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Whitsunday Coast and Islands - Queensland
Aerial view of Hill Inlet, Whitsunday Coast © Tourism QLD
Scroll down for details of Whitsundays Intro, Airlie Beach+mainland, Whitsunday Islands, Whitsunday Islands Nat.Park

Whitsunday Coast and Islands - Introduction

Some of the 74 islands of the Whitsundays © Tourism QLDOff the Queensland coast between Mackay and Bowen are the Whitsunday Islands, well known for their excellent diving and snorkelling and their easy access to the Great Barrier Reef. They are continental islands, drowned mountains with only their steep, forested peaks showing with wonderful sandy beaches fringed with coral.  The 74 Whitsunday Islands enjoy a tropical climate of hot summers, warm winters and bright spring and autumn days. Average daily temperatures range from just over 23 deg C (73 deg F) in the winter months of June and July and up to 30.5 deg C (87 deg F) in January during the height of summer. The average water temperature is 25 deg C (77 deg F) all year round but beware of marine stingers (jellyfish) during the summer months, when cyclones and heavy rain can also occur.

Airlie Beach and Whitsundays mainland

AIRLIE BEACH  Overlooks the Whitsunday Passage and islands and is the main holiday town on the Whitsunday Coast.  Visitors to Airlie are a cosmopolitan bunch ranging from backpackers through to jetsetters with money to burn.  Accordingly there is a wide range of accommodation, bars and restaurants.
Boats in Shute Harbour, Whitsundays © Tourism QLDSHUTE HARBOUR  About 10 km from Airlie Beach, Shute Harbour is the main embarkation point for ferries to the island resorts and for day trips to the barrier reef.  A real boaties haven, it is also home to a number of excellent boat charter companies.
A number of local professional diving companies offer diving and snorkelling both as day trips and longer diving holidays, often with tuition offered. If you are not in the first flush of youth, be sure to check medical requirements with your diving operator since older travellers may be required to produce medical certificates.  Cruising on small cruise ships is popular, covering a range of budgets and levels of activity. You can also hire your own yacht or motor cruiser to sail yourself (called a bare boat charter) or charter a crewed vessel - see Whitsundays Cruising
Other centres on the Whitsunday Coast are Mackay in the south and Prosperpine and Bowen in the north.  Between Airlie Beach and Proserpine is Midge Point.

Whitsunday Islands
View from a balcony at Hamilton Island, Whitsundays © Hamilton IslandHAMILTON ISLAND is not part of the national park and has been developed as a resort island with some high rise buildings which dominate the landscape and offer long distance views over the island and the Whitsunday Passage.  Hamilton is the busiest island in the Whitsundays and has a full range of facilities for visitors wanting a lively holiday with nightlife and a choice of well appointed accommodation.  Day trippers can also use some of the facilities.
Hamilton Island has its own airport which also serves as a transit point to some of the other islands.

A beach on Hayman Island © Hayman IslandHAYMAN ISLAND is accessed from Hamilton Island by launch.  Hayman is not part of the national park and is the most northerly island in the Whitsunday group. It is renowned for its 5 star resort and its location close to the Great Barrier Reef. Hayman is 400 hectares in area and 8 kms in circumference with lush, tropical growth and its tallest peak stands 250 metres above sea level. Other islands are accessible by boat or yacht and there are many bush walks through the rugged natural landscape taking you to idyllic, white sandy beaches. 
Hayman Island has a magnificent range of flora, fauna and marine life. Beyond the beach on the southern half of the island lies a coral reef, 800 metres wide, which is exposed at low tide and covered by up to 4 metres of water at high tide.
Jetty on Hook Island, Whitsundays © Tourism QLDMost of HOOK ISLAND is part of the Whitsunday Islands National Park (see bottom of page)
The island has some excellent walking tracks, lovely beaches and an unpretentious and very reasonably priced resort along with several campsites. 
It is the second largest island (after Whitsunday Island) in the Whitsundays group and has an excellent reef for snorkelling.
Access to Hook Island is by boat transfer from Shute Harbour.

View from Mt Oldfield, Lindeman Island, Whitsundays © Tourism QLDMost of LINDEMAN ISLAND is part of the Whitsunday Islands National Park (see bottom of page).   Feral goats once took their toll on a sizeable proportion of the vegetation on the island.  However now that the goats have been removed, the native plants are continuing to re-establish themselves. The island has good walking tracks and the southern part of the island is particularly scenic with secluded beaches and a great viewpoint at the summit of Mount Oldfield (as pictured).
Lindeman has a camping ground and a resort, Australia's first Club Med.

Couple in hammock on South Molle Island, Whitsundays © South Molle IslandDAYDREAM, SOUTH MOLLE and LONG ISLANDS
Daydream Island  A small island with a resort and spa - popular as a day trip from Shute Harbour.
South Molle Island (pictured) has a good value, unpretentious family resort. Has walking tracks and an excellent lookout on Mt Jeffrey.
Long Island is close to the coast and, as you would expect, it is long and narrow.  It has three accommodations of differing standards.
BRAMPTON ISLAND  Located at the southern entrance of the Whitsunday Island Passage, 32 km north east of Mackay. Almost all of Brampton Island is part of the Whitsundays Island National Park (see below).
Pool at Brampton Island, Whitsundays © Brampton IslandThe island has seven beaches and its own coral reef. The island has an abundance of native bush and wildlife, including kangaroos, and a good network of walking tracks. There is a resort on the island (pictured) and access is from Mackay.
Nearby is lovely CARLISE ISLAND, a hilly continental island with dense eucalypt forest and rainforest in gullies and which also has a fringing reef. Carlise has a camping ground - boat transfers are by prior arrangement with Brampton Island Resort, although sand bank access from Brampton Island is possible at low tide.

Whitsunday Islands National Park

Couple on Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island © Tourism QLDThe park includes virtually all of the Whitsunday Islands - Hayman, Hamilton and Dent Islands being the exceptions.  
Rough camping is allowed on most of the islands and camps with facilities include:
at Dugong Beach on Whitsunday Island, home to famous Whitehaven Beach (pictured), at Cockatoo Beach on North Molle Island and at Sea Eagle Beach on Thomas Island. A number of tours, yachts and motor vessels operate out of Airlie Beach on the mainland and are used by visitors to get to the various camping spots. 
For more information about camping on the islands and to obtain permits/make bookings, visit the QLD Parks and Wildlife Service website for Whitsunday Islands National Park www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park(Whitsundays).
 
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Truly Australia have attempted to give an honest and objective description of the topics covered on this page and have deliberately avoided regurgitating tourist office media releases. The information shown has been compiled from a variety of reputable sources and our own experiences. We check and review this information from time to time, but we assume no responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the details given.