A week in the Whitsundays

We spent a week in The Whitsundays as part of our holiday in Australia.

We flew in from Melbourne after a week there and we'll be going onto Sydney next to visit our son, who has lived there since 2017.

Our route into Prospering airport was down a valley, followed by a tight turn to the airport, low over the trees and the hillsides level out the windows. It was also very bumpy. We picked up our luggage and were greeted by our pre booked airport transfer to Airlie.

We arrived at midday but couldn't check in our apartment until 3pm, so we got changed on the side of the road from boots, coats and jumpers and found somewhere to have coffee and lunch, then spent an hour in the laundrette.

Our accommodation was described as 5 minutes from the beach, but no mention of the hill.

The view from the balcony was lovely and our neighbours were fab, if not a little noisy.

Airlie is a typical seaside town, full of souvenir shops, beachwear, restaurants and bars, as well as a pharmacy and a supermarket. There is no sea front, just a harbour and a manmade lagoon for swimming and playing as well as play parks. Almost every other shop though is selling tours for the Whitsundays.

We opted to stay at Airlie as it's winter time and we're not really beach people in regards to spending a week on the beach. We like to explore and go off the tourist route.

There are some lovely walks alongside the ocean and inland also, but we spent most of our time in the accommodation, reading and just chilling out.

A not so welcome sight was this snake, a Collared Whipsnake, mildly venomous.

We did however go out on two boat trips, that were great value for money and whole day trips, with food and drink available to buy on board. The optional extras of lunch on the beach at $29 weren't really value for money as it was just said and meats, with the Gluten Free option being 'don't eat the bread or the pastas' The second boat trip was from 8am - 6pm and they provided free tea and coffee, a breakfast, cooked lunch and afternoon snacks.

Our first trip was to Whitehaven Beach, which has been regularly voted the Best beach in the world, made of 98% silica sand that is almost pure white and looks amazing against the turquoise sea. We also ventured out to the Great Barrier Reef, but the photos are for another post.