WHITEHAVEN BEACH TOUR

ZigZag Whitsundays Whitehaven Beach Tour departs daily from Coral Sea Marina in Airlie Beach at 8am. Touring Whitsunday Island, you will discover a genuine turquoise water paradise with a shoreline renowned for its feather-soft, 97% pure silica sand. Our tour guests are always surprised by how remarkable and pristine this 7-kilometre-long protected waterfront on Whitsunday Island is as they disembark our boat to explore for 2 hours.

The world-famous Whitehaven Beach is a part of the Whitsunday Islands National Park in Queensland. Due to its location away from the mainland and the wider community, its natural beauty is left unscathed.

4 Different Tour Options To See Whitehaven Beach

There are only 4 ways to discover Whitehaven Beach on a tour

1. Boat
2. Scenic Flight
3. Helicopter
4.  Seaplane

First, let’s explore the boat option with ZigZag Whitsundays Day Tour

ZigZag Whitsundays Whitehaven Beach Tour

Day Tour Itinerary 

** Note – this is a general itinerary. There are a lot of factors that can change this, including tides and wind. ZigZag Departs Coral Sea Marina|Resort in Airlie Beach. Our meeting time is 8 am sharp. Departing from Coral Sea Marina, we head to the snorkel location for around 90 minutes. Then off to Whitehaven Beach for lunch and a guided walk to the south Whitehaven lookout. The tour returns to Coral Sea Marina at 4 pm

South Whitehaven Lookout

The new South Whitehaven Lookout opened in 2019.
You will see a spectacular view down the entire 7 km of Whitehaven Beach; in the other, you will see the open ocean and islands leading back to the mainland.
The walk is around 45 minutes return (including time at the top) and is beginner grade and you will need a level of low-medium fitness.
In my personal opinion, the South Lookout delivers more wow factor every day of the week, while the Northern Lookout highly depends on tides and is overcrowded.

Snorkelling In The Whitsundays

Whether you have snorkelled before or this is your first time, the Whitsunday Islands are perfect for beginners and advanced alike. With the coral reefs sheltered from wind and tide and most coral starting only meters from the beach, this is the ideal location for the whole family to see lots of marine life like turtles and Nemo (clownfish) in a natural environment. On our Whitsundays Day Trip, all the snorkelling equipment, including wet suits, is provided along with flotation devices if needed. The qualified crew will watch over everyone on rescue boards so you can feel safe and enjoy the best coral and tropical fish the Whitsunday region has to offer.

3 Unique Whitehaven Tours From Above

Land on Whitehaven By Helicopter 

Although more expensive than the rest of the Whitehaven Beach Tours, getting your own helicopter to land on Whitehaven Beach is something very special!

Helireef operates helicopters all around the Whitsundays and has a special tour dedicated to this amazing beach. you will get a 2 hour round trip including 90 minutes on the beach away from the crowds.

Prices are $399 per person for a minimum of 2 and if you have a 3rd passenger they only pay $149

I recommend booking directly through their website which you can find here

This is a “Once In A Lifetime” tour, if you have the money don’t pass this up.

Where is Whitehaven Beach ?

10 Facts about Whitehaven Beach

1. Unlike most beaches in the world Whitehaven is made of 98% pure silica sand, which gives the beach a stunning white colour.

2. The whiteness of the silica sand makes the sand cool to touch even on the hottest days, walking barefoot is a breeze.

3. The rocks around the beach contain no silica, meaning all this sand was washed here by tides thousands of years ago.

4. All of the plants and animals are the same as you find on the mainland because the Islands haven’t been separated from the mainland for long enough for any kind of evolutionary changes to happen

5. The Whitsunday Islands and Whitehaven tend to have not as dense growth and dryer conditions as those surrounding Airlie Beach – like Conway National Park because they don’t see as much rainfall as the mainland.

6. There are 10 dedicated campsites at the south end of Whitehaven Beach that takes a maximum of 36 guests and 6 long drop toilets.

7. In 2019 the new South Whitehaven Beach lookout opened at the south end of the beach, unlike the famous northern lookout, the views at the south are stunning no matter what the tide is doing, and you can see over the eastern side of the Whitsunday passage

8. Whitehaven Beach stretches over 7km with the inlet at one end and a rocky outcrop  just before a passage at the south end

9. On the far northern end lays the famous inlet with swirling sands pictured at low tide. Across the inlet from Whitehaven beach is Bettys Beach, whilst technically not Whitehaven it holds the exact same silica sand

10. This 7km Beach is the most photographed and awarded beach in Australia, continually in the top 10 beaches in the world and revisiting the number 1 spot in the 2021 TripAdvisor awards

Whitehaven Beach Tour FAQ

In Summary, a Whitehaven Beach Tour should be on everyone’s list visiting the region. Here at ZigZag, we see a boatload of happy guests when we reach the beach every day, but the only way to see for yourself is to book one of these tours.

As always if you have any questions about ZigZag Whitsundays Tour , you can head over to our FAQ page or contact us on 07 4813 9007 or bookings@zigzagwhitsundays.com.au