Whitehaven Beach is one of the most famous beaches, not only in Queensland and Australia, but in the world. Hundreds of thousands of international travellers flock to the Whitsundays each year to visit beautiful Whitehaven Beach which is right in our backyard.

When you hire a boat from Whitsunday Escape, sailing to Whitehaven Beach should be high on your list. With its 7km of pristine, soft, cool, white silica sands, crystal clear aqua waters, and the famous lookout at Tongue Point, overlooking the gorgeous Hill Inlet, it’s a sight not to be missed.

There are a few anchorages along the length of Whitehaven Beach where you can moor for the day or night and visit this famous beach and lookout.

Early or late in the day is a great time to visit as you can often get the beach to yourselves, and it’s a much cooler time to tackle the bushwalks.

Hill Inlet

Hill Inlet is possibly the most photographed location in the Whitsundays. The waters of the inlet swirl out of the hills of Whitsunday Island at the northern end of Whitehaven Beach in the most beautiful way.

On the northern side of Hill Inlet is a series of lookouts between Tongue Bay and the beach on the inside of the inlet. It’s a short and relatively easy walk of about 600m each way. There are a number of lookout platforms at the top, to cater for the large number of visitors who visit this spot each day.

STAFF TIP: Early or late in the day it is very possible to have this lookout all to yourself when you go bareboating.

Access to the Hill Inlet lookout can be gained from both sides of Tongue Point. There are more than a dozen free public moorings in Tongue Bay on the northern side, and it is safe to bring your dinghy in to shore at Tongue Bay on a rising or high tide. There is a lot of fringing coral reef here that is generally impassable at low tide.

Swimming in the shallows of Hill Inlet is a real treat. Keep an eye out for stingrays and harmless lemon sharks that frequent this area.

At the very tip of the inlet is a beach called Betty’s Beach. Dotted with picturesque boulders, this is a lovely spot to explore ashore.

South Whitehaven Beach

A suitable anchorage location in our typical southeast winds, the southern end of Whitehaven Beach is very popular with day boats, but much quieter at night.

There are public toilets and a campsite at the southern end of the beach.

There is a patch of fringing reef at the very southern end of Whitehaven Beach near the rocks, worth snorkelling over.

The South Whitehaven Lookout is another gem of a walk. Also relatively easy and short, this walk takes you to a lookout on top of the rock between Whitehaven Beach itself and Solway Passage. From here you can see far to the south east towards Lindeman and Pentecost Islands. There are plans to further develop this walk to a second higher vantage point with a slightly more challenging trail.

Branching off this trail is a long 7km return track to Chance Bay on the southern side of Whitsunday Island, for those looking for a more challenging bushwalk.

Chalkie’s Beach

Directly opposite Whitehaven Beach is one of the few other beaches in the islands that has the same pure white silica sand as Whitehaven Beach. On Hazelwood island, Chalkie’s Beach has a beautiful stretch of soft sand, and fringing reef along most of its length.

Chalkie’s Beach used to be a location with limited anchorage space, due to the sharp reef drop off, but in 2018 Chalkie’s Beach had a series of new free public moorings installed, making access to this beautiful spot much easier. It is now moorings only here, and first in, first served.

See more of the Whitsunday Islands on our Interactive Map.