Best Things to do in Airlie Beach & Whitsundays – Ultimate Travel Guide
This post will give you a rundown of all the best things to do in Airlie Beach, tours, day trips and where to stay.
This article may contain affiliate / compensated links. For full information, please see our disclaimer here.
Introduction to Airlie Beach
Airlie Beach is a coastal town in the Australian state of Queensland. It is a popular stop on any east coast road trip and a hub for backpackers. This slice of paradise is considered the ‘gateway to the Whitsundays’ and is the mainland centre of the Whitsundays region and its 74 islands. There is easy access to the Whitsundays Islands and Great Barrier Reef from Airlie Beach, making it the perfect place to base yourself.
Airlie has warm weather year-round, with dry and sunny winters, and hot humid summers. The town itself is lined with palm trees, sparkly azure blue waters and golden beaches. It oozes tropical vibes and has to be one of Australia’s best beach towns.
🏝️ Want the quick answer? Skip to things to do in Airlie Beach
When to visit Airlie Beach
Being in the northern part of Queensland, Airlie Beach is blessed with beautiful weather year-round. We visited in August (winter) and couldn’t believe our luck with the weather. We had blue skies and sunshine every day, with temperatures around the mid-twenties. The nights were very mild, and besides a couple of windy afternoons, it was just perfect.
Summer (December – February) brings higher temperatures, humidity and rains. But with so much beautiful water to cool off in, we wouldn’t hesitate to visit at this time for the true tropical experience. Marine stingers are present in the waters around Airlie Beach from around October – May, so if you visit at this time you will need to wear a stinger suit.
How long to stay in Airlie Beach
As you will see below, there are soooo many things to do in Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays region. We stayed here for a week, and there were so many things we weren’t able to do in that time (e.g. we didn’t visit any of the resort islands, wished we had longer to spend in Bowen, and didn’t get out to the outer Great Barrier Reef). I would say a week is the minimum amount of time to spend in the region overall, but it could easily be much longer.
And how long you stay in Airlie Beach specifically depends on where else you want to stay. Will you do an overnight sailing tour? Stay on the islands for a few nights? Stay in Bowen for a night or two?. I hope this post will give you a better idea of all the things on offer, both within Airlie Beach and as tours and day trips from here, to help you to craft your itinerary.
Getting to Airlie Beach
Airlie Beach is in northern Queensland and can be reached in a number of ways which I will outline below.
Flying to Airlie Beach
The Whitsunday Coast Airport (also known as Proserpine Airport, with code PPP) is the closest airport to the town of Airlie Beach. The airport is about a 30-minute drive from the town, in the inland suburb of Proserpine. There are daily direct flights from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. And less frequent flights to other northern Queensland airports like Cairns and Rockhampton.
Getting from the airport to the town is straightforward. If you want wheels for your entire trip, you can rent a car from the airport with all the usual companies like Hertz, Avis and Europcar. There is no Uber in Airlie Beach, but there are taxis available. A trip to the centre of Airlie Beach is likely to set you back at least $100 and we wouldn’t recommend this option.
We booked an airport shuttle bus, and this is by far the easiest and cheapest option. Heart of Reef Shuttles offers shuttles for $22 one way, or $36 return (at the time of writing). The whole process was so simple. They have a desk in the baggage claim area, where you let them know you’ve arrived. Wait for your luggage, and once you are ready you just head outside and there are vans and drivers lined up and waiting. They drop you at the door of your accommodation, and the same when picking you up to return to the airport.
Driving to Airlie Beach
Road tripping along the east coast of Australia is a popular thing to do, and Airlie Beach is a mandatory stop! The town is full of vans and I think many travellers stay here a little longer than they anticipate. Airlie Beach is about halfway between Rockhampton and Cairns. Here are some approximate driving times to give you an idea if you’re driving.
