Heading to the Whitsundays and looking for a sailing trip? Read our review of the iconic Atlantic Clipper Whitsundays 3D/2N sailing trip (hint: it was epic!).
Sailing the Whitsundays
The Whitsundays is a collection of 74 stunning islands in Queensland, on Australia’s east coast.
Sheltered by the Great Barrier Reef, the waters around the islands are calm, sparkly blue and full of marine life.
It’s possible to stay on some of the islands, with accommodation, restaurants and tourist amenities available. However, I think experiencing the Whitsundays is best done from the water!
Jumping on board a multi-day sailing tour is a very popular thing to do in the region. And there is a plethora of different companies and boats out there to choose from. You can hire some as ‘bare boats’. Where you get a quick introduction to sailing and become the captain of your own ship for a few days. Or alternatively, you join a boat that is crewed, with other travellers.
I’m not going to pretend I know enough to give you a rundown of all the different boat options in the Whitsundays. Or a comparison between bareboating, joining a tour, the difference between a yacht and a catamaran, or anything like that. After about five minutes of research, I was hooked on doing a tour on the famous Atlantic Clipper! And I didn’t even consider any other options. Let me tell you why…
The Atlantic Clipper
The Atlantic Clipper comes with a bit of a reputation on the Australian backpacker circuit. Known as the party boat of the Whitsundays, the ship itself absolutely supports this claim.
The Atlantic Clipper is one of the largest boats in the Whitsundays at 34 metres long, with three levels and a capacity of 54 passengers and six crew. There are two, three and four-berth cabins available, with seven toilets, five hot showers and a big saloon downstairs.
But on the top deck is where the fun really starts! With a hot tub and two water slides – one a big inflatable one, and the other a traditional slide style. There is a big sun deck with plenty of beanbags and a big open undercover area.
Pretty cool, right? As soon as I saw photos of the boat, and fun videos of rowdy backpackers sliding down the slide, in the hot tub, and drinking on the top deck, I was hooked. The Atlantic Clipper definitely caters for a younger market and it drew us in!
⛵️ Sold on an Atlantic Clipper cruise? Book here!
What does it cost?
The other reason the Atlantic Clipper is such a popular option for backpackers and young people is the affordable cost. The tour cost fluctuates depending on the type of cabin you choose, but rates start from $589 for the 3D/2N tour.
And this includes EVERYTHING! Your accommodation, all your meals, all the fun activities on the boat, a visit to Whitehaven Beach and snorkelling. And obviously the amazing experience of sailing around the Whitsundays!
The only additional cost outside of this is your alcohol, which you are allowed to BYO. No expensive bar prices on board. Just load up at the bottle-o beforehand and bring whatever you want with you on the boat. And if you want to go scuba diving instead of snorkelling, there is an additional fee for that. This was $99 at the time of writing, which we thought was very reasonable.
For what you get included, the time spent on the Atlantic Clipper, and the unique experience of seeing the beautiful Whitsundays from the water I think this is an absolute bargain!
Our experience sailing on the Atlantic Clipper
We honestly loved every single minute of our time sailing with True Blue Sailing on the Atlantic Clipper. It is up there as one of the best travel experiences we have ever had! I’m going to recount our experience over each day. And hopefully, put the Atlantic Clipper on your list as a must-do experience in the Whitsundays.
Day one
Checking in
We were told to meet at the Coral Sea Marina in Airlie Beach at 2:15 pm on day one. We were going to be boarding and setting sail at 2:30 pm. True Blue Sailing let us know in advance to reduce our luggage down to just one backpack or tote bag. Hard cases or bags with wheels are not allowed as there is not a lot of room on the boat. They also remind you to BYO alcohol.
So we rocked up to the marina with a backpack each and a box of drinks from the bottle-o. We arrived to see groups of young people scattered around with a lot of slabs and goon bags. There was no doubt we were in the right place, and we immediately wondered if we had brought enough alcohol…
Boarding the boat
With the crew leading the way we lugged our bags and drinks down the marina and onto the boat. We piled our drinks into big chest fridges, dumped our bags in the saloon and headed up to the top deck for a safety briefing. One of the crew members, Dan did the briefing. He told us all about the boat, gave us a hilarious rundown of the trip and basically said in so many words, don’t be a dick and we’ll all have a good time. The most important rule was that the music is turned off at 12 am and the drinks fridge is locked at the same time. The drinks fridge also stays locked until after all snorkelling and diving have been finished, so nobody can be getting in the water drunk.
