Airlie Beach is a beach town in Queensland on Australia's east coast, known for being the gateway to the world famous Whitsunday Islands.
→ Check out my complete guide to sailing through the Whitsunday Islands.
We're currently living full-time in our campervan, a 2018 Mercedes Sprinter, and exploring Australia, with a plan of "driving the lap" (completing the entire perimeter of the country). I first visited Australia in 2019, following the classic backpacker route, mostly visiting big cities, staying in hostels and traveling by public transport.
For over 9,000 years, the Ngaro people lived on this land, long before any Europeans arrived.
Captain James Cook is the first recorded European to have sighted the Whitsundays and the Airlie Beach coastline in 1770. A small group of European settlers populated the area in the 1930s, naming the settlement Airlie Beach after the Airlie, Scotland, the ancestral home of the then-chairman. In the 1950s, Airlie Beach grew thanks to fishing and farming, before becoming the popular tourist destination it is today as the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands.
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Below is some useful information for preparing for your trip to Airlie Beach. In all cases, please be sure to check with the relevant local authorities for the latest and accurate information.
Language: The official language of Australia is English. In Airlie Beach, the traditional language of the Ngaro people was Ngaro, which is today considered an extinct language.
→ Learn more about the language of the Ngaro people.
Currency: The currency used in Australia is the Australian dollar, denoted as AUD $. I use a Wise account when I travel which allows me to have a single, free account with multiple currencies. I only have to pay once to convert my money in the app and then I can pay in AUD $!
→ Check the latest currency conversion between AUD $ and your local currency.
Data/WiFi: Before you arrive, I recommend purchasing an eSim on your phone so that you can access data the moment you land. eSims are much more convenient as it means you don't have to put a separate physical Sim into your phone. AirAlo offers great deals for eSims of various data sizes and time lengths with Optus.
→ Load an international eSim on your phone with AirAlo.
If you are visiting Australia long term, you might wish to put a physical Sim in your phone as AirAlo is geared more towards short term visitors on holiday. This way you can access a local phone plan. There are three main mobile phone network providers in Australia: Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. Telstra has the best coverage across the country whereas Optus and Vodafone are good within cities. I recommend Telstra as it means you have the best coverage while you travel around the country, especially in rural areas.
We travel with a Starlink in our campervan which enables us to have unlimited WiFi wherever we are, even in places without coverage.
A few restaurants, cafes and accommodations in Airlie Beach offer free WiFi.
Visa: All passport holders except New Zealand require a visa to visit Australia. All arrivals must fill out an Australian arrival card before landing.
→ Check which visa you need for Australia.
Time of year to visit: Australia can be visited all year-round, as can the Whitsundays. Having said that, the peak season to visit Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays is from September to November for pleasant, clear, consistently sunny days. We visited in January at the end of the peak season and got lucky with beautiful, dry weather; a few weeks prior there had been the very rainy Cyclone Koji coming through!
If you are in the waters off the coast of Airlie Beach or in the Whitsundays between October and May, you must wear a protective stinger suit against fatal stings from poisonous jellyfish.
Length of stay: We spent three days in Airlie Beach before and after our three-night sailing trip in the Whitsundays, mostly used for preparing and before and resting after our trip. Airlie Beach is a pretty small beach town and so a few days is the perfect amount of time to hang out.
By flight: Airlie Beach has its own domestic airport, Proserpine Airport, with flights from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns so if traveling internationally, the easiest would be to get a connecting flight through one of these major cities.
The airport is half an hour away by car from Airlie Beach, with rental cars available at the airport, and a regular shuttle runs from Proserpine Airport into town.
By car: The best way to get to Airlie Beach is with your own wheels. The most popular way of exploring Australia is by camping - whether with a motorhome, campervan, caravan or a roof tent on top of a car. This gives you the ultimate freedom of going as fast or as slow as you like.
By public transport: The Spirit of Queensland stops at nearby Proserpine Station from where you can take bus 860 into Airlie Beach.
