are an island group off the central Queensland coast, and Airlie Beach on the mainland is the main base for tours, ferries and sailing, according to Tourism Whitsundays. Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet and the Ngaro Track are in Whitsunday Islands National Park, which Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) says is part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. QPWS also says the park is the traditional land and sea Country of the Ngaro people, who have lived in the area for over 9,000 years.

Tourism and Events Queensland lists snorkelling and diving, scenic flights over Heart Reef, Whitehaven Beach cruises, crewed yachts and bareboat charters among the things to do here. Flights land on Hamilton Island, a car-free resort island, and at Whitsunday Coast Airport on the mainland near Proserpine.

What to see and do in the Whitsundays

Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet

Whitehaven Beach is on the south-eastern side of Whitsunday Island, and Tourism and Events Queensland calls it a seven-kilometre stretch of swirling silica sand. QPWS says the day-use area is reached by boat, canoe or kayak, has picnic tables (some sheltered) and non-flush toilets, and is open 24 hours a day. QPWS says anchoring is permitted off Whitehaven Beach, access to the site is possible at all tides, and the nearest public mooring is at Tongue Bay.

Hill Inlet is a culturally significant area to the Ngaro people, according to QPWS. QPWS grades and times these walks in the park:

• Solway circuit: a 1.2 km circuit, allow 40 minutes, to a natural rock platform with views over Solway Passage.
• Hill Inlet lookouts: 1.4 km return, allow 40 minutes, an uphill walk to look over Hill Inlet.
• Lookout Beach: 500 m return, allow 20 minutes.
• Chance Bay track: 3.6 km return, allow 2.5 to 3 hours.
• Whitsunday Peak: 5 km return, allow 4 hours, graded difficult and described as steep and physically demanding.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority's Whitsundays Plan of Management applies to everyone using the area. It sets scenic flight height restrictions and carries a map for Tongue Bay, Hill Inlet and Whitehaven Beach.

The Ngaro Track

As of October 2026, QPWS says the Ngaro Track is open for bookings for its inaugural 2026 hiking season. It is a 32 km, challenging multi-day hike linking Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet, reached only by boat, with tent platforms and communal shelters at the camps. Bookings are essential for all walkers, because the track is not open to day visitors.

The options QPWS lists are a fully guided and catered tour, a guided tour, or an independent self-sufficient walk. QPWS says visitors without a Ngaro Track booking will be able to access the walking tracks around Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet, including the Solway circuit and Chance Bay tracks from Whitehaven Beach and the Beach and Hill Inlet tracks from Tongue Bay.

Camping on the Whitsunday Islands

QPWS says camping permits are required, camper numbers are limited, and sites and permits must be booked in advance, with the permit tag displayed on the tent. Camp sites include Whitehaven Beach, Cairn Beach and Chance Bay on Whitsunday Island; Dugong, Naris and Joes beaches near Cid Harbour; Maureens Cove, Crayfish, Steens and Curlew beaches on Hook Island; and Northern Spit on Henning Island. Some commercial transfer companies drop off and collect campers, and QPWS asks campers to arrange that passage before booking a site.

Bring your own fresh water, because most islands have none available; QPWS asks campers to allow at least five litres a day per person. Open fires and ash-producing stoves are not permitted, so cooking is on gas or fuel stoves. QPWS warns against swimming in Cid Harbour, where serious injury or death may occur from shark attack.

QPWS also asks visitors to help keep the park's Great Barrier Reef islands pest-free.

The reef and Heart Reef

Tourism Whitsundays says operators run reef trips from Airlie Beach, Hamilton Island and Daydream Island to outer-reef pontoons or fringing-reef sites, and that swimming requirements vary by tour and site. QPWS says a boat is the only safe way to reach distant snorkelling and diving sites, and asks snorkellers never to walk or stand on corals. Tourism and Events Queensland also lists an overnight stay on the reef at Hardy Reef.

Tourism Whitsundays says Heart Reef is a naturally heart-shaped coral formation in Hardy Reef, best seen by scenic flight, and that the formation itself is protected, so in-water visits are not permitted.