He introduced us to the rest of the crew, seven in total. Reggie was the skipper, Scotty was the first mate, Dan and Tommy were the deckhands, Lilly and Jessie were our dive instructors and Morgan was our host and chef.
The crew let us know which rooms we were in, and Brayden and I had a private double cabin. Which surprisingly came with its own shower! No toilet, but there was one right outside our cabin. The cabins are tiny but you are literally only in them to sleep. All your bedding is included and the bed was comfy. Our cabin was clean and the shower was hot so we were happy!
Setting sail
We were given the all-clear to crack open some drinks. And we all headed to the top deck to watch as we sailed out of the marina in Airlie Beach. The first couple of hours was filled with the usual ‘where are you from?’ ‘how long are you in the Whitsundays?’ as we got to know everyone. We had 25 passengers on the boat, which was more than enough and I can’t imagine how rowdy it would be at full capacity of 54!
Within a couple of hours, we reached our first stop, Bower Bay near South Molle Island. The crew rolled out the waterslide and fired up the hot tub. We spent a while getting wet in the Whitsundays, sliding into the amazing blue waters, and filling the hot tub to absolute capacity.
Night one
We sailed off into the sunset (literally!) to our overnight stop in Hook Passage. Watching the sun go down behind the islands was absolute magic, and was a perfect end to the first day. Dinner on night one was fish, salads and bread rolls. It was all really yummy and very filling. The rest of the night was spent up on the top deck having some drinks and chatting with everyone.
The side of the boat has spotlights into the water, which attracts marine life. We spent ages watching a school of big fish swimming around, a dolphin appeared for a while at one point, and we even saw a small reef shark! We were very lucky to be sailing on an almost full moon, and watching it rise up over the islands was amazing. The stars were so bright without any light pollution. And it really was incredible to be out on the Atlantic Clipper in the Whitsundays at night.
Some of the group were there to party and had a pretty rowdy night. But we didn’t want to be hungover for the next day, and not enjoy seeing one of the best beaches in the world. A few of us called it in and headed to bed around 11 pm.
Day two
Wake up call
Being the sunrise lover that I am, I woke up at about 6:10 am and headed straight for the top deck to watch the sunrise. There was a decent group of us up and about early to see the sky light up, so we didn’t need the wake-up call from the crew. At 6:30 am the Lion King soundtrack was blasted through the speakers to get everyone else up, and ready for breakfast at 7:00 am. We had a whole spread of cereal, fruits, yoghurt, toast and tea and coffee to choose from. Our first stop for the day was about an hour and a half away, so we relaxed in the sun on the top deck after breakfast.
Hill Inlet
We arrived in Tongue Bay at around 8:30 am, which is close to Whitsunday Island, where you find the famous Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet. I was so excited to see Whitehaven, which is consistently ranked as the best beach in Australia and one of the best in the world. We jumped on the tenders and the crew dropped us off on the island, at a place they call ‘shitty beach’ (in comparison to Whitehaven Beach). Jessie led the group on the short ten-minute walk up the Hill Inlet lookout, to see the famous swirly white sands and blue waters.
Because we had come so early, the day-trippers hadn’t arrived yet, and we practically had the place to ourselves. Seeing this natural wonder as part of your Atlantic Clipper trip around the Whitsundays is the best way to do it! You can see all the photos of Hill Inlet, but nothing compares to seeing it with your own eyes. The colour of the water is just astounding, and those trademark swirly white sands are even better in person. There are three different lookout platforms, and it was hard to drag myself away.
Whitehaven Beach
After taking a million photos and videos, we headed down to Whitehaven Beach. The beach is famous for its white silica sand. The sand is made up of 98.9% silica which is found nowhere else in the world! The silica gives it its white colour and soft powdery texture. And it’s great to give yourself an exfoliation, and to scrub up your jewellery (if it’s real!).
