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Visiting Great Barrier Reef has been on my bucket list for quite sometimes. Although in theory it shouldn’t be that hard to go as I live in Australia, it still took some research and planning to finally be able to see what’s the best the Great Barrier Reef has to offer.
Great Barrier Reef
Cairns seems to be the most common place to stay as the base to stay if you want explore the Great Barrier Reef Region. But through research, I found that Cairns doesn’t have direct access to the flight over the iconic heart reef or the magical white heaven beach. If you want to see the best part in Great Barrier Reef, choose dreaming Whitsundays as your base.

Situated in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef, the grand landscape of Whitsundays is dotted with 74 tropical islands.

7 Things You Must Experience Around Whitsundays, Great Barrier Reef

1. Go To Whiteheaven Beach

First of all, you must go to Whiteheaven Beach, which is renowned as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It totally lives up to its reputation! Here’s a view of the Whiteheaven Beach and Hill Inlet from our seaplane trip.

white heaven beach, Great Barrier Reef

We took a full day boat trip to explore Whiteheaven beach, Hill Inlet and Snorkeled among the most beautiful coral reefs. I couldn’t wait to jump into the the crystal clear aqua water and jump up like little kids on the pristine silica sand.

Whiteheaven Beach great barrier reef

View of the Whiteheaven Beach on a seaplane

2. Snorkelling

Yes! Snorkelling is also high on the list! Needless to say, Great Barrier Reef has the world’s largest and most magnificent coral reefs. We were blessed with beautiful weather during our stay in Whitsundays. The tide was so low on the day we went snorkelling. As a result, we were so so close to the reefs and fishes and corals. It was quite amazing to see so many colourful corals up close!

snorkelling - Great Barrier Reef

boating and snorkelling, Great Barrier Reef

3. Fishing

It is a quite romantic notion to ride in the boat and go fishing in a hot sunny day. And indeed we did just that. We tired a half day fishing tour which took us to the fishing grounds in the beautiful Whitsunday Islands.

I was so excited about the fishing trip and dreamed about catching lots of big fishes. We even planed a ways of cooking these fishes we will catch. However, the fishing gears provided were old and almost not functioning, the low quality bait offered couldn’t hold firmly on the hook. As a result, we were not that successful of catching anything noteworthy. Though we had lots of bites, there was not possible for any good catch. So if you want to go fishing, the best way is to take your own bait and fishing gear and hire a boat only instead of going with fishing chargers. Nevertheless, despite the fact we didn’t catch any dinner, we enjoyed so much of the beautiful weather, the tranquility of calm water and chilling among the the most picturesque spots.

fishing - Great Barrier Reef

4. Exploring Hamilton Island

If you go to the Witsundays, stay on the Hamilton Island  simply because it’s so pretty and reminds you of a somewhat fairy tale place. The Hamilton Island is a perfect base for exploring the Great Barrier Reef and Whiteheaven Beach.

The island alone has so much to offer. That’s why this island receives so many visitors on a daily basis. You can certainly catch the free shuttle bus to explore the whole island. Or hire a buggy for the ultimate convenience.

One Tree Hill Hamilton Island Great Barrier Reef

One Tree Hill, Hamilton Island

Hamilton island - Great Barrier Reef

love birds hamilton island

A pair of love birds at Hamilton Island

Hamilton Island - Great Barrier Reef

5. Visiting Airlie Beach

Airlie beach a lively little town situated on a picturesque peninsula that overlooks the sparkling Whitsunday waters. I have never seen another town with more backpackers than Airlie Beach because the whole town is packed with young backpackers from all over the world, mainly Europe.

If you want to taste a little wild life in the dreamy Whitsundays region, head off to Airlie beach. Bars, The main street of the village is lined with shops, bars and night clubs. Stroll along a pleasant boardwalk, you’ll reach The port of Airlie, from where the cruise Whitsundays ferries depart.

airlie beach whitsundays

Airlie beach Marina Whitsundays

Airlie Beach Marina

6. Cruising Around

Cruise Whitsundays offers many types of day Cruises for you to fully explore this amazing part of the world.

Regular ferry services to the main islands and Whiteheaven Beach are offered.  Hence getting a timetable of the ferry services is a good idea to easily plan your day.




7. Flying Over The Reefs By Seaplane

For a bird’s eye view, take in the panorama of the Whitusndays landscape from a seaplane. It’s certainly worth the effort and money spent. Those amazing views over the reefs, trope cal islands, the Whiteheaven Beach are breathtaking!

The heart reef great barrier reef

View of the Heart Reef, Great Barrier Reef from a seaplane

flying over Great Barrier Reef

Taking a sea plan to fly over Great Barrier Reef