Whitehaven Beach is usually listed as #1 sight in the Whitsundays. It’s a uniquely beautiful, sprawling white sand beach with stunning turquoise blue water. There’s actually a scientific reason why it’s so beautiful. The sand is 98.9% pure silica giving it that amazing white colour. The diffusion of sunlight through suspended particles of sand in the water creates the incredible shades if blue. Silica sand is also very soft. It felt more like baby talc than sand grains. Surprisingly it didn’t seem to retain heat and burn your feet the way that normal sand does. The one downside is that Whitehaven attracts a crowd. It’s a very popular spot for bareboat charters and commercial boats come and go all day long. However the beach is 7 km long, so to escape the main crowd, all we had to do was walk a little further down the beach. If like us, you’ve hired a bareboat catamaran, then I’d highly recommend staying overnight at Whitehaven. All of the day boats and commercial boats have left by mid-afternoon and the over-nighters are left with the beach all to themselves. One of our great memories from the Whitsundays is sitting on our boat at the end of the day, drink in hand and overlooking Whitehaven Beach as the sun set. Its worth noting that there are no moorings at Whitehaven, (the closest are at Tongue Bay or Chalkies Beach) However, be prepared to get here early to Also be prepared to put up with a bit of night-time noise. Nobody goes to Whitehaven for privacy or for peace, that’s for sure. Mostly people are respectful of others but noise travels very easily over the water at night and its likely that there will be a couple of boats partying into the smaller hours. TIP: Before leaving Whitehaven, we motored around to Tongue Bay and climbed to the Hill Inlet Lookout. This was a steep but easy walk which took us up to a series of lookout points with sweeping views down over Whitehaven Beach. Such a special view! Don’t miss out on doing this.

This was my second visit to whitehaven beach and the unspoilt beauty still astounds me today. Best place to access the beach is from Hamilton resort, taking approximately 30 minutes via a leisurely and scenic sail. The silica sand casts an almost white luminous glow against the blue backdrop of the water, making this a stunning setting for photos and to simply relax. In the heart of the Great Barrier Reef this place is not to be missed. You can swim, sunbake, or if a little more adventurous take a hike to hill inlet or snorkel at chalkies beach. Keep a lookout for the dolphins, turtles and other marine life that surround the tropical waters along this coastline - an absolute piece of Australian paradise.

We visited for two hours as part of Explore’s Sail & Snorkel after a morning of snorkeling at Chalkies Beach. The silica sand is pure white and feels like talcum powder. I discovered the sand was so fine that you could sculpt a face in it! The water is turquoise blue and the waves are gentle. Yes, various excursion boats drop off people at the same end of the beach, but a 15-minute stroll will bring you to stretches with almost no one. After all, the beach is seven kilometers long. If you visit Hamilton Island, it’s worth your while to find a way to visit Whitehaven. Nothing on Hamilton Island compares.