Cruising the Whitsundays: five routes from Airlie Beach

Seventy four islands sit inside a comfortable run of Airlie Beach, and almost all of the good ones are reachable in under an hour. That proximity is what makes the Whitsundays unusual. You are not committing to long passages between anchorages. You are choosing which sheltered bay you want to wake up in.

This guide sets out five self contained cruising routes, each starting and finishing at Coral Sea Marina. Take one for a long weekend. Thread three together for a week. Every route carries its approximate distance, the conditions it suits and the anchorages worth knowing about.

We run a fleet of Riviera motor yachts out of Coral Sea Marina year round, so this is written from the perspective of the people who move the boats.

When to go

The season runs from roughly May to October. Through those months the humidity drops, the water clears and the islands settle into the conditions they are known for. July through September is the peak, and it is also when humpbacks are calving in the passages between the islands.

November through April brings higher humidity, the chance of tropical lows, and stinger season inshore. It is still cruisable, and the islands are quieter, but it needs a closer eye on the forecast and full stinger suits for anyone getting in the water.

If you want the postcard version with the least compromise, aim for August and September.

Route One · approx 12 nautical miles · shortest run from the marina

Hook Island and the reef bays

The shortest run out of Airlie and still one of the best. Nara Inlet cuts deep into the south side of Hook Island and gives shelter in almost anything from the south, which is why it has been the standard first night stop for cruising boats for decades. A short climb from the dinghy landing reaches Ngaro cave art, some of the oldest recorded evidence of sea country in the region.

Carry on around the top of the island and the northern bays open up. Butterfly Bay, Manta Ray Bay, Luncheon Bay and Maureen's Cove hold the best snorkelling within easy reach of Airlie Beach, on fringing coral that starts a few metres off the rocks. There are public moorings throughout, so you rarely need to put an anchor down.

Anchorages

Nara Inlet · Butterfly Bay · Maureen's Cove · Stonehaven

Route Two · approx 22 nautical miles · tide dependent

Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet

Seven kilometres of silica sand so fine it squeaks underfoot. Everyone comes to Whitehaven, and it is still worth it, because almost nobody stays. The day boats arrive mid morning and are gone by four.

Anchor in Tongue Bay for the night, tender ashore, and walk twenty minutes up to the Hill Inlet lookout. Time it around a low to mid tide and the sandbanks separate into the ribbons of white and turquoise the region is known for. At high water it is simply a pretty bay. The tide makes the entire difference, and it is the most common planning mistake visitors make.

Cross Solway Passage for Chalkies Beach on Haslewood Island if you want the same sand without the crowd.

Anchorages

Tongue Bay · Chalkies Beach · Whitehaven southern end, daylight only

Route Three · approx 15 nautical miles · best on a falling tide

Hayman, Langford and the sand spits

The northern group is the quietest good cruising in the Whitsundays. Blue Pearl Bay on the western side of Hayman Island holds resident Maori wrasse and some of the healthiest fringing coral you will find inshore. Black Island, still called Bali Hai by anyone who has been coming here twenty years, is a short tender ride from a mooring.

The set piece is the Langford Island spit. On a falling tide a curved bar of white sand emerges out of open water, holds for a couple of hours, and disappears again. Take shade, take lunch, and have the tender ready before the tide turns.

Anchorages

Blue Pearl Bay · Langford Reef · Stonehaven · Black Island

Route Four · approx 14 to 22 nautical miles · all weather shelter

Cid Harbour and the southern run

Cid Harbour is the great all weather anchorage of the Whitsundays. Deep, wide, protected from almost every direction, and the reason it has been a first night stop for cruising boats for fifty years. Land the tender at Sawmill Beach and walk up Whitsunday Peak, roughly three hours return and steep through the middle section, for a panorama across the entire island group.

From there, Gulnare Inlet for absolute stillness, or south to Hamilton Island for fuel, water and a night ashore.

Anchorages

Cid Harbour · Sawmill Beach · Gulnare Inlet · Hamilton Island Marina

Route Five · approx 30 nautical miles · settled conditions only

Bait Reef and the outer edge

This is the run most visitors never make, and the one people talk about afterwards. Bait Reef sits on the outer line where the continental shelf drops away. The Stepping Stones, a row of coral pinnacles along its edge, is genuine Great Barrier Reef rather than fringing island coral. Different water, different colour, different fish.

It is public moorings only. Bait Reef is an unmarked no anchoring area and anchoring there is an offence.

Threading the routes together

Three nights

Route Two, then Route One. Whitehaven and Hill Inlet first while everyone is fresh, then work back through the Hook bays on the way home.

Five nights

Routes One, Three and Two. North first, then the crossing to Whitehaven, then home. Two snorkelling days, one beach day, and one day where nothing is scheduled.

Seven nights

Routes One, Three, Five, Two and Four. Build the outer reef run into the middle so you have days either side to move it if the forecast turns. Finish at Hamilton Island and come home along the southern shore.

Cruising the Whitsundays on a share

Most people who cruise the Whitsundays either charter for a week or own a boat they use a fortnight a year. There is a third option.

Neptune Oceanic operates a fully managed fleet of Riviera motor yachts from Coral Sea Marina, alongside our Gold Coast and Sanctuary Cove bases. A one eighth share gives you forty two days a year plus flexi days, on a walk on walk off basis. The vessel is cleaned, fuelled, maintained, insured and berthed. You arrive, you go cruising, you hand back the keys.

Everything in this guide is within reach of a single share allocation.

Talk to us about a share

Frequently asked questions