- 📍Cairns – Airlie Beach: 8 hours
- 📍Rockhampton – Airlie Beach: 6 hours
- 📍Sunshine Coast – Airlie Beach: 12 hours
- 📍Brisbane – Airlie Beach: 13 hours
- 📍Gold Coast – Airlie Beach: 14 hours
- 📍Sydney – Airlie Beach: 21 hours
- 📍Melbourne – Airlie Beach: 26 hours
Bus to Airlie Beach
If you’re travelling along the east coast without a car, you are most likely using the Greyhound Bus to do so. Airlie Beach is a stop on the Greyhound network, and you can arrive from the north or south. The Greyhound terminal is within walking distance from the main street of Airlie Beach in the Port of Airlie complex. Check tickets and timetables via the Greyhound website here.
Things to do in Airlie Beach
I don’t know about you, but I hate opening a ‘things to do in X’ blog post, only to find all the recommendations are NOT even in that place. So, these recommendations of things to do in Airlie Beach are either in the town itself within walking distance, or a short drive or bus trip away. In the next section of this post, you will find the best tours from Airlie Beach (which mostly take you out to the Whitsundays Islands and Great Barrier Reef). So without further adieu, here are the best things to do in Airlie Beach. And being budget travellers, we will point out some great things you can do for free, or very cheap!
Airlie Beach Lagoon
No list of things to do in Airlie Beach is complete without mention of the Airlie Beach Lagoon. Like most northern Queensland towns, the beaches in Airlie Beach are not safe to swim in during the warmer months, due to the presence of the dangerous marine stingers. Enter the lagoon!
This man-made pool complex sits on the foreshore in the centre of Airlie Beach and is a great way to cool off on a hot summers day when you can’t swim at the beach. It is completely FREE to use the complex. And besides the large lagoon, there is a shallow kids pool, toilets and showers, BBQ areas, chairs and tables, and a ton of beautiful beachfront grassy areas to lay down your towel and sunbake. It is adjacent to the main street of Airlie Beach, with plenty of restaurants around to grab some takeaway from.
Swimming in the Airlie Beach Lagoon
Whitsunday Saturday Markets
Every Saturday morning, the Airlie Beach Lions Club puts on a community market. Stalls are set up on the foreshore of Airlie Beach from 7 am, until around 1 pm. There are all kinds of stalls to wander through, from local handicrafts, clothes and food. Look out for the Mr Bean coffee van, who make cold brew coffee. Grab an iced latte or one of their cold brews on a warm Airlie morning!
Hit the beach
Always a solid free option in any beach town! The reef and islands shelter Airlie Beach, meaning there are virtually no waves. The main beach in the centre of Airlie is a beautiful stretch of palm-lined sand.
Otherwise, locals head for Boathaven Beach which is a short ten-minute walk from the centre of town. This beach was actually man-made as part of the Port of Airlie development. Because of this, it is not as impacted by the tides (the main beach turns into a small puddle of water when the tide is out). There is a stinger net at Boathaven too, meaning you are able to swim all year-round.
Beachfront in Airlie Beach
Bicentennial Boardwalk
The Bicentennial Boardwalk is a 4 km walkway that connects Airlie Beach to the neighbouring suburb of Cannonvale. Starting from the foreshore area in Airlie Beach, you will pass by the Airlie Beach Lagoon, before heading around the headland to the Coral Sea Marina and on to Cannonvale Beach. It’s a nice way to get to know the area, and there are plenty of places to stop in for a coffee (or cocktail!) along the way.
Walking is okay… but an e-scooter is even better! You can hire e-scooters, e-bikes and regular bikes in town, and zoom along the boardwalk. We didn’t have time to do this, but we absolutely loved riding around on the e-scooters in Brisbane and would have loved to do it here too. Whitsunday Fun offer e-scooters and bikes for hire, starting from $20 for an hour.
