A Whitsundays boat tour gives you access to Whitehaven Beach and reef snorkelling. We compared 17 cruises from $170, all with free cancellation, and the top pick rates 4.7 from 560 reviews. Days unfold with sailing, freshly prepared meals and evening stargazing from the deck.
From, per person
17 tours compared$170
Today's lowest price across all 17 cruises
Average rating
All 17 cruises48
14,975 verified reviews across 17 cruises
Time on the water
Shortest to longest70min–10h
Shortest: Scenic Flight
Longest: Camira Sailing Day
Everything you can book here
Seventeen listings. Seven are day cruises from Airlie Beach that reach Whitehaven Beach, the Hill Inlet lookout and a snorkel site and are home by six. Six are sailing trips of one or two nights, where you sleep on the boat and wake up at anchor in the islands. Four go further out: the outer Great Barrier Reef by fast catamaran, or over Heart Reef by air.
★ 4.7 · 560 reviews
★ 4.8 · 1 052 reviews
★ 4.8 · 3 185 reviews
★ 4.8 · 2 400 reviews
★ 4.7 · 1 466 reviews
★ 4.7 · 646 reviews
★ 4.7 · 626 reviews
★ 4.5 · 540 reviews
★ 4.7 · 209 reviews
★ 4.5 · 241 reviews
★ 4.5 · 36 reviews
★ 4.6 · 366 reviews
★ 4.7 · 341 reviews
★ 4.8 · 2 286 reviews
★ 4.9 · 928 reviews
★ 4.7 · 92 reviews
★ 5 · 1 review
Three questions
Seventeen listings, and they come down to three decisions: how many days you have, how much you want to spend, and whether the beach, the reef or the sailing itself is the point. Pick what matters and the page picks the tour.
See it before you pay for it
Whitehaven Beach from the Hill Inlet lookout, where the tide pulls white sand and turquoise water into swirls; the fringing reef around Hook Island with turtles over the coral; and, from a light aircraft, Heart Reef — the one thing here that only the air can show you.
Side by side
Everything here is one of three things. A day cruise, which is what most people mean by a Whitsundays boat tour: Whitehaven Beach, the Hill Inlet lookout, a snorkel and lunch, back by six. A sailing trip of one or two nights, where the boat is the hotel and the islands are yours at dawn. Or a day that goes past the islands altogether, to the outer Great Barrier Reef or over Heart Reef by air.
Swipe the table sideways →
| MOST BOOKEDAirlie Beach: 2-Night Whitsundays Sailing Trip with Meals | Airlie Beach: Hill Inlet Lookout and Whitehaven Beach Cruise | From Airlie Beach: Great Barrier Reef Adventure Cruise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $372 | $170 | $234 |
| Duration | 2 nights | 8 hours | 10 hours |
| Cost per hour | $7.75 | $21.25 | $23.40 |
| Sleeps on board | Two nights | Day trip | Day trip |
| Departs from | Airlie Beach marina | Port of Airlie | Port of Airlie |
| What you see | Whitehaven at dawn, the Hill Inlet lookout, two reef snorkels, every meal on board | The Hill Inlet lookout and Whitehaven Beach, with lunch, home by six | The outer reef pontoon on Hardy Reef, a semi-submarine and lunch |
| Whitehaven Beach | Yes, at dawn | Yes, with the lookout | Outer reef instead |
| Rating | 4.7 · 560 | 4.8 · 1,052 | 4.6 · 366 |
| Best for | Doing it once and seeing everything | One day, and the best value here | The reef rather than the beach |
| Book this one→ | Check dates | Check dates |
Free cancellation up to 24 h · Reserve now, pay later
Verdict
Whitehaven Beach at dawn, the Hill Inlet lookout, two reef snorkels and every meal cooked on board, out of Airlie Beach: the three things people come for, in one booking. The one reason to book something else is time: the day cruise at $170 carries 1,052 ratings, reaches the beach and the lookout, and is home by six.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
One listing on this page carries 3,185 ratings and one carries a single rating. That does not make the new one bad — but one rating tells you very little, and a 5.0 from one person is a start rather than a verdict. Read both numbers before you decide.
Two-minute check
Seventeen listings and a lot of near-identical titles. Three answers narrow it to one: how many days you have, what you want to spend, and whether the beach, the reef or the sailing is the point.
How much time do you have?A day, a night on board, or two
What are you willing to spend?Per person unless it says private
Beach, reef or sailing?Four listings go to the outer reef or the air
You’ll get the one that fits your answers, and the thing about it that catches people out.
