Whitehaven Beach is one of the best beaches in the world and is well known for its long stretch of beach and pure-white silicon sand.

A trip to Whitehaven Beach has to be near the top of your itinerary while holidaying in the Whitsundays. No trip to the Whitsunday Islands is complete without basking on the pure-white silicon sand of stunning Whitehaven Beach.

Whitehaven Beach is located on Whitsunday Island which is the largest island in the Whitsunday group. It covers 109 sq km and rises to 438m at Whitsunday Peak. The island doesn’t have a resort so you can’t stay overnight, making day trips to the island a very popular activity. Apart from its stunning beach, it has a national park with some fine bushwalking tracks.

 

Whitehaven Beach Day Trips

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The dazzling 6km-long Whitehaven Beach is one of the best beaches in Australia and is well known for its pure-white silicon sand. The sand consists of 98% pure silica which gives it a bright white colour. Local rocks do not contain silica so it has been suggested that the sands were brought to the beach via prevailing sea currents over millions of years.

Unlike regular sand, the sand on Whitehaven Beach does not retain heat making it comfortable to walk barefoot on a hot day. This sand is also very fine, and can damage electronic equipment such as telephones and cameras, although it is good at polishing up jewellery. Dogs are not permitted on the beach and cigarette smoking is prohibited.

Whitehaven Beach does not boast a lot of coral, but the swimming is good and the forested shore is beautiful. It’s not a surf beach, but this 6km stretch of white silica sand is pristine and peaceful. Bring a book, curl up under the rainforest lining its edge, and fantasize that the cruise boat is going to leave without you.

 

Where is Whitehaven Beach?

Whitehaven Beach is located on Whitsunday Island which is the largest island in the Whitsunday group of islands. The Whitsunday Islands are located between Townsville and Mackay in Queensland, Australia.

 

Whitehaven Beach Map

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How to get to Whitehaven Beach?

There are two ways of getting to Whitehaven Beach – from Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island.

 

Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach

The most popular route is from Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach as most visitors to the region base themselves at Airlie Beach. You can get from Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach either on a cruise ship or in a sail boat. There are several cruise and sail boat operators that depart from Abel Point Marina or Shute Harbour. For most people, a cruise ship is the fastest and most affordable way to get to Whitehaven Beach making this the most favoured route. If you have the time and the money, sailing from island to island is one of the most fun things to do.

For more information on cruising from Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach, check out Cruise Whitsundays page.

If you want to know about sailing from Airlie Beach to Whitehaven Beach, see our Sailing Whitsundays page.

 

Hamilton Island to Whitehaven Beach

To get from Hamilton Island to Whitehaven Beach is easy as the Hamilton Island and Whitsunday Island are located 2km from each other. Visitors can take day trips on the catamarans and sail boats that depart from Hamilton Island in the morning and return by late afternoon.

 

Whitehaven Beach Camping

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As there is no resort on Whitsunday Island, Whitehaven Beach camping is very popular with visitors. There are national-park camping grounds at the southern end of Whitehaven Beach; at Dugong, Sawmill, Nari’s and Joe’s Beaches in the west, and at Turtle Bay and Chance Bay in the south; and Peter’s Bay in the north. Prices are reasonable but you have to get a permit to camp here. For more details visit the Department of National Parks.

 

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