Explore the Coral Sea Marina
The Coral Sea Marina is the main port in Airlie Beach, in addition to the new Port of Airlie. A short walk out of the centre of town towards Cannonvale (include a visit here on your trip along the boardwalk). It is well worth having a wander around to admire all the huge superyachts. We always play the ‘which one would you have’ game, imagining we were multi-millionaires. When we visited, there was a huge yacht that we were told cost $300 million! Luckily it’s free to explore this area and dream!
There are plenty of cafes and restaurants in the marina, and it’s a great spot to have a meal or a drink and look out over the ocean. Bohemian Raw was an AMAZING health food cafe, we highly recommend a visit here for a smoothie bowl.
Sunset cruise
The best place to see the sunset in Airlie Beach is from the water! Sundowner Cruises offer a two-hour sunset cruise around Pioneer Bay, where you can see the sun go down below the surrounding mountains. And watch Airlie Beach light up for the night. The tickets are $65 per person (at time of writing) and include a glass of bubbles on arrival and some cheese platter nibbles.
⛵️ Book Sundowner Sunset Cruise
Eat, eat and eat some more
We were seriously impressed with the food options in Airlie Beach. There are a ton of cafes, restaurants and bars to choose from, for all budgets. As mentioned above, we loved Bohemian Raw so much we went back twice it was that good! If you’re looking for a splurge meal, Fish D’Vine has amazing seafood. And for a cheap meal, Boaty’s has a $16 meal deal, including a main meal with a beer, wine or spirit! The meals were huge, and you can choose from options like steak, chicken schnitzels, fish and chips and more!
Bohemian Raw cafe
Sunday Sessions at The Rocks
The Rocks Restaurant, Bar and Pool Club is located inside the Coral Sea Resort Hotel. Whilst you can visit the restaurant and bar as a non-resort guest at any time, Sunday is the best day to come for their weekly Sunday Sessions! Usually, if you are not staying at the resort, you need to purchase one of the limited pool passes to use the pool and facilities.
It is a $40 minimum spend per person which you pay on arrival, and then the $40 is deducted from your bill. But on Sundays, from 1 pm – 5:30 pm entry is FREE and there is a DJ playing. It’s got great vibes for an afternoon of drinks in the sun by the pool. The location and waterfront setting is absolutely stunning, and it is well worth a visit to The Rocks on any day of the week.
Pool day at The Rocks
Have a rowdy night out
Airlie Beach definitely caters for the young, backpacker crowd. The main street is full of bars and clubs, and no matter what night of the week it is, there will be something popping off! It’s impossible to come to Airlie and not be drawn in for at least one rowdy night of drinking. Magnums Hotel is a great place to start any night, with a huge open beer garden, and a club for later on. KC’s Bar & Grill has live music on every night.
And if you’re looking to have a boogie you’re most likely going to end up at Mama Africa or Boom. We were absolutely shocked at how cheap the drinks are here, and if you research the happy hours you can have a very affordable night out!
Picnic on the Airlie Beach Foreshore
The entire foreshore area of Airlie Beach is just beautiful. Even outside of the lagoon, the area is manicured with green lawns, palm trees, plenty of sheltered tables and chairs, and BBQs. It’s the perfect spot to lay down a mat and relax for an afternoon or evening. Although you can’t see the sun setting, you can still enjoy those beautiful sunset skies. And at night time, there are rows and rows of lights strung up, making a great atmosphere.
Airlie Beach Foreshore
Hike the Honeyeater Lookout Trail
This trail is right behind Airlie Beach town and offers amazing views over the bay and surrounding islands. We, unfortunately, didn’t have time to do this one, but we’re told the hike is pretty strenuous on the way up but well worth it for the views. The trail starts from 15 Kara Crescent, about a ten-minute walk from the centre. It is about an 8 km round trip, so be sure to bring plenty of water and some snacks.
