Are the Whitsundays worth visiting?
The Whitsunday Islands are one of Australia’s main attractions, with their swirling white sand backs, turquoise seas, and coral reefs. You can stay on Hamilton Island, one of the 74 Whitsunday Islands. But it’s expensive and you have to get there by boat, which wasn’t that appealing after two flights from Tasmania. So we spent three days at Airlie Beach, the town that serves as a gateway to the Whitsundays, and took a day trip to the islands with Red Cat Adventures.
Why stay at Airlie Beach?
Airlie has a reputation for being a fun town to stay in. It has better nightlife than a lot of small towns in Aus (although we ended up in bed by 10pm each night anyway!) And despite being touristy it has a very laid back beach vibe.
There’s a man made lagoon that’s safe and fun to swim in away from crocodiles and stingers. And the town is easy to get around, with one main road of shops, bars, and restaurants behind the seafront. There’s also a 3.5 km boardwalk along the water that makes a good running route (in the early morning or evening, when it’s not so hot and humid you can’t breathe!)
Red Cat Adventures ThunderCat Tour
There are a number of tours that will take you to the Whitsundays from Airlie Beach. Where they go, the activities they offer, and how long they last depends on the company you pick. We wanted a combination of snorkelling and beaches and ended up choosing Red Cat Adventures’ Thundercat tour out of a shortlist of about five similar tours.
You can choose to be collected from your hotel. But since we were only a 15 minute walk from the meeting point at Coral Sea Marina (and our shuttle from the airport the day before had left us cramped on a coach for longer than expected already) we decided to make our own way there.
When do Red Cat tours start?
We met at 8:30am and the tour guides fitted us out with lycra stinger suits. These are not optional if you’re on a tour between September and March, when marine stingers are more likely to be around.
We set off at 9am. The boat was different from a lot of the boat trips we’ve been on – you have to stay seated and it’s more like a ferry or bus than a boat that you can lounge or sunbathe on. This is mainly because the journey out to Whitsunday Island takes about an hour.
Where do you go on Red Cat Whitsunday tours?
After a wet and rainy journey we arrived to bright sunshine on the Whitsundays. Our first stop was Hills Inlet Lookout (although you can go straight to the beach if you want. Red Cat gives you a time to meet back at the boat so you can spend your time on Whitsunday Island however you like).
After taking in the iconic view over Whitehaven beach, we went down to the water. In the shallows we saw sting rays, lemon sharks, and other sea life. Apparently there was even a turtle nearby.
The only thing I would have changed about this trip was having more time at the beach. After walking the 700m up to the lookout and then back down, we had less than an hour to relax on the bright white sand – which we learnt is the only silica sand in the world. It doesn’t get hot even in the blazing sun, and it was thought to have come about after an undersea volcano erupted.
Snorkelling with Thundercat tours
After lunch on the boat we stopped to snorkel at a fringe reef (close to the Great Barrier Reef, but not quite). This area was full of fusiliers and zebrafish as well as a couple of giant trevallies, and blackspot sergeants, and a local celebrity: a huge and very friendly Māori wrasse called George. We had 30 minutes or more to snorkel here (20 would have been fine, imo) before heading on to Hook Island for our final stop.
The snorkelling spot at Hook Island is lined with coral reefs. They’re known as fringe reefs and are not quite part of the Great Barrier Reef. But they’re still amazing to see up close. This area has fewer fish than our first stop, but you’ll still see clown fish, zebrafish, and more among the coral.
The weather hadn’t been great the few weeks before our visit so visibility wasn’t the best. The current was also quite strong on this coast, so we didn’t spend as long in the water as it got tiring very quickly. Honestly, more time that could have been spent on the beach if you ask me. But you win some, you lose some.
Is a boat trip to the Whitsunday Islands worth it?
If you like snorkelling it’s definitely worth doing a Red Cat tour. If you’d prefer to spend more time at the beach or exploring the islands on land, this probably isn’t the group for you.
We loved the friendly guides, amazing stopping points, and the comfortable boat that came with Red Cat (despite a wet ride with big waves on the way out!). You don’t even need to have snorkelled before. The guides walk everyone through what to do during the journey.
We were also able to get a 10% discount on our booking through our accommodation which made the €210/£110 price per person a bit more affordable.
Top tip: If you’re going snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns or Port Douglas, you might be disappointed by this experience by comparison. The reefs here are nowhere near as impressive and I was glad we did this one first.
Note: I chose and paid for my Whitsundays tour with Red Cat independently. This post is not an advertorial and is a true reflection of my experience with Red Cat Adventures and the Thundercat tour. However, if you book yours through my Viator link, I might make a little bit of money through affiliation.