And don’t forget about the water! I don’t think in all my travels I have experienced water this clear, and blue. Burying my feet in the soft, squishy sand and floating in the sparkling water was bliss. The shallow waters of Hill Inlet attract stingrays and baby sharks. We saw so many stingrays gliding all around us, and one of the guys we were with spotted a small shark too!
We spent some time exploring the beach and rocky corners, swimming and of course taking a million photos of that blue water that you can’t take your eyes off. From drop off to pick up time, we had around three hours to visit the lookout and enjoy the beach.
Back on board
We got the tenders back to the boat, where lunch was waiting for us. The crew served up wraps, rolls, cold meats, salads and fruits. Our next stop was going to be for snorkelling and scuba diving, but it was going to take a few hours to get there. We headed for the top deck and relaxed in the hot tub, soaked up the sun and kept our eyes peeled for whales.
Our destination was Luncheon Bay, which is at the northern end of Hook Island. We had the choice of snorkelling or scuba diving, and we had organized to go scuba diving. It was our first time ever diving, but our dive instructors Lilly and Jessie were absolutely incredible and made us feel so at ease.
We had a dive briefing before we arrived at Luncheon Bay, where we had to fill out some PADI forms and run through some of the basics. We were taught the different hand signals, all the gear we were going to use, and the basic principles of descending and ascending. There was eight of us who had opted to dive, and we were split into three smaller groups.
Preparing for our dive
Brayden and I were in a group just the two of us and we were the first ones to hit the water once we arrived. We got all geared up with our wetsuits, tanks and BCDs and jumped in the tenders to head out to the water. I was feeling a bit nervous. I love snorkelling, but I thought I might find it a bit scary to breathe via the tank and was hoping I wouldn’t panic underwater.
Because we had never dived before, we started in a very shallow area that was about chest height. Jessie and Lilly got us to practice breathing under the water with the regulator. And taught us how to clear water from our masks and regulators, and equalize our ears under the water.
Scuba diving
After that, we took off. We each had one instructor literally right next to us holding our hands. I didn’t realise it was going to be so one-on-one and I had no apprehension or nerves at all, having Jessie right next to me. Before I could even think otherwise we were deep under the water! Swimming around rocks and coral with fishies darting around everywhere.
Neither of us had any issues at all with breathing and felt completely comfortable and relaxed the whole time. My ears were a bit sore with the pressure. But using the hand signals I was able to tell Jessie and Lilly and they helped me to ascend a little, equalize my ears properly and then keep going.
Although the experience was short for our first time, we both absolutely loved diving! We are so happy we finally tried it, and we will 100% be organising to do a PADI Open Water certification. If you have always wanted to try diving, but have been hesitant I can’t think of a better place to do it. Jessie and Lilly made the experience amazing, so comfortable and easy and I would highly highly recommend taking the opportunity if you’re on board the Atlantic Clipper in the Whitsundays.
Night two
After we finished diving we joined the rest of the group snorkelling and floating around in the amazing blue Whitsundays waters, and jumping off the boat. We worked up an appetite and headed back to the boat for some afternoon tea. Coffee and a ton of biscuits did the trick after being in the water for a few hours.
We set sail again for our overnight stop. Tonight we would anchor at Stonehaven, close to Hayman Island and Hook Island. After a blissfully hot shower, we all watched the sunset again from the top deck. This one was made even more special by a couple of whales playing around in the distance! There was some distinct blowhole action, and we saw a few fins popping up here and there. They didn’t put on a show for us, but at least we can say we saw one!
Dinner on night two was a delicious spaghetti bolognese and garlic bread. I needed all those carbs after a massive day in the sun and water, and it went down a treat. It was really windy, so we all hung out downstairs in the saloon. We whipped out some cards and played plenty of games with a big group and lots of drinks.
The Atlantic Clipper show
We had all heard whispers about the famous Atlantic Clipper ‘show’. We knew it was going to involve the crew and dress ups, and that’s about it. It had been a couple of hours since dinner and there was no sign of any show. We were all wondering if it was just a myth.
But at around 9 pm, the crew came out with big bags of clothes. They told us all to grab an outfit and meet them on the top deck. The bags were full of all kinds of dress-ups. From ball gowns to sequin jackets, we all got in our very best shit kit.