By coach: Airlie Beach is a popular destination, especially for backpackers, so well-serviced by public transport. You can reach Airlie Beach by Greyhound and Flixbus from 19 different stops along the east coast.
On foot: Airlie Beach is a fairly small beach town and is totally walkable so getting around on foot is definitely the best way to explore.
By bike: Biking is a great alternative to walking if you want to get somewhere quicker. There are tons of bike rental companies in Airlie Beach; a quick Google search brings up loads of options.
By car: A car can be useful to get around the area quickly, especially if you want to explore nearby Conway National Park. There are lots of different parking options around Airlie Beach, including long-term options for while you're out sailing in the Whitsunday Islands.
→ If you don't have your own car, you can rent one in Airlie Beach.
By Uber: Uber is readily available in Airlie Beach which can be a quick way of getting around.
By bus: There are a number of local bus routes connecting Airlie Beach with Shute Harbour and Proserpine.
By guided tour: There is a guided tour available of Airlie Beach and the surrounding area including Conway National Park.
By tuktuk: A surprisingly popular way of exploring Airlie Beach is by tuktuk, a bike with a comfortable seating carriage in the back.
Hotel: Not traveling by campervan? Driving in a car? Whatever your reason for needing a place to stay, there are some great accommodation options in Airlie Beach to suit any budget.
→ Check out all the accommodation options in Airlie Beach.
Camping: We are driving "the lap" around Australia, exploring the country in our campervan. The best way to find camping spots is to use an app. We use Wikicamps Australia, a cheap app that has every single amenity listed (both free and paid) that you might need on the road. This includes things like where to fill up fresh water, where to dump grey water, where to empty toilets, where to stay, gas stations, information points and also has suggestions for things to do as you go.
→ Download the Wikicamps Australia app.
There is no free camping near Airlie Beach so we opted to book in for a few nights at the NRMA Holiday Park which is right on the edge of town. It was honestly a great spot with clean showers and toilets, laundry facilities, powered and unpowered sites and plenty of space. It was the perfect spot for our base in Airlie Beach.
While visiting Airlie Beach and the surrounds, we tried three delicious gelato spots, the perfect sweet treat on hot beach days.
Located on the Esplanade in Airlie Beach, Gelatiamo Dolce Patisserie is a cute Italian gelato shop. They also make their own pastries in store, so grab a sweet treat before heading down to the waterfront.
New Zealand Natural was our favourite place for a sweet treat in Airlie Beach. After we came back from our sailing trip, we visited them twice for açaí bowls, smoothies and gelatos. They're right on the main street in town and so delicious.
As we drove up the coast towards Airlie Beach, we stopped in Mackay for a sweet treat. Gelatissimo makes insanely good gelato; it's so creamy and delicious. It's all made in-store and there are so many good flavours to choose from. The perfect roadtrip pick-me-up!
Gelatiamo Dolce Patisserie
New Zealand Natural
Gelatissimo
The main reason people come to Airlie Beach is because it is the gateway to the world famous Whitsunday Islands, a collection of 74 islands just off the coast.
Go sailing in the Whitsunday Islands
The most popular way to explore the Whitsunday Islands is by joining a boat tour. Depending on your schedule, budget and interests (boat size, group size, length of trip, focus, etc.), there are countless different options for a boat tour, departing from Airlie Beach. You can just go for a day or you can spend multiple nights exploring the islands.
We chose a three-night sailing trip. We loved the Whitsundays, they are truly one of the most beautiful parts of Australia.
→ Check out my complete guide to sailing the Whitsunday Islands.
Visit Cedar Creek Falls
Located just outside Airlie Beach in Conway National Park, these beautiful waterfalls are a popular swimming spot on a hot day.
There is free parking available a short walk from the falls. Don't have your own wheels? Join a guided tour of Airlie Beach and the surrounding area including Conway National Park.
BOOK AN EXPERIENCE IN AIRLIE BEACH!
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Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