Climb Mount Rooper
Inside the Conway National Park, Mount Rooper is a beautiful hike offering views over the Whitsunday Islands. The walk starts from a car park off Shute Harbour Road. Drive about ten minutes from Airlie Beach towards Shute Harbour, and you will see signs for Mount Rooper and the car park on your left-hand side.
The local buses all run in that direction too, so you could easily jump on one of those. The circuit (up one way and down another) is around 5 km. It was steep in parts on the way up but well worth it for the beautiful views! The waters of the Whitsunday Passage are so blue it doesn’t feel real. And of course, being in a national park, it is completely free!
Coral Beach and The Beak Lookout
Also in the Conway National Park is the beautiful, hidden Coral Beach. Continue driving from the Mount Rooper car park a short distance up the road and past Shute Harbour, you will come to a car park for the Coral Beach walk, on Whitsunday Drive.
It’s around a 1 km walk to reach Coral Beach, through some beautiful rainforest. The beach, true to its name, is made of coral not sand and it was so unique. The water here was amazing, and we had the beach almost to ourselves. We didn’t have a lot of time here, but we would love to come back and spend an afternoon here with some drinks and snacks. If you do have the time, you can continue walking along the beach to the end, where you will find a track to the Beak Lookout.
Cedar Creek Falls
If you are visiting Airlie Beach after some rain, a visit to Cedar Creek Falls will be worth it! The falls are about halfway between Airlie Beach and Proserpine, and you will probably need your own car to get here. When we were in Airlie, there had been no rain and some other travellers who visited said it was not flowing so we decided not to go.
But they look amazing, and I was really keen to visit them. There is a large swimming hole, and you can swim right under the falls when they’re flowing. For a view of the falls from above, there is a short walking track to the top. The car park is close to the falls, so no long hike is needed.
🚘 Need to hire a car in Airlie Beach? Find one here
Airlie Beach tours
Airlie is a great place to base yourself in the Whitsundays and take off on day tours from there to the islands and the reef. It’s possible to stay on many of the islands, and some people decide to base themselves there instead. But we chose to stay in Airlie Beach, as it is far more affordable, and do tours from there. Some single day and some multi-day overnight.
Airlie Beach is one of those tourist towns that is full of different tour companies, travel agencies and signs everywhere advertising basically the same thing. It can be overwhelming to know who to choose, and which tour is the best option for you. After experiencing some of them ourselves, and getting a better feel for the area these are the best tours we recommend from Airlie Beach.
Sailing the Whitsundays Islands
Sailing around some of the 74 Whitsundays Islands is an absolute must-do! There are single-day tours available, but we would highly recommend a multi-day tour where you sleep on the boat for at least one night. It’s possible to join a tour on a crewed boat, with other travellers. Or alternatively, you can book a ‘bareboat’, where you skipper your own boat, with just yourself and your travel mates.
We did a two-night, three-day tour on the iconic Atlantic Clipper boat, and it was one of the best travel experiences we have ever had!
If cruising around the Great Barrier Reef and diving in Australia’s spectacular marine environments sounds amazing to you, you can learn where to find liveaboards in Australia here.
🛳️ Read our Atlantic Clipper Whitsundays: 3D/2N Sailing Trip Review post
Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet tour
Visiting the iconic Whitehaven Beach, and walking up to the lookout to see the swirling white sands and turquoise waters of Hill Inlet is on everyone’s Whitsundays to-do list.
Consistently ranked as the best beach in Australia, and even the world, experiencing this natural wonder with your own eyes is an incredible experience. But these attractions are located on Whitsunday Island, which isn’t necessarily easy to get to.
Nearly every Whitsundays Island tour will include a stop here. But each is slightly different in how long you spend at the beach, if you visit the lookout, the method to get to the beach etc. You will want to make sure you consider the best option for you, taking into account how much time you have on your trip, and what you are most interested in.
This is likely going to be a highlight of your Whitsundays experience, so you want to choose wisely! In my mind, I think there are three main ways to experience Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet, which I will outline below.