The next couple of hours were full of games, competitions and dance-offs, all with the aim of crowning the king and queen of the Clipper. I’m going to skip the details, but it was a lot of fun. Some impressive dance moves, good tunes and plenty of bevvies. If you want the full details you’ll have to go and experience it for yourself! What happens on the Clipper stays on the Clipper.
Day three
Final morning
There weren’t so many people awake for the sunrise this morning, and I only just saw the last part of it. The wake-up call for this morning was ‘Under the Sea’, and we all had another yummy breakfast. We were due to arrive back at the marina in Airlie around 11:15 am, and it was going to take a couple of hours to sail back.
The main thing on the agenda for today was curing hangovers. And I can’t think of a better way to do it than sliding down a giant inflatable waterslide into the blue Whitsundays waters at seven in the morning! Both the waterslides were up and running, the crew roped up a big floating mat in the water, got out the paddleboards and opened the dive gate. It took everyone a while to work up the courage to jump in. It was early, a little chilly and cloudy. But nothing beats a swim for a sore head and we had a fun few hours playing around.
Back to land
The crew packed up the slides, and we set sail towards Airlie. Morgan had cooked up some delicious hot dogs for us, and we all spent the last hour soaking up the sun on the top deck making plans for the rest of our trip. We were so sad to be finishing the adventure, and getting off the boat. But the fun wasn’t over yet, as the True Blue Sailing Crew organise an afterparty for the final night at one of the clubs in Airlie. A few people were staying at the same hostel we were in, and a few others decided to join us too so we weren’t saying goodbye to everyone just yet!
As we pulled back into the Coral Sea Marina in Airlie Beach, tired, sunburnt and a little seedy, we couldn’t have been happier with the past three days. We had the best time, from morning till night every day. The whole experience was so much fun, the crew provided a great atmosphere, we had an amazing group of people and we enjoyed one of the most beautiful places in the world!
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Pack list and tips for Atlantic Clipper Whitsundays
If you are heading to the Whitsundays obviously you’re going to be going on the Atlantic Clipper. Great call! Here are a couple of things we wished we knew/packed for our trip, that might help you!
- Alcohol – we knew to bring drinks but I don’t think we brought enough. Even if you don’t think you want to get super rowdy, you will drink more than you anticipate. Especially if it’s a sunny day, sitting in the hot tub. So overpack on alcohol! Some people brought slabs, goon bags and straight bottles.
- Towels – we only brought a beach towel each, but we needed a towel for showering too. We ended up using one towel for swimming, and one towel for showering. So bring two towels, they don’t dry that quickly!
- Chargers – I wasn’t sure if there was going to be power on the boat (maybe that was silly of me, I dunno?!). But there is. We had a powerpoint in our cabin, so make sure you bring your phone and camera chargers, you’ll need them!
- Non-alcoholic drinks – there is drinking water available on the boat that you can fill your water bottle up with. But it’s not super cold (obviously, you’re on a boat). And if you’re anything like us, when you’re feeling a little hungover you want something icy cold. I wish we had brought a few bottles of Powerade or Gatorade or something like that to put in the fridge and drink during the days.
- Swimmers – obviously you will pack your swimmers, but I would suggest for the girls to pack a couple of different bikinis. You’re swimming until quite late at night, and nothing dries that quickly for the next day. I hate putting on wet bathers, so bring at least two or three pairs.
- Snacks – the crew keep you seriously well fed, and we didn’t feel we were hungry at all throughout the trip. However in saying that we were all a bit peckish when we went to Whitehaven Beach and it would have been nice to have some chips or something.
- Warm clothes – no matter what time of the year you do the trip, I would recommend bringing something warm. We went in August (winter), but were surprisingly lucky with how warm the weather was, even at night. That is until the second night, when the wind picked up and I was very happy to have pants, a jumper and a beanie!
Atlantic Clipper Whitsundays review
I hope this post has given you a good insight into what you can expect jumping on board the Atlantic Clipper with True Blue Sailing in the Whitsundays. As I’m sure you can tell, we had an absolute ball and could not recommend this experience more highly for anyone who’s looking for a good time, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the Whitsundays. It was the perfect balance of party and fun, as well as experiencing and appreciating the incredibly beautiful place you are in. If you have any questions about the trip, let me know in the comments. Or if you’ve done the trip, or are planning on doing it please let me know what you thought!