Six kinds of trip
Ratings are the operators’ own numbers on GetYourGuide, shown exactly as published. We do not write reviews and we do not average other people’s into a score of our own. The most reviewed listing here carries 3,185 ratings; the private yacht carries one, and we say which is which on every card.
★★★★★
Based on 14,975
verified reviews
Every rated listing on this page, scored by the people who took it on GetYourGuide.
Read all 14,975→Airlie Beach: 2-Night Whitsundays Sailing Trip with Meals
From $372 · 560 reviews
★★★★★
Whitehaven Beach, the Hill Inlet lookout, two reef snorkels and a bunk in the islands, with every meal cooked on board. 560 ratings at 4.7.
Airlie Beach: Hill Inlet Lookout and Whitehaven Beach Cruise
From $170 · cheapest tour
★★★★★
A full day to Whitehaven Beach and the Hill Inlet lookout by fast catamaran, home by six. 1,052 ratings at 4.8.
Airlie Beach: Whitehaven Full-Day Eco-Cruise with Buffet
From $178 · 3,185 reviews
★★★★★
Whitehaven Beach, a snorkel on the fringing reef and a buffet lunch on the fastest catamaran in the islands. 3,185 ratings at 4.8 — the strongest evidence on this page.
From Airlie Beach: Great Barrier Reef Adventure Cruise
From $234 · 366 reviews
★★★★★
A fast catamaran to the Reefworld pontoon on Hardy Reef: snorkelling over the outer reef, a semi-submarine and lunch. Ten hours. 366 ratings at 4.6.
Airlie Beach: Whitsundays & Great Barrier Reef Scenic Flight
From $213 · 2,286 reviews
★★★★★
Seventy minutes in a light aircraft over the islands, the whole length of Whitehaven Beach and Heart Reef, which only the air can show you. 2,286 ratings at 4.8.
Prosail Whitsundays: 2-Day, 2-Night Maxi Sailing Adventure
From $497 · 92 reviews
★★★★★
A former ocean racer with a crew who sail it properly: two nights in the islands, meals on board, and the sailing itself as the point. 92 ratings at 4.7.
What it really costs
A day cruise to Whitehaven Beach runs from $170 to $184 with lunch on board. Our top pick, two nights under sail with every meal, is $372. The outer reef and the scenic flights sit between $213 and $402.
Swipe sideways →
| What you are paying for | Price | What you get | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A day cruise to Whitehaven Beach | $170–$184 | Whitehaven, the Hill Inlet lookout, a snorkel stop and lunch, back by six | Free cancellation 24 h |
| One or two nights under sail | $307–$497 | Whitehaven, two or three snorkel sites, every meal on board, a bunk in the islands | Free cancellation 24 h |
| The outer reef, or the islands from the air | $213–$402 | The Reefworld pontoon three hours out, or seventy minutes over Heart Reef | Free cancellation 24 h |
The honest answer
For the beach alone, yes, and the reason is geography rather than marketing. There is no road to Whitehaven Beach. Seven kilometres of silica sand lie on an island in a marine park, and the only way to stand on it is a boat or a plane from Airlie Beach. Every listing on this page is a ticket to a place you cannot drive to.
The day, hour by hour
The day boats leave from the marina in the middle of town; most are boarding by half past seven and away by eight.
An hour or two through the Whitsunday Passage, past Daydream and Hamilton, with the islands closing in on both sides.
The boat anchors in Tongue Bay and a tender runs you ashore. Twenty minutes up a forest track brings you out at the lookout.
The swirl of white sand and turquoise water at the top of Whitehaven, best on a falling tide. Every boat on this page stops here.
Seven kilometres of silica sand that stays cool underfoot. An hour or two to swim, walk and sit; lunch on the boat or on the sand.
Most days stop at a bay on Hook or Border Island on the way home: coral a few metres down, turtles if the tide is right, and a stinger suit in the warm months.
Back through the passage with the sun behind you. The sailing boats are still out here; they anchor for the night in a bay you have just passed.
Ashore by six on most days. The overnight trips come in on the second or third morning instead.
The one thing to know
Everything else on this page is a preference. This one is geography. Whitehaven Beach lies on Whitsunday Island, in a marine park, thirty kilometres across the passage from the mainland, and nobody has ever built a road to it. The sand is 98 per cent silica, which is why it is that white and why it stays cool at midday. The only ways onto it are a boat from Airlie Beach or a plane over it, and every listing on this page is one of those two things. That is why the tour exists, and why the beach looks the way it does when you get there.