Hook Island's Ngaro Cultural Site

On Hook Island, a 340 m return track runs from Nara Inlet to a viewing platform at a cave with Ngaro art. QPWS says to allow a 20-minute walk and an hour's stopover, and asks visitors not to touch or tamper with the art.

Airlie Beach and the mainland

Airlie Beach Lagoon is a public lagoon on the Airlie Beach foreshore with fresh, self-chlorinated water, and Whitsunday Regional Council describes it as safe from stingers and marine wildlife all year round; check the Council for current hours. Tourism Whitsundays says the Bicentennial Walkway links Airlie Beach and Cannonvale, and that Conway National Park has shorter trails and lookouts.

Hamilton Island

Hamilton Island has golf on nearby Dent Island, and tours to Whitehaven Beach and scenic flights over Heart Reef leave from the island.

Staying safe on the islands

QPWS describes the islands as isolated and remote, with medical help that can be hours away, no lifeguards, and no mobile phone reception at Whitehaven Beach or Tongue Point. It warns of strong currents and changing tides, particularly at Hill Inlet, where the water level can rise rapidly and getting caught in the tide may cause serious injury or death; the beach and inlet are unpatrolled. The national park has no wheelchair-accessible facilities.

Large saltwater (estuarine) crocodiles live in the waters around the Whitsundays and can attack without warning, according to QPWS. It advises against swimming or wading at dawn, dusk or night, and asks campers to camp at least 50 m from the water's edge. Stingers, sharks and crocodiles can be in the sea at all times of the year.

When to go to the Whitsundays

Tourism and Events Queensland says the Whitsundays are warm and sunny year-round, but the dry season, May to October, brings clearer skies and lower humidity, and it names May to October as the best time to visit. Tourism Whitsundays says April to October generally brings milder temperatures and lower humidity, November to March is warmer and wetter with tropical showers, and September is the calmest month for time on the water.

The Queensland Government says Queensland's cyclone season officially runs from 1 November to 30 April, though cyclones can occur at other times.

Tourism Whitsundays says August is the month to book earliest, because major events fall back to back and take accommodation, boats and tours with them. It names February, March and October as the easiest months to find space, because they sit outside both the school holidays and the events run.

Stinger season in the Whitsundays

The Queensland Government says marine stingers are present in tropical Queensland waters all year round, but the risk is higher during the marine stinger season, November to May. Whitsunday Regional Council's marine stinger guide says stings have occurred at all times of the year but are more prevalent from November to May, which it calls the high season, and says stinger nets are very effective at keeping out the more dangerous box jellyfish but cannot stop the much smaller Irukandji. The council advises protective clothing even when wading.

QPWS advises wearing a stinger suit or protective clothing when snorkelling or entering the water and, if stung, leaving the water immediately and dousing the area with vinegar. Tourism Whitsundays says some tours supply stinger suits and others offer hire.

Whales, birds and events

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says humpback whales come from Antarctic waters to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area from May to September, to calve and to build up strength over the winter. QPWS says shorebirds and waders are plentiful in the park, particularly from October to March when they migrate there to nest, and some boating restrictions apply in those months.

Hamilton Island Race Week, which Hamilton Island dates to 1984, sits in August on Tourism Whitsundays' month-by-month calendar. The Airlie Beach Festival of Music, an event for over-18s, runs on 6 to 8 November 2026, according to its organiser.

Flying to the Whitsundays

Hamilton Island Airport (HTI) is on Hamilton Island, and its operator says Hamilton Island is the only Whitsunday island with its own commercial airport. Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) is on the mainland at Gunyarra, south of Proserpine, and is owned by Whitsunday Regional Council. Cruise Whitsundays' Resort Connections ferry network takes in Hamilton Island Airport and Port of Airlie.

The Whitsundays are in Queensland, which does not observe daylight saving; New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory do, according to the New South Wales Government. Business Queensland says biosecurity laws restrict the movement of certain plant material, soil and related equipment into Queensland, and that a biosecurity certificate is generally needed to move these items.

Direct domestic flights recorded from Hamilton Island Airport and Whitsunday Coast Airport go to the places below, with the airlines recorded on each route. Schedules change, so check with the airline before planning around a route.

