Your dreamy getaway awaits at Airlie Beach

Much more than just a gateway to paradise, Airlie Beach is a worthy place to linger, says long-time visitor Craig Tansley. Find out why Airlie Beach landed at no.20 in your Top 50 Aussie towns.

Find the complete list of the Top 50 Aussie Towns here.

What makes Airlie Beach so dreamy?

Oh Airlie Beach, are you the most misunderstood town in Australia? You don’t even really have a beach, do you? You’re more a collection of tiny golden-sand bays that drain right out at low tide.

oceanfront accommodation in Airlie Beach

Gaze in wonder at the idyllic seascape of Airlie Beach.

And visitors use you – don’t they? – as a stepping stone to somewhere else: the Whitsundays, the 74 dreamiest islands in Australia just offshore, one of the best sailing destinations on the whole planet.

Many of you have no idea how good Airlie Beach actually is, because you probably bypassed it and flew direct to Hamilton Island. Airlie Beach is a mix of very good places: there are traces of Byron, with its bounty of backpacker bars, but its streetscape is more an amalgamation of Port Douglas and Magnetic Island.

It has sparkling emerald waters with palm-fringed parks

Airlie’s main street is fringed by those turquoise waters that you expect to find here. From the middle of the day on, they look more emerald. Then there are the palm trees in the pretty parks and, beyond them, yachts straining at their anchor lines.

Soak in Airlie Beach’s unique atmosphere. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)

This is a town for yachties. You won’t meet saltier characters anywhere in Queensland; they’re the lifeblood of this place. It’s a working town, for working people: if you want all-out postcard-perfect, book Palm Cove. Dwarfed by hillsides of green rainforest, Airlie is a town you’ll drive around once and think: Is that it?

It is the perfect hidden retreat for a holiday getaway

And then 36 years later, you’re still uncovering bits of magic. I’ve been coming here since 1986 when my family fell in love with the place on a yachting holiday. Now one of my brothers lives here, my mother’s here most winters (on a yacht she’s lived on ever since Airlie and the Whitsundays got into her soul).

seafood dish at Fish D’vine & The Rum Bar

Discover places to eat and drink, like Fish D’vine & The Rum Bar. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)

There’s always a new sunset bar somewhere, and a sunrise cafe just as close to the water. There’s a boardwalk and a bike and pedestrian path that follows the ocean right round from town. It’ll take you to the best places to eat, drink and be merry – just follow it.

Something’s always jumping in the water, but in a town populated with such a high proportion of colourful characters, I sometimes put my back to the sea to enjoy the show that is playing out on land.

Explore more of Airlie Beach in our travel guide or find out which other towns made it into your Top 50.

From the back of a jet ski to the seat of a mountain bike or aboard a catamaran, there are countless ways to explore Airlie Beach

It’s one of North Queensland’s most picturesque… and interesting… coastal towns – full of salty characters who live for the sea – yet Airlie Beach still manages to fly under a lot of our travel radars. But there are so many things to do in a region which epitomises all the very best elements of coastal North Queensland – from its mostly uninhabited offshore islands (the Whitsundays) to bars with Coral Sea views and sea dog characters. We show the best things to do in Airlie Beach.

1. See Airline Beach from a different perspective (upside down!)

For a completely different way to see Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands, get inside a Soviet-era Russian Yak fighter pilot plane for aerial acrobatics right out over the town and the islands at speeds up to 300 kilometres with CQ Adventure Flights.

Experience an adrenaline rush. (Image: Marty Stringer)

Seeing the expansive ocean and islands while you’re upside down gives you a whole different perspective. There are three packages you can book – with one offering you the chance to fly right out over Whitehaven Beach, flying low over islands on the way out. It’s a great way to see everything from above while feeling like you’re locked in combat.

2. Meet the locals at the weekend markets

You won’t find a better place to get to meet the locals of Airlie Beach than the Airlie Beach Markets on Saturday mornings between 7am and 1pm. Held right beside the beach on the grassy foreshore, you won’t find a market anywhere in Australia with as spectacular a sea view. Look out on dozens of yachts and the northern islands of the Whitsundays as you browse stands of fresh produce, handmade jewellery and clothes, tasty food and fresh coffee. There’s also plenty for kids with camel and train rides.

3. Have a drink in a bar that epitomises North Queensland

There’s a bar with a view around every corner in Airlie Beach – and you can bet there’s a happy hour and a table full of salty characters ready to tell you a tale or two at every one of them. No coastal town in Australia can beat the collection of bars with sea views – especially at sunset.

Drop in for a drink overlooking the Coral Sea Marina and out to the northern Whitsunday Islands at Sorrento Restaurant & Bar.

Relax with drinks and a meal at Northerlies Beach Bar and Grill. (Image: Red Cat Adventures)

Opt for a table beside the pool overlooking Airlie Beach and the islands up high at Anchor Bar. Or relax in a hammock or a seat at a picnic table under coconut trees on a secret beach north of town at Northerlies Beach Bar & Grill.

