Airlie Beach calls itself the ‘Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef’ and, frankly. If you’re not going to the Great Barrier Reef, there’s really no point in going to Airlie Beach. We had been to the reef on a previous visit. So, we thought we would just wander the town. That didn’t take long … mostly fast food and tourist junk. There was a sign for a ‘lagoon’ but it turned out to be a concrete swimming pool (Northern Australian beaches are closed during the summer due to masses of box jelly fish that can sting you badly and the occasional crocodile … and it is summer down here!) So, we went back to the QV where it was at least cool.
Nonetheless, here are some fast facts about Airlie Beach. Airlie Beach (the town) was only established in the 1930s. It is 700 miles north of Brisbane and 395 miles south of Cairns. It is also considered the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and is 30 minutes away from the nearest by ferry.