Whitehaven Beach via a sailing tour
Any of the multi-day sailing tours around the Whitsundays will include a stop at Whitehaven Beach. This was how we visited Whitehaven, getting small tender boats onto Whitsunday Island. We completed the short walk up to Hill Inlet Lookout, before spending about two hours swimming and exploring Whitehaven Beach. We were really happy with our experience, and it was really nice to enjoy it with the friends we had made on our boat. You can read more about our sailing tour, and time at Whitehaven Beach here.
⛵️ Check out other overnight sailing tours that visit Hill Inlet
Day tour with snorkelling
A pretty standard Whitsundays day tour includes a visit to Whitehaven Beach, the short walk to Hill Inlet Lookout, and then a few stops for snorkelling around the islands.
A big thing to consider for these tours is the type of boat. You can do day tours on sailboats, catamarans or ocean rafts.
Although a sailboat is an experience, as I mentioned above, doing a multi-day tour and staying on the boat is the way to go in our opinion. The sailboats are quite slow, so for just a day trip, you would spend a lot of time travelling to and from the island.
Tour company Ocean Rafting is consistently ranked as one of the best tours in the Whitsundays region. Ocean rafts are by far the fastest boats, with the semi-rigid inflatable crafts travelling at pretty high speeds. These boats will get you out to the island quicker, and because of their small size, they are able to pull right up to Whitehaven Beach (larger boats must come from Tongue Bay on the other side of the island).
They offer two day tour options to Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet, including snorkelling.
The Northern Exposure option offers two snorkelling spots, and the Southern Lights includes just one snorkel spot, with more beach time.
Day tour without snorkelling
When you’re visiting one of the best beaches in the world, you want to have ample time to relax and enjoy it! Now that we have experienced Whitehaven Beach once, if we went again we would want a day tour that had the maximum amount of time on the beach. You could easily spend all day here swimming, relaxing on the beach, visiting the lookout and exploring down the inlet.
Cruise Whitsundays Chill & Grill tour gives you the opportunity to do just that. You will get up to six hours at Whitehaven Beach, with the chance to explore both the north and south beaches and visit multiple lookouts. They include morning and afternoon tea, and a burger for lunch.
⛵️ Book Cruise Whitsundays Whitehaven Beach Chill & Grill Tour
Snorkelling tour on the Great Barrier Reef
The Whitsundays and Airlie Beach are considered ‘the heart of the reef’. There are snorkel spots found all around the region, and near the islands. But for a true, authentic reef experience, the outer reef is the best place to go.
Hardy Reef is about two hours from Airlie Beach by boat on the outer Great Barrier Reef. Here you will find the Cruise Whitsundays Reefworld Pontoon. A purpose-built pontoon, which serves as your base for a day on the reef. A tour includes four hours at Hardy Reef, with all snorkel gear included. The pontoon has an underwater observatory deck for those who don’t want to get wet, and meals are included throughout the day.
⛵️ Book Cruise Whitsundays Outer Great Barrier Reef Tour
If you want to level up your reef experience, Cruise Whitsundays also offer the opportunity to sleep on the reef, at the Reefworld Pontoon. ReefSleep is a two-day, one-night experience where you sleep in luxury swags on the top deck of the pontoon. You start with the standard day tour, but once the day-trippers leave in the afternoon, you get to experience the magic of the Great Barrier Reef with no one else around! This once-in-a-lifetime experience is so high on our bucket list, and I think it would be worth every cent. We will be doing this next time we return to the Whitsundays for sure!
They have even levelled up their offerings with ReefSuites, a fancy underwater hotel in the pontoon!
Kayaking around the Whitsundays Islands
This was one of our favourite things we did during our time in Airlie Beach. Salty Dog Sea Kayaking offer half-day, full-day and even six-day kayaking tours around the islands of the Whitsundays. The tours depart from Shute Harbour, another port in the Airlie Beach region, about a 15-minute drive from the centre. Pick-up from your accommodation is included in the tour if you need it though!
