The Whitsundays, Airlie Beach and Magnetic Island Itinerary

Grabbing the first opportunity to get out and explore Australia, I headed up to Queensland to Airlie Beach, stopping in at McKay on the way through, then onto Magnetic Island and back to Townsville. All in one week, going on as many spontaneous adventures as possible as well as sailing the Whitsunday's, snorkelling the Barrier Reef, driving a barbie car and holding a koala. After an amazing week away, I was left more than slightly sunburnt, craving new adventures and fully inspired to get back into my blog.

Planning a trip like this can initially be quite daunting, especially as I knew nothing about where I wanted to go other than I wanted to go there. I went through a travel agent, called Mad Monkey Travel. They helped assist in planning nearly every aspect of the trip exactly how I wanted it. It also meant that we clocked onto deals, got cheaper prices and nearly everything was paid for before we went. Our itinerary went something like this

Day 1
Airlie Beach
1st Night Base Airlie

Day 2                                   
Whitsunday islands sailing tour – 2 Days & 2 Nights
Sleeping on the boat

Day 3
Whitsundays sailing
Visiting Whitehaven Beach, swimming straight from the boat and snorkelling in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef
Sleeping on the boat

Day 4
Whitsundays sailing
Returning to Airlie Beach
2nd Night at Base Airlie

Day 5
Bus & ferry to Magnetic island
Great resort directly on the beach with a swimming pool, dive shop and legendary parties Welcome drink & Dinner included
1st Night at Base Backpackers

Day 6
Magnetic island
Scuba introductory dive in the Great Barrier Reef
2nd Night at Base Backpackers

Day 7
Magnetic island/Townsville
Snorkel hire. Catch the ferry anytime before midnight to Townsville
Sleep at Rambutan Resort

Day 8
Townsvillie
FLIGHT BACK to Sydney

As with everything, we didn't stick to this exactly however were flexible with plans, we decided to spend the majority of Day 7 in Townsville which in hindsight probably wasn't the best decision however we made the most of it and tried to find some cool places to explore. We also didn't end up diving, but instead hired a barbie car on Magnetic Island and went to an animal sanctuary, and fulfilled my life long dream to hold a koala- best. thing. ever! Everything we did you can book individually and directly with each company, if you wanted to do one thing or not the other. However most travel agents want to personalise each trip to suit exactly what you want, rather than it being a generic package which you buy.


I have planned a few more posts sharing more photos, and one focusing on Magnetic Island specifically so keep an eye out for those also.

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