Things to do in Airlie Beach, Queensland

The best things to do in Airlie Beach, Queensland, include skydives, Whitsundays kayaking tours, Conway National Park walks and sunset cruises.

Airlie Beach in Queensland is one of the most popular stops on the east coast of Australia, largely because it’s the departure point for cruises around the Whitsunday Islands. There are plenty of excellent day trips from Airlie Beach.

On the backpacker circuit, Airlie Beach has traditionally been the place to gather the night before a cruise. Then, once the cruise has ended, it is the place where people hit the bars and clubs after three days on a boat.

Best things to do in Airlie Beach: Tours

The subject of which multi-day Whitsundays cruise to go on is labyrinthine and best dealt with elsewhere. That said, there are also day tours from the likes of Ocean Rafting, half day tours to Whitehaven Beach and Thundercat, plus simpler island hops to Daydream Island.

You can also take a day trip from Airlie Beach to Hamilton Island aboard the Hamilton Island ferry.

But there are other things to do in Airlie Beach. First amongst these should be the Whitsundays kayaking tours run by Salty Dog Sea Kayaking. These marvellously idyllic tours paddle around the islands closest to the mainland and are amongst the best kayaking tours in Australia.

Other tours available from Airlie Beach include the Proserpine River crocodile tours run by Whitsunday Crocodile Safari, helicopter flights, glass bottom boat outings and the sunset cruises operated by Sundowner Cruises.

Airlie Beach activities: Skydiving

If you’d prefer something higher adrenalin, then Skydive Airlie Beach will let you jump out of a plane from 15,000 feet. The planes take off from the Whitsunday Coast Airport in Proserpine. If you fly into the Whitsundays region, this airport is closer to Airlie Beach than Mackay Airport or Hamilton Island. It’s also the handiest place to hire a car from.

You might need to hire a car at Proserpine Airport if you want to explore the rest of the Whitsundays region. Further afield, that can mean spotting platypus in the Eungella National Park or kangaroos on the beach at Cape Hillsborough. Closer to Airlie Beach, however, is the Conway National Park.

Things to do in Airlie Beach: Bushwalking

This national park is quiet, peaceful and full of rainforest walking trails. There are a series of good walks from the Mt Rooper car park. The 800 metre Conway Lookout walk gives a simple taste of the Conway National Park, but the 5.4km Mt Rooper Circuit is more satisfying.

There are also a couple of walking trails in Airlie Beach itself. The 7.4km Honeyeater Lookout Trail climbs the hills behind the town for superb views out over Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands. It’s pretty steep going, mind.

Much simpler is the Airlie Creek Track, which stretches 850 metres from Waterson Way and should take around an hour. Along with the forest surroundings and island views, you’ve also got a good chance of spotting the rare Proserpine rock wallaby which lives here. You can also take in the coastal views on the coastal walk to neighbouring Cannonvale, which stretches for around 4km of sea views.

Safe swimming in Airlie Beach

If you’d prefer to swim than walk, however, Boathaven Beach and the Airlie Beach Lagoon are the most convenient options. The latter is a sprawling artificial pool, created for guaranteed safe swimming in an area known for crocodiles and marine stingers. Stingers are less of a worry between May and October, as the Airlie Beach weather in winter isn’t as suited to them.

If you want flights to Airlie Beach, you’ll need to fly into Proserpine.

More Queensland regional hubs

Biloela | Bundaberg | Cairns | Gayndah | Hervey Bay | Mackay | Rockhampton | Toowoomba