10 Best Whitsunday Islands

Hamilton Island is the star of the show in the Whitsundays. By far the best known of the bunch, it spreads like the wings of a butterfly in the very heart of the archipelago. This is the largest inhabited isle in the chain, and the only spot in the Great Barrier Reef with its own airport. The upshot? You can be soaking in the Queensland sun just 2 hours after jetting out of a city on the Australian east coast.

Hamilton is primed for R&R-starved visitors but also has plenty of adventures on the side. There's glowing Catseye Beach, a 700-metre-long scythe of honey-tinged sand backed by seafood restaurants. Inland, you can traverse hiking paths to lookout points like Saddle Junction, from where you can survey the glimmering Coral Sea from between forests of ancient she-oaks.

Whitsunday Island is the namesake isle of the group for a reason – it's the biggest one and the anchor of the vast Whitsunday National Park. It sprawls out north of Hamilton Island and south of Hook Island, some 8.5 miles off the coast of mainland Queensland.

If you're dreaming of the ethereal beaches of wispy white sand shown in the travel brochures, this is the place to come to get them. Hill Inlet and adjoining Whitehaven Beach has to be one of the most photographed sights in Australia, a mass of turquoise water and chalky sandbanks that goes on for miles. Peel yourself away from that a moment and there's a hinterland of dusty peaks haloed in primeval rainforest, all topping out at 473 metres above sea level.

Hayman Island is the jet-setter escape of the Whitsundays. Come here to rub shoulders with Hollywood names and famous faces, and to get a taste of real QLD luxury. The island sits at the northernmost end of the group, hidden away some 20 miles from the hustling, bustling harbours of Hamilton Island.

The focal point on Hayman itself is the sprawling resort complex on the southern shore. It's a must-visit for honeymooners, what with infinity pools that creep just meters from the lapping Coral Sea. Those up for some explorations can head to Dolphin Point to keep watch for bottlenoses, or sail across to the deserted coves of Blue Pearl Bay in the west. 

Long Island has managed to dodge the limelight that shines like the Queensland sun on some of the other Whitsundays. Tucked deep in the strait between the mainland and Hamilton, it's often overlooked by the crowds. That's helped it emerge as a bit of an off-the-beaten-path option, with deserted beaches and adventure pursuits in equal measure.

Long Island's 2 coastlines are very different from each other. The east is one long doglegging run of sand fringed from top to toe in palms. The west is a series of deep coves threaded with yellow sand. The entire thing is part of the Molle Islands National Park, a beautiful Whitsundays reserve that lays claim to some of the country's best preserved eucalyptus forests. 

Langford Island is little more than a sand-writhed rock at the northern end of the Whitsundays. It's not inhabited, has no hotels, and is just about as wild as they come. Visitors usually drop by on organised boat trips out of nearby Hayman Island or Hamilton further south.

The highlight here has to be the long walk down the isthmus sand spit that connects the rocky mainland of Langford to the surrounding reefs. It makes for a striking photo opportunity, as you walk a narrow squiggle of white between the gleaming turquoise sea water on both sides. Look east, and you might just make out Bird Island. That's one of the region's top dive sites, with blooming gardens of sponges and corals.

Keswick Island sits far away on the southern edges of the Whitsundays. It's actually a part of the Cumberland Islands subgroup, which places it plum within the uber-famous Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. To get here, hop on the boat at Mackay and cruise across the strait – it takes around 1 hour on the public ferry.

What awaits is a mountainous rock that oscillates from summits topped by rainforest down to beaches of cloud-white sand. Some of those are known as hotspots for turtle viewing during the main nesting season. Others are fantastic jump-off points for the Great Barrier Reef itself, where there's snorkelling and diving you'll never forget.

Untamed Hook Island is the Whitsunday to head for if you're craving off-track adventures. It's on the northern side of the archipelago and is largely encompassed by the vast Whitsundays National Park, a fact that's helped keep resort development on the down low and nature in the ascendancy.

Along the south coast, you can sail the vast fjords of the Nara Inlet and the Hook Island Reef, to spot bird-teeming rainforests clustering above the shores. The north is ruggeder, with cave-covered bays like Maureens Cove and the boulder-speckled points along from Steens Beach. Those who alight will find empty hiking paths that weave through old-growth forests.

Daydream Island is but a speck on the greater Whitsunday's map. Just a stone's throw from Shute Harbour, it's sat in the midst of the easy-to-access Molle Islands. The whole place is completely given over to a single resort and spa complex that's good for a variety of travellers, from loved-up honeymooners to families.

The island is under a mile long from top to bottom, so you'll be able to walk the whole thing. Don't let the size fool you, though, because Daydream has all the ingredients for a proper fix of Whitsunday's wilderness. There are sunny beaches, snorkelling reefs, and even pockets of eucalyptus gardens to wander. 

South Molle Island was one of the original draws of the Whitsundays region. One of the first ever resorts was established here way back in 1937. These days, the 1.8-square-mile rock is a bit of an off-the-beaten-path destination, with bushwalking and beach hopping the main order of the day. Boats go here daily from nearby Airlie Beach, taking about 30 minutes each way.

Be sure to pack hiking boots because explorations on South Molle Island are largely done on the coastal and inland trails. The abandoned hotel complex from the 1930s is a curious pitstop on bushwalk tours. You'll find it rusting away beside the white sands of Bauer Bay on the north coast. 

Haslewood Island fragments off the eastern edge of Whitsunday Island. It looks really similar to its next-door neighbour, too, like a chunk of that famous national park has been carved off and strewn into the Coral Sea. Most notably, Haslewood has dashes of that glowing silica sand that makes this corner of the island group so famous.

To see that, cruise across the strait and sail around to Chalkie's Beach. This is the jewel in the crown of Haselwood, a long S-bend of pure white powder. If you have the time, the eastern coast is wilder again. It's a place where boulders lurch out of the clear seas and patchworks of fish-filled coral reefs suddenly appear under the hull of your boat.