Four parts of the trip
The swirl at the top of Whitehaven Beach, and the lookout every boat walks to first.
Seven kilometres of 98 per cent silica sand, cool underfoot at midday.
The Great Barrier Reef an hour from the marina, with turtles over the coral on most days.
The overnight boats: a bunk, meals on board, and dawn at anchor in the islands.
Start here
Here is the fact that decides whether a Whitsundays boat tour is worth the money, and it is not a view: there is no road to Whitehaven Beach. Seven kilometres of white silica sand lie on Whitsunday Island inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and the only way to stand on them is a boat or a plane out of Airlie Beach.
The day boats do it in eight hours. A fast catamaran leaves Port of Airlie by eight, anchors in Tongue Bay, walks you up to the Hill Inlet lookout, puts you on the beach for an hour or two, stops at a reef on the way home and has you ashore by six. From $170 with lunch.
The sailing boats do it slower, and that is the point. One or two nights on board means Whitehaven early, before the day boats arrive, and two or three snorkel sites instead of one. You sleep in a bunk, eat what the crew cooks, and wake up at anchor with nobody else in the bay.
The reef here comes in two kinds. The fringing reef grows around the islands themselves — Blue Pearl Bay, Luncheon Bay, Mantaray Bay — and every snorkel stop on the day and overnight boats is on it. The outer reef is three hours further out, on Hardy Reef, and takes a day of its own: a pontoon, a semi-submarine and coral walls that drop away under you.
Heart Reef only exists from the air. A coral formation the shape of a heart, on the outer reef, that no boat is allowed near. Seventy minutes in a light aircraft from $213 shows you that, the whole length of Whitehaven and seventy-four islands in one window.
The seasons matter less than people think. The dry months from May to October bring the clearest water, trade winds and whales; the warm months bring stinger suits, short showers and a beach with fewer people on it. Boats sail all year, and the sand is the same colour in both.
And the last thing, which no listing says plainly: the sailing trips sell out weeks ahead. Twenty-odd bunks on a boat, one departure a day, and every backpacker on the east coast wants the same week. Book a few weeks ahead and the choice is yours; book on the day and it is whatever is left.
If the beach is not the whole point
The day cruises and the sailing boats all do the same thing well: Whitehaven, the lookout, a reef on the way home. These three go further — the outer reef three hours out, the islands from the air, and a flight out with a raft boat home.
10 h · ★ 4.6 (366)
$234See dates 70 min · ★ 4.8 (2 286)
$213See dates 1 day · ★ 4.9 (928)
$402See datesPractical
Four things decide how this goes: which listing you booked, whether you sleep on the boat, what the wind over the passage is doing, and whether you want the beach, the reef or the sailing itself.
Whitehaven, the Hill Inlet lookout, a snorkel and lunch, home by six.
Two nights under sail with every meal, 560 ratings at 4.7.
The short overnight: Whitehaven at dawn and two snorkel sites.
Three hours out to the Reefworld pontoon on Hardy Reef.
Seventy minutes over the islands and the reef.
Two nights on a former ocean racer with a crew who sail it.
Seven kilometres of 98 per cent silica sand on an island with no road.
The swirl of sand and water at the top of the beach, from the lookout.
Coral and turtles around Hook and Border Islands, an hour from town.
Hardy Reef and the pontoon, three hours out on the fast catamaran.
A heart-shaped coral formation that only the air can show you.
The passage itself: Daydream, Hamilton, Hook, Whitsunday, Hayman.
Port of Airlie or Coral Sea Marina, both in the middle of town.
The crossing to Whitehaven takes an hour or two each way.
Every meal is on board on the overnight trips.
Handed out on every boat, and worn for every swim.
A soft bag, a towel, reef-safe sunscreen and a jumper for the deck.
Silica sand reflects the heat; bring a hat for the lookout walk.
On every listing on this page.
The sailing trips carry twenty-odd bunks and fill first.
The eco-cruise has 3,185; the private yacht has one.
Most include the lookout walk; we say which on every card.
One departure a day, and the whole east coast wants the same week.
Divide by the people on board and it compares differently.
Best time
Boats sail all year. The dry season from May to October brings steady trade winds, the clearest water and whales in the passage; the warm season from November to April is greener and quieter, with stinger suits handed out on every boat and afternoon showers that pass.
