The Whitsundays

The Whitsundays is a holiday destination for everyone in Australia, but during covid its been Queensland’s best asset. Seriously google this place. or just check out my photos!

Whitsunday is a white picture perfect beach location in northern Queensland and surrounded by many different islands. There are a few ways to get there. You can stay in Airlie and take a day trip via ferry to the island. Or you can fly directly to the island of Hamilton and stay on one of the many accommodations. Beware the cockatoos. You aren’t meant to feed them, but everyone does and they can be super entertaining.

I stayed at the Reef View Hotel, its not a crazy expensive place to stay but also walkable distance to everything. The island doesn’t have cars so you either rent a buggy or take public transit. Public transit is free and super easy to get around. The Green bus take you to most hotels and around the main restaurant area. And the Blue bus takes to you the hill. Definitely take the blue bus up the hill to watch the sunset. On top of the hill even has a little bar you can order a drink from.

There is a few beaches around but know October -May is stinger season on the north and you need a stinger suit to swim in the water. But there is a free pool with a swim up bar that is located near most common hotels, and conveniently the free bus stops here too!

Lets chat food, there is plenty of restaurants on the island. It definitely is recommended to book someplace in advance because places fill up fast. If you got a house you can also go to the grocery store but know island prices, and the fact that it is an island can be tricky. I think one of my favourite places was Sails. It had great local food! It definitely was a bit more on the $$ side. During the day I often stopped at the bakery, for coffee and grabbed a pastry for later. And the fish and chips for take away was also amazing!

Being that it is an island right on the reef. You have so many options of things to do. Take a boat right off the hotel, with most hotel you have access to free snorkel, SUP and many other aquatic gear! SO take advantage. If you are looking for something a little bit more, you can take ferry out to the biggest reef and literally jump off the boat and snorkel in the middle of the ocean with no land near by. It is actually amazing and totally worth it. One special thing that I did that I believe was totally worth it was booking a helicopter to see more of the reef from above. I booked with Hamilton Air if your interested. You can’t see the whole reef any other way, so to me this was worth it. They have many your available and at different price ranges. One of them even includes landing on Whitsundays and spending the island! So secluded and so special. Many companies even include morning snack and lunch!

Go and rent a boat for the day or afternoon. You don't need your boat license, just take a quick little crash course. You can rent coolers for the day, pretty much anything you need! Go take the boat to a beach and relax for the day. or rent some fishing gear and try out some fishing in the ocean! If you catch anything you can bring it to any restaurant on this island and they will cook it up for you!

I can totally see why many Australian flock here for a holiday! It is a small island with lots to do. The island felt very friendly and is was fun in the way that so many people you saw were either on the plane on the way there or the way back!

XO Nic