4. Enjoy a luxurious adults-only yacht tour

There are no children allowed aboard on these five-star sailing journeys – to allow for maximum relaxation (but there’s plenty of Champagne). Join a day tour on a 63-year-old classic sailing boat, Lady Enid, with a maximum of just 24 guests, as you sail from Airlie Beach to the Whitsunday Islands.

Step aboard a day tour on a 63-year-old classic sailing boat.

Choose between two-day tours which take you snorkelling, sailing and enjoying seafood lunches at two of the region’s best destinations – Whitehaven Beach or hidden gem, Langford Island. Or opt for a sunset sail in the bay just beyond Airlie Beach.

5. Airlie Beach Lagoon

The name ‘Airlie Beach’ is perhaps a bit misleading. Really there’s only one beach (Boathaven) in town, and even that’s man-made. But if you’re craving some time in the water, all is not lost: enter Airlie Beach Lagoon.

Surrounded by landscaped, palm-tree-dotted grassy shores, and featuring a sandy beach area at one end, you could easily while away a warm summer’s day at this scenic saltwater lagoon, finishing up with a beach barbie using one of the municipal barbecues scattered around the place. It’s free to visit, and those travelling with littlies can safely paddle in the children’s pool. The foreshore is also home to a super slick state-of-the-art playground, which opened in 2019, and lies just a few minutes’ walk from the lagoon.

If you’re craving some time in the water, enter Airlie Beach Lagoon.

6. Bicentennial Walkway

Fill your lungs with salty sea air, take in the beautiful shoreline views, and work up an appetite with a stroll along the Bicentennial Walkway. Roughly four kilometres long, this walk from Airlie Beach Lagoon to Cannonvale Beach takes around 45 minutes to complete.

Reward yourself with a velvety flat white or a decadent sit-down breakfast when you arrive at Cannonvale Beach: Fat Frog Beach Cafe is a local favourite that looks squarely onto the waterfront.

7. Skydiving over Airlie Beach

If there were ever a scenic spot to select for a skydiving drop zone then Airlie Beach, and the wider Great Barrier Reef, might just be it. Soar up to 15,000 feet above the Whitsunday Region before jumping out of a tiny plane and freefalling at more than 220 kilometres an hour before floating down over the clouds and drinking in the panorama of crumpled green hinterland, pure white shores, and aquamarine waters as the breeze ripples past your face.

Is there a more scenic spot to select for a skydiving drop zone.

8. Sunset Cruise

Looking for a serene end to a jam-packed day and a different perspective of Airlie Beach? Step aboard one of Sundowner Cruises’ purpose-built catamarans and enjoy a relaxing sunset cruise, complete with a glass of sparkling and a few nibbles. The company also offers two-hour afternoon cruises twice weekly.

Enjoy a relaxing sunset cruise.

9. Jet ski tours

If frolicking around on the water in a tropical paradise constitutes your dream day, then book in for a jet ski tour. Promising adrenaline and scenic vistas in equal measure, Whitsunday Jetski Tours offer three different sea safaris that last from 90 minutes up to four hours. You might spy sea turtles, dugongs, seabirds and humpback whales while scooting around in the World Heritage-listed marine park that is the Great Barrier Reef.

There are, truly, countless other ways to take to the waters of the Great Barrier Reef from Airlie Beach. So if jet-skiing doesn’t appeal then visit the Tourism Whitsundays website, which lists all of the different snorkelling, diving, and sailing trips that leave from the coastal town. You can even admire the marine park from the skies, with a scenic flight over Heart Reef and Whitehaven Beach.

Whitsunday Jetski Tours offer three different sea safaris.

10. Conway National Park

A sprawling tract of lowland tropical rainforest that’s home to hoop pines, mangroves, and paperbark and pandanus woodlands, Conway National Park is the perfect spot for practising a bit of shinrin-yoku (forest bathing). Enjoy one of the park’s numerous walks, such as the steep 7.5-kilometre-long ascent to the Honeyeater Lookout, which affords sweeping views over the coastline; take to two wheels and hurtle around on dirt ribbons below the forest canopy on one of Conway National Park’s mountain biking trails, or jump on a segway and take a motorised tour of this verdant pocket.

Conway National Park is the perfect spot for a bit of Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing).

11. Cedar Creek Falls

Less than a 30-minute drive from Airlie Beach, these falls cascade over a rock face before landing into a sizable milky green waterhole, enveloped by trees, that’s perfect for a cooling dip in the heat of summer. If possible, time your visit to coincide with recent rainfall, so that the falls are in full flow and the pool at its base is full. Best of all, there are no crocs to worry about and it’s located just a short walk from the car park.

Swim in the fresh emerald-green water under the stunning natural waterfall at Cedar Creek Falls.

Now discover the best tours in Airlie Beach to go on.

A dreamy tropical getaway to Airlie Beach