We did a half-day tour and spent about three hours kayaking around Shute Harbour out to an island. Our guide Laura was so lovely and really knowledgeable about the area. We stopped on a small island for morning tea and had the opportunity for a quick snorkel if we wanted to. We definitely could have gone for a full-day tour and spent more time kayaking in such a beautiful setting.
🚣🏼 Book Salty Dog Sea Kayaking Tours
Day trip to Hamilton Island and/or Daydream Island
Some people choose to base themselves on an island. But if you chose to stay on the mainland, you can still spend a day visiting Hamilton Island, and/or Daydream Island.
Cruise Whitsundays offers different day tours including transport and access to the islands from Airlie Beach. You’ll get access to the pools and resort facilities on the islands, so even if you’re not staying you can get a taste of the island life! Most tours also include lunch at one of the restaurants on the islands.
We actually didn’t know these tours existed when we visited, and we skipped the islands altogether as we didn’t have time to stay out there. But this is perfect if you’re short on time but still want to visit one or two of the most popular Whitsundays Islands!
Scenic flight over the Great Barrier Reef
This experience isn’t cheap, but it is well worth the splurge if you can afford it! I can’t even describe the feeling of seeing the reef appear out of nowhere in the middle of the ocean. One minute you are flying over the open ocean and the next you are above this enormous organism that stretches as far as the eye can see.
We did our flight with GSL Aviation. The meeting point is at their office in the centre of Airlie Beach, and then they drive you out to the Whitsunday Coast Airport in Proserpine (where we landed on arrival to Airlie Beach).
The flight was 60 minutes, first passing over the mountains and the countryside, before getting out over the islands, and finally the reef. We saw Hill Inlet from above, and then of course Heart Reef. Which is just a tiny little reef out on Hardy Reef, and the pilot actually counts down from ten to when you are going to be able to see it, and it passes in a second. For us, seeing Heart Reef wasn’t the highlight, but the overall experience of seeing the reef from above was something very special!
✈️ Book GSL Aviation Scenic Flight
Great Barrier Reef from the air
Skydiving over Airlie Beach
You would be braver than I am if you want to jump out of a plane from 15,000 feet. But this is possible to do in Airlie Beach, and if I was going to jump out of a plane, I think this would be a pretty amazing spot to do it! Skydive Australia offer tandem skydives from Airlie Beach, with beautiful views over the islands, marina and blue waters as you fall.
Jetskiing tours
Another one for the thrill-seekers. We saw tons of people heading out on jetskiing tours around Airlie Beach. Zoom around the calm waters around Airlie Beach and explore hidden bays and beaches at high speeds. Whitsunday Jetski Tours offers a few different tour options, and includes free pick-up and drop-off to your accommodation.
Proserpine crocodile tour
It’s not all about the reef and the islands in the Whitsundays. Inland in Proserpine, you can come face to face with northern Queensland’s very own dinosaur – the crocodile. Whitsunday Crocodile Safari offers a day-tour including a cruise on the Proserpine River to spot some of the 150 saltwater crocodiles living there. They include pick-up and drop-off from Airlie Beach, a BBQ lunch, wetlands tour, and afternoon tea.
Day trips from Airlie Beach
If you don’t already have a car, we would recommend hiring one for a day or two as there are some great self-drive day trips to be done from Airlie Beach.
Hydeaway Bay
Hydeaway Bay is a sleepy beachfront town about a 45-minute drive from Airlie Beach. The name Hydeaway Bay is often used to also encompass the surrounding areas of Dingo Beach and Cape Gloucester. If you’re looking for seclusion, this is the perfect place. A local’s favourite, the beaches here are empty, with gorgeous mountain backdrops. It’s one of those special places where there’s almost nothing to do, so you can kick back and enjoy relaxing. Sunsets are extra special from here as in many places you can see the sun go down over the water.
