Hideaway Bay, Queensland: What are the best things to do and attractions?

The best things to do in Hideaway Bay, Queensland are fishing and snorkelling. This Cape Gloucester holiday village is quiet by design, however.

Hideaway Bay, Queensland, is pretty much the opposite of the Airlie Beach experience. Airlie Beach is the tourism capital and party hub of the Whitsundays region. It’s not to everyone’s taste.

Hideaway Bay, however, is much quieter, and feels like a little secret that locals don’t want to give away. To call it a town is a big overreach. This is essentially a hamlet at the end of a no-through road on Cape Gloucester. To get there, drive down the Gregory-Cannon Valley Road to neighbouring hamlet Dingo Beach.

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Hideaway Bay on Cape Gloucester, Queensland. Photo courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.

Accommodation in Hideaway Bay, Queensland

Hideaway Bay – sometimes called Hydeaway Bay – began as a collection of summer shacks. There are now a couple of hundred houses, some near the beach, some in the hills. Many are holiday homes, and if you want Hideaway Bay accommodation, you’re better off renting one out than staying at the fairly basic Hydeaway Bay caravan park.

The list of things to do in Hideaway Bay, Queensland, is pretty short. You’ll not find museums, theme parks and tour guides holding umbrellas here. It’s somewhere you come to for beach life, and maybe a bit of fishing.

Things to do in Hideaway Bay, Queensland: Fishing and snorkelling

If you want to go out fishing on a boat, there’s a boat ramp in Dingo Beach. Otherwise, cast a line from the marvellously photogenic beach.

There’s also a greedy collection of fringing reef just offshore, should you fancy snorkelling. Dolphins, dugongs, whales and turtles are sometimes spotted here, but it’s mainly about the coral.

Beaches and boating, fishing and fins – Hideaway Bay is about the simple pleasures. This is why it’s better suited to self-sufficient travellers. It’s the sort of place where you need to bring your own gear and cook your own food. Those living within driving distance – it’s an easy detour on the Mackay to Bowen or Airlie Beach to Townsville drive – are probably better suited to Hideaway Bay than overseas tourists.

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