If sailing around the Whitsundays isn’t already on your bucket list, get ready to add it! Just imagine the wind in your hair, the ocean spray on your face, and the sun on your skin as you sail around some of the most beautiful islands in the world.
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Sounds too good to be true, but a Whitsunday Islands tour gives you all that and more!
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About the Whitsunday Islands
The Whitsundays are a cluster of 74 islands scattered between the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef. Most of the islands are uninhabited, covered in tropical rainforest and white sandy beaches, with the surrounding waters teeming with colourful marine wildlife and coral reefs.
Their stunning beauty makes the Whitsunday Islands Australia’s top destinations.
In fact, Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island is not only known as the best beach in the Whitsundays and Australia but even the world!
A Whitsundays tour allows you to visit this beautiful paradise in just one day!
Exploring the Whitsundays
Airlie Beach, on the mainland, is the main gateway to Whitsunday Islands. Here you can find a whole host of companies offering Whitsundays tours from charter boats to cruise ships, or small group sailing adventures, like the one we choose.
Why Cruise Whitsundays?
Cruise Whitsundays is the biggest operator of day trips to Whitehaven Beach offering a multitude of Whitsundays experiences for every schedule and every budget.
A number of their experiences, including Camira Sailing Adventure, Great Barrier Reef Adventures, Reefsleep and the Whitehaven Beach Day Cruises have been awarded Advanced Eco Certification for their protection efforts, their wise use of resources, contribution to conservation, and work with the local communities.
Camira Sailing Whitsundays Adventure
For our Whitsundays tour, we decided to explore the Whitsundays on Camira, an 85ft ocean-going catamaran, operated by Cruise Whitsundays. The Camira is one of the world’s fastest commercial sailing catamarans, reaching speeds of up to 30 knots.
Cruise Whitsundays offers a full-day, all-inclusive experience which includes an easy hike up to the Hill Inlet Lookout, a visit to Whitehaven Beach, swimming, snorkelling, and a delicious BBQ lunch. Complimentary soft drinks, fresh water, tea and coffee, plus beer and wine (after 11 AM) are also available on this Whitsundays day trip.
Our Whitsundays Tour with Cruise Whitsundays
We kicked off our Whitsunday Islands tour around 7:30 AM as we boarded the Camira at Airlie Port.
Hook Island Snorkeling
From there we headed out past Whitsunday Island towards Hook Island, where we stopped for some snorkelling. The water was a bit choppy and the visibility not fantastic, but it was our first glimpse of the Great Barrier Reef and we were thrilled to be in the water!
Exploring Hill Inlet & Whitehaven Beach
From Hook Island, we continued our journey towards Whitehaven Beach. The crew put up the sails and we enjoyed a smooth ride courtesy of the strong winds in the area. Morning tea was served en route and it was plenty of healthy snacks, lots of fruits, veggies, hummus, cheese, crackers and some meats to keep us fueled until lunchtime.
Once at Whitehaven Beach, we made our way to shore and enjoyed a couple of hours exploring the Hill Inlet and the beach itself.
First up, was a guided hike to the Hill Inlet Lookout, where the views out over Whitsunday Island are just breathtaking! After taking in the scenery, we had plenty of time to hang out on the beach, enjoy the sun, and search for stingrays in the shallow water.
Then it was back on the boat for a very tasty BBQ lunch as we sailed back to Airlie Beach to wrap up our day!
Have you visited the Whitsundays? What was the best part of your visit?
Disclaimer: Our trip to the Whitsundays was arranged courtesy of Cruise Whitsundays, but as always, all opinions expressed in this article, are our own.