Airport	Destination	Airlines recorded
Hamilton Island Airport	Brisbane	Qantas, Virgin Australia
Hamilton Island Airport	Melbourne	Qantas, Virgin Australia
Hamilton Island Airport	Sydney	Qantas, Virgin Australia
Whitsunday Coast Airport	Brisbane	Jetstar, Virgin Australia
Whitsunday Coast Airport	Cairns	Skytrans
Whitsunday Coast Airport	Melbourne	Jetstar
Whitsunday Coast Airport	Sydney	Jetstar

Getting around the Whitsundays

Tourism Whitsundays says scheduled ferry services connect Port of Airlie with Daydream Island and Hamilton Island, that routes, timetables and luggage limits vary by service, that other islands use resort transfers, water taxis or private charters, and that there is no scheduled public ferry direct to Whitehaven Beach. Cruise Whitsundays' Resort Connections network also takes in Hamilton Island Marina, Daydream Island and Shute Harbour, with coach connections via Whitsunday Coast Airport.

On the mainland, Tourism Whitsundays says most visitors staying in central Airlie Beach can manage without a car, using local buses, taxis, rideshare and tour transfers, while a car is useful for day trips to Bowen, Hydeaway Bay and other mainland stops. Whitsunday Transit's local bus timetable connects Airlie Beach, Cannonvale, Jubilee Pocket, Shute Harbour and Proserpine. By road, QPWS puts the town of Proserpine 125 km north of Mackay on the Bruce Highway, with Airlie Beach a further 25 km east along Shute Harbour Road and Shute Harbour 10 km beyond that.

Hamilton Island is car-free; the island runs an Island Shuttle for its guests, and buggies can be hired, with bookings essential. Hamilton Island says some dates for buggy hire are booked out months in advance, as of October 2026. Queensland Rail Travel describes its Spirit of Queensland as a way to reach the Whitsundays, and Tourism Whitsundays says it links Proserpine to destinations from Cairns to Brisbane.

Side trips from the Whitsundays

Tourism and Events Queensland says Hamilton Island can be visited as a day trip from the mainland, with ferry transfers from Airlie Beach. Hamilton Island Airport's own page lists scenic flights from the airport to the reef and Whitehaven Beach.

Bowen, in the same council area, has quiet beaches and shore snorkelling at Horseshoe Bay and Rose Bay when conditions suit, Flagstaff Hill Lookout, town murals and the Big Mango, according to Tourism Whitsundays. It says Proserpine has heritage streets, a local museum and access to Lake Proserpine, and Collinsville has the Coalface Experience.

Whitsundays questions

When is stinger season in the Whitsundays?

The Queensland Government gives the marine stinger season for tropical Queensland waters as November to May, and Whitsunday Regional Council says stings have occurred at all times of the year but are more prevalent from November to May. The Queensland Government also says stingers are present in those waters all year round, and QPWS advises a stinger suit or protective clothing when you snorkel or enter the water.

Is there a ferry to Whitehaven Beach from Airlie Beach?

Tourism Whitsundays says there is no scheduled public ferry direct to Whitehaven Beach. It is reached by tour boat, high-speed vessel, yacht or scenic flight, leaving from Airlie Beach, Hamilton Island and Daydream Island, and Cruise Whitsundays runs full and half-day cruises there.

Do you need to book the Ngaro Track in the Whitsundays?

Yes. QPWS says bookings are essential for all walkers on the Ngaro Track, which is not open to day visitors, and that visitors without a booking will be able to access the walking tracks around Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet.

Do you need a permit to camp on the Whitsunday Islands?

Yes. QPWS requires a camping permit, booked in advance with the tag displayed on your tent, and asks campers to arrange their boat transfer before booking a site. Bring your own fresh water, since QPWS says most islands have none available.

Do you need a car in Airlie Beach?

Tourism Whitsundays says most visitors staying in central Airlie Beach can manage without a car, using local buses, taxis, rideshare and tour transfers. It says a car is useful for day trips to Bowen, Hydeaway Bay and other mainland stops.

Do the Whitsundays observe daylight saving?

No. The Whitsundays are in Queensland, which does not observe daylight saving, according to the New South Wales Government.