Hamilton Island is one of the most popular holiday and wedding destinations on the Great Barrier Reef. This family friendly destination is famous for their pristine white beaches, marine life and Whitehaven Beach.

Before you jet off to Hamilton Island, be sure to book any day-trips and activities months in advance to avoid disappointment. There is also a Hamilton Island App which you can download and view all the programs, activities and available tours.

THINGS TO DO IN HAMILTON ISLAND

Whitehaven Beach
This iconic white sand beach is like heaven on earth and is not to be missed. Whitehaven Beach is accessible by boat from Airlie Beach. We recommend booking a full-day trip out to Whitehaven Beach to give you the opportunity to see the brilliant sand swirls in all its glory which is most visible during low-tide.

Unfortunately we were unaware that it was school holiday season and there only half-day trips to Whitehaven Beach were available. The half-day trip only allowed us to properly explore our surrounds for 2 hours and the tide was too high during our visit. It wasn’t until our last day at Hamilton Island that we decided to book a plane flight with Hamilton Air that we saw the iconic postcard-like beach (pictured above).

Heart Reef
Flying over this little gem and the surrounding Great Barrier Reef was definitely a highlight of our trip. The vibrant coral formations along the reef are mesmerising and spectacular, we were just in constant awe during the entire flight with Hamilton Island Air. 

Although our pilot did circle around Heart Reef and Whitehaven Beach to ensure both sides of the plane received the best views, the right side of the plane definitely had the advantage of more view time and less plane shadow.

Catseye Beach
Catseye Beach is one of the main beaches on Hamilton Island that overlooks the Coral Sea. During low tide, the beach transforms into sand flats that stretch for miles and miles. When the tides were high, the beach was the hotspot for kayaks, paddleboards, snorkelers….and turtles!

We were extremely excited to book our Turtle Discovery Snorkel Tour but as expected, it was all booked out on the day and we had to take it upon ourselves to search for the turtles. After splashing around for 20minutes we finally found a few friendly turtles and happily followed them around watching them munch on the seaweed and come up for air.