⛱️ Our Hydeaway Bay Guide has everything you need to know for a day trip, or to stay a while
Bowen
Bowen would be considered the other mainland ‘hub’ of the Whitsundays. Although nowhere near as big or busy as Airlie Beach, there is a lot to see in Bowen and it is well worth the trip. The landscape here is very unique, with rocky bays as opposed to a long stretch of sand. In addition to the Big Mango (a mandatory stop, of course!), a swim and snorkel at Horseshoe Bay, the Cape Edgecumbe walking track, and spotting all the murals around the town are some of the must-do things in Bowen.
We wish we had a lot more time in this town, and it looked like the perfect place to spend a few days relaxing. There are some beautiful beachfront caravan parks and accommodation, and it had a lovely, sleepy vibe. We combined the day trip with a stop at Hydeaway Bay, but we would suggest dedicating at least a whole day to Bowen if not longer.
⛱️ Heading to Bowen? Check out our Top 10 Things to do in Bowen, Queensland
The Big Mango and Horseshoe Bay in Bowen
Where to stay in Airlie Beach
Being a tourist town, there is a great range of accommodation options for all budgets in Airlie Beach. Here are a few of our top picks.
Camping caravan park
If you’re looking to park your van or pitch a tent, most of the usual caravan park chains such as Discovery Parks and BIG 4 are outside of the Airlie Beach town centre. Base Nomads Hostel (Base and Nomads hostels are now owned by the same people) is right in the main street of Airlie Beach. In addition to the hostel, it also offers powered and non-powered sites for those with a tent or campervan. This would be our choice if we were visiting with a van, as you’re right in the heart of the action and could walk most places.
Hostel
During our time in Airlie, we stayed at Backpackers by the Bay. There are a ton of hostels to choose from in this backpacker town, but we were really happy with our choice. Backpackers by the Bay is a short ten-minute walk from the centre of town. And although there are hostels right in the main street, they were all pretty rowdy, with public bars attached too, which I think would have made sleeping pretty tricky! The vibe at Backpackers by the Bay was really laid back, the communal areas and gardens were beautiful, and they had the coolest hostel showers I’ve ever seen!
🛌 Check Prices and Book Backpackers by the Bay
Backpackers by the Bay with the coolest shower ever
Mid-range hotel
If you’re looking for something nicer than a hostel, but without jumping into that very pricey range, Heart Hotel was recommended to us by a friend. It is literally in the heart of Airlie Beach, giving you easy access to everything in the town within walking distance. There are also some great Airbnbs in Airlie Beach, however, do keep in mind that many of these places are on the hill behind the town, and it can be quite a steep walk up and down.
Splurge fancy hotel
We always like to have at least one night of splurging on our trips, and we chose to spend a night at the Coral Sea Marina Resort whilst we were in Airlie Beach. The resort is as beachfront as it comes, in a private area between the centre of Airlie, and the Coral Sea Marina. This is where you find The Rocks, which I mentioned above.
Staying here was an amazing experience, the views from around the pool were spectacular. And our room also had stunning ocean views. If you have the extra bit of cash to splash (we didn’t unfortunately!), their Spa Deluxe Rooms have a spa bath on the balcony, with a hammock overlooking the ocean. If you’re going to stay here, I would suggest carving out a day to just enjoy the resort and relax!
🏩 Check Prices and Book Coral Sea Marina Resort
We loved our time at the Coral Sea Marina Resort
Best Things to do in Airlie Beach & Whitsundays: Complete
Well, there you have it! I hope this post is useful for you planning your own Airlie Beach and Whitsundays adventure. We absolutely loved our time here, and it’s earnt a spot for us as one of our favourite places in Australia! Let me know in the comments below if you’ve been to Airlie Beach, or are planning a trip there yourself. What did you love? Would you add anything to this list?
