Whitehaven Beach day tours take you out from Airlie Beach in the morning and back the same evening, after 6.5 to 10 hours on the water. Lunch is in every shared fare, and most walk you up to the lookout over the inlet.
The steady choice with no swim: a big catamaran with a rooftop deck, a buffet lunch and teas on board, the guided lookout walk and up to two hours on the beach. A free coach runs you from town to the harbour.
From $169 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The most-booked raft day: a fast, open ride to both ends of the beach, the guided lookout walk, a reef snorkel in a sunsuit or wetsuit and a tropical lunch on the sand. You get about two hours on the beach.
From $180 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A speedboat day built round a barbecue on the sand: steak, sausage or burger, salad and fruit. About two hours around the inlet and three on the beach, transfers from your accommodation, and stinger suits in season.
From $170 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
An 80-seat catamaran that skips the inlet and gives you up to four hours at the southern end instead. The buffet lunch has vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and lactose-free meals; a snorkel ticket adds mask, snorkel and fins.
From $173 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A high-speed catamaran with a driver-guide, two snorkel stops with mask and snorkel, a walk up to the lookout and about an hour on the sand. The buffet lunch is served on board. Bring your own fins.
From $181 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Ten hours under sail, with about three at the northern end of the beach and an hour for the inlet walk when the tide allows, then a reef snorkel. Lunch and drinks are in the fare. Cancel three days ahead for a refund.
From $187 per person
Free cancellation up to 3 days in advance
The day that snorkels the outer reef: about two hours at Bait Reef when the conditions allow, with a suit and flotation, then the lookout and two hours on the beach. Children must be taller than 130 cm.
From $236 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Fly first, then raft: a one-hour flight with a guaranteed window seat, then the raft day with the guided walks, a reef snorkel, lunch and about two hours on the sand. The seat limit is 120 kg.
From $401 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Beach-only or beach-and-snorkel tickets on one boat, with unlimited water taxis between the boat and the sand. You get a 900-metre walk to the southern lookout and up to four hours on the beach. No hotel pickup.
From $170 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Six and a half hours by semi-rigid raft, with a courtesy bus from hotels and parks in town. Two snorkel sites and the inlet beach at the northern end, then at least two hours on the sand at the southern end.
From $177 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A full day on the sailing catamaran Camira, with morning and afternoon tea, a barbecue lunch, soft drinks, and beer and wine from 11am. It moors at the northern end, and the inlet walk depends on the tide. Cancel two days ahead.
From $184 per person
Free cancellation up to 2 days in advance
A fixed-wing flight and the raft day on one ticket, with pickup from 17 stops in town to the airport. Groups of up to 12, a tropical lunch on the beach, and a seat limit of 125 kg.
From $401 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Your own boat and skipper for up to eight, for six or eight hours on a route you pick. Snorkel gear, water and fees are in the price; catering is $30 a head extra. There is no refund if you cancel.
From $2,793 per group (up to 8)
Non-refundable: no refund if you cancel.
Seven hours on a fast, open raft, with the guided walk above the inlet, a reef snorkel, a tropical lunch on the sand and about two hours on the beach.
See this tourA day tour takes you out in the morning and brings you back the same afternoon or early evening. The beach sits on Whitsunday Island, about 40 km by sea from Shute Harbour, and no road reaches it. So you spend a large part of the day on the water, and that ride is part of what you are choosing.
You pick a boat, and the boat decides the rest. A raft is fast and open. A catamaran is big and steady, with seats inside. A speedboat sits between the two, and a sailing catamaran takes longest. Each one reaches the sand, and most also stop for a walk up to the lookout over Hill Inlet.
Every shared day puts lunch in the fare. Most add a snorkel stop on a fringing reef. What changes from boat to boat is how long you get on the sand, which end of the beach you land on, and whether you climb to the lookout.
Most day tours stop at Tongue Point for the walk up to the lookout, as well as landing you on the beach. That walk is 1.3 km return and takes about 40 minutes, according to the park. You cannot fit it into the half-day catamaran, which stays at the southern end.
On every shared day tour, lunch comes with the ticket. Ocean Rafting serves it on the sand, SeaLink and Red Cat serve a buffet on board, and Whitehaven Xpress cooks a barbecue on the beach. You carry water and a hat, and the crew handles the rest.
Most day tours add a snorkel stop, with the gear in the fare. Red Cat stops twice, and Iconic takes you to Bait Reef on the outer reef when conditions allow. If you would rather not swim, SeaLink's catamaran is a sightseeing day with no snorkel stop.
The time on the beach runs from about an hour on Red Cat to up to four hours on ZigZag. Most give you about two. If lying on the sand is the point of your trip, you pick the boat by that number first.
A day tour costs more than the half-day catamaran and gives you more for it. Here are the two side by side, from the listings' own figures.
| A day tour | A half-day tour | |
|---|---|---|
| How long | 6.5 to 10 hours | 1 hour to 6 hours 15 minutes |
| Lunch in the fare | Yes, on every shared day | No: tea, or snacks and drinks |
| The lookout walk | On most | No; the flights see the inlet from the air |
| Snorkelling | On most | No |
| Fare, per person | $169 to $401 | $89 to $1,112 |
| Free cancellation | 24 hours on most; Camira needs 2 or 3 days | 24 hours on the flights; none on the catamaran |
If you have only a morning or an afternoon, see the half-day Whitehaven Beach tours. If you want the view from above as well, the fly-raft package puts a one-hour flight in front of the raft day, and every flight is on the Whitehaven Beach scenic flights page.
Eight hours from Shute Harbour, with a rooftop deck, a buffet lunch and teas served on board, the guided lookout walk and up to two hours on the beach.
See this tourFor what every fare costs and buys, read our guide to Whitehaven Beach tour prices.
Still unsure which day to book? Our guide to choosing a Whitehaven Beach tour works through it question by question.
Want every kind of tour side by side, not only the full days? They are all on Whitehaven Beach Tours.