May – Jul
Trade winds settle in, the water clears after the wet, and the first humpbacks arrive in the passage. Warm days, cool nights on deck, and the beach at its whitest.
Aug – Oct
The busiest and, for most people, the best months: whales through September, warm water, light winds by October. The sailing trips fill first, so book a few weeks ahead.
Nov – Jan
Hot days and warm water, with short afternoon showers and stinger suits on every boat. Fewer people on Whitehaven, and the islands at their greenest.
Feb – Apr
The wettest weeks of the year come early in this window and the passage can be lively; by April the wind drops, the showers thin out and the dry season is on its way.
Worth knowing
Book the sailing trip a few weeks ahead. Twenty-odd bunks, one departure a day, and the whole east coast wants the same week. The day boats have more room; the overnight boats fill first.
Go to the lookout on a falling tide. The swirl at Hill Inlet is sand and water moving against each other, and it is at its best as the tide runs out. The crews time it; ask them.
The sand stays cool. Whitehaven is 98 per cent silica, which reflects heat instead of holding it. Walk barefoot at midday; bring a hat for the lookout track instead.
Wear the stinger suit and forget about it. From October to May every boat hands one out for every swim. It is a thin lycra suit, it keeps the sun off as well, and everybody else is in one.
Pack a jumper for the deck. Even in the warm months the wind on a sailing boat at night is cool, and the best hour of an overnight trip is the one before sunrise with a coffee on deck.
Read the review count, not just the score. The eco-cruise carries 3,185 ratings at 4.8. The private yacht here carries one. A 5.0 from one person is a start, and we label it that way.
Round out the trip
2 nights · ★ 4.7 (560)
$372View 8 h · ★ 4.8 (1 052)
$170View 8 h · ★ 4.8 (3 185)
$178ViewGo deeper
Common questions
From $170 for a day cruise to Whitehaven Beach and the Hill Inlet lookout with lunch. Our top pick, two nights under sail with every meal, is $372.
By boat or by plane from Airlie Beach; there is no road. The fast catamarans take an hour or two, the sailing boats anchor in Tongue Bay overnight, and the scenic flights pass over it.
Yes. It sits on Whitsunday Island inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and the fringing reef around the neighbouring islands is where the day boats snorkel.
A day cruise reaches Whitehaven, the lookout and one snorkel site and is home by six. An overnight trip sleeps on the boat, sees the beach early and adds two or three snorkel sites.
Yes, on a day of its own. The fast catamaran runs three hours out to the Reefworld pontoon on Hardy Reef, and one two-night sailing trip here goes out there as well.
The warm months from October to May, when every boat hands out a lightweight stinger suit for every swim. The water is warmest then and the beach quietest.
Yes. May to October brings the clearest water, trade winds and whales; November to April is warmer, greener and quieter. Book a few weeks ahead in every month.
The crossing, a crew, the stops on the listing, snorkel gear and a stinger suit in season, lunch on most day boats and every meal on the overnight trips. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every listing here.
Free · no account needed
One PDF: all seventeen listings by hours on the water and price, which ones reach Whitehaven and the lookout, which reef each one snorkels, and the months when the water is clearest.
The plan is on its way. If it isn't there in a minute, look in Promotions.
Why trust this page
Prices, durations and ratings are read off the live listings rather than copied from other affiliate pages. Anchorages, snorkel sites and what each boat includes come from the operators’ own descriptions.
Every listing here is sold on a beach and priced on a day. We put the length on every card and the cost per hour in the comparison, because that is the number that separates a seventy-minute flight from two nights under sail.
One listing here carries 3,185 ratings and one carries a single rating. Both can be good; only one has been tested, and we label it that way rather than sorting everything by score.
Seventeen listings, ordered as a shop window rather than by price, ranked on what they include and how much evidence stands behind them. We earn a commission when you book, and it does not change what we recommend.
The answer
If you are booking one Whitsundays boat tour, book the two-night sailing trip with meals at $372. It carries 560 ratings at 4.7 and puts Whitehaven Beach, the Hill Inlet lookout and two reef snorkels into one booking with every meal cooked on board. If you have one day, the listing at $170 carries 1,052 ratings, reaches the beach and the lookout, and is home by six.
Check dates and availability→ Free cancellation up to 24 hours · Reserve now, pay laterBefore you go
All seventeen listings by hours on the water and price, which ones reach Whitehaven and the lookout, and the months when the water is clearest.
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Airlie Beach: 2-Night Whitsundays Sailing Trip with Meals
★ 4.7 · 560 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h