How to Find the Best Tours in the Whitsunday Islands

I have the hardest time writing about my experiences in Australia and New Zealand. A cheesy grin always stretches across my face, just thinking about the memories. From Alabama to Australia, is a huge deal to me! Like I actually went?! One place that I absolutely had to visit while in Australia was the Whitsunday Islands. The remarkable beauty of the islands is constantly rated as one of the top beaches in the world travel to. If you don’t know the island by name, I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of the crystal blue water with swirly white strokes that look more like a painting than a real life place.

Of course, none of my plans ever go exactly as planned and I almost missed out on going! I didn’t oversleep or anything crazy like I normally do. This time I booked the wrong trip package to explore the Whitsunday Islands. So, if you plan on visiting anytime soon, please pay attention to the details below. Don’t waste hundreds of dollars and a whole day, like this idiot here.

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Getting There

To get to the Whitsunday islands, you can fly there or sail there, which I did. The company I used was Cruise Whitsundays, which is located in Airlie Beach, Queensland. The company has numerous packages that range from half-day to full-day and one way or roundtrip tickets. Very customizable packages and I totally recommend them. The tour I chose, was a full day Whitehaven Beach, Daydream and Hamilton Island day cruise. After viewing the catalog and photos, I assumed that the beautiful white, swirly, cloud like hues, known as the hill inlet, would be accessible from Whitehaven beach. That was not that case unfortunately.

To reach the amazingly photogenic hill inlet, it’s only truly reachable by speedboats and helicopter tours. You can reach it from Whitehaven beach, but it would be a long 1.3 mile each way in hot sand. Having the time nor energy to make the trek, disappointment quickly surfaced. My last few trips had been filled with so much let down and here I was again on the verge of tears. I was only in Australia for two weeks, I had no room in my schedule nor could I really afford another trip back to the Whitsunday islands.

Later on that day, still not giving up – I discussed some options of how to see the beautiful hill inlet with the cruise crew. Some of the crew on board, referred me to some companies that do half-day tours of the hill inlet along with visiting the heart reef. After contacting three companies about a last minute excursion to the inlet, I eventually splurged and chose a seaplane tour for the following day. Between booking the tour and an another expensive hotel in the area, my budget super reduced. The rest of my meals in Australia were courtesy of 7/11 and fast food.

The company I used was Air Whitsundays. We not only flew over the hill inlet for amazing views, but also landed on the beach to get close up photos of the hues of blue swirls. They provided a wonderful packed lunch with wine and in the end it was well worth it. Often a lot touristy places don’t live up to the hype, but Whitsunday exceed my expectations tremendously. Pictures do not do it justice!

I was very impressed with Hamilton Island, I had no idea it existed before my trip to Australia. I will definitely be staying there for a few days when I return to Australia! The island was very lush and green and had some amazing hotels and resorts. The restaurants served plenty of seafood (my favorite)! It was also some friendly lovebirds and cockatiels who joined me for coffee!

My time in Australia was amazing and the Whitsunday Island tour was my favorite excursion there. If it’s on your budget list I highly encourage you to visit! The flight is long, but worth it.