The Whitsundays offers the best Great Barrier Reef experience there is, being situated right in the heart of this vast living structure, which is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. 

Stretching for 2,300kms along Australia’s northeast coast, millions of people visit the Great Barrier Reef each year - and almost half of those (more than 40 per cent) visit it in the Whitsundays.

The Great Barrier Reef hosts one third of the world’s coral species and is home to more than 1,500 species of fish as well as turtles, whales, dolphins, dugongs, reef sharks, manta rays and giant clams.

The reef also protects the Coral Sea that surrounds the Whitsunday islands and mainland, creating an aquatic playground in which visitors can swim, sail, snorkel and scuba dive in safe, calm waters. 

Heart Reef, off the Whitsunday coast, is a coral reef that has formed naturally into the shape of a heart and has become a well-known landmark from the air.

The Whitsunday region also boasts one of the best beaches in the world – the 7km long Whitehaven Beach, made of pure white, silica sand. 

The sparkling, pristine Whitehaven Beach is often voted one of the top beaches in Australia and, indeed, the world, with 7kms of pure white, silica sand stretching into the distance.

It stretches along the southern side of Whitsunday Island, the largest island in the Whitsunday Group. Chalkies Beach, opposite Whitehaven Beach, has some great fringing coral for snorkelling.

Whether you want to lay on the beach and soak up the stunning scenery, snorkel and swim in the crystal clear water, or venture deeper into the bushland for a walk, Whitehaven Beach is a “must-see”.

At the northern end of Whitehaven Beach is Hill Inlet, a stunning, swirling fusion of colours created by the sand meeting the sea as the tide comes in and out the inlet.

Best seen from the viewing platform where the swirling pattern can be seen in its itinerary, most tours to Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet also incorporate a walk along the bush trail that leads to the lookout.

The Great Barrier Reef supports:

1,625 species of fish

3,000 species of molluscs (shells)

630 species of starfish and sea urchins

One of the world’s most important dugong populations

Six of the world’s seven species of marine turtle

133 species of sharks and rays

30 species of dolphins and whales