WOW. First of all, the b&b that I booked for our stay in Airlie Beach was out of this world! For about $80(AUD) per night, we stayed in a penthouse condo overlooking the islands and the beautiful blue water. I will add the link to this place later... It has been, with no doubt, my favorite accommodation of the trip.
Our host, Ernie, was amazing and even spent a few evenings hanging out with us on the roof. His wife, Glenda, was away on business so we were unfortunately unable to meet her but we did became good friends with Luna, their adorable little dog.
If I had to dig for one negative thing about the accommodations, it would be the hill getting up to it! It was worth the $5-$6 cab ride each time we needed to go home but Ernie was happy to give us a ride if he was around. I can't that imagine there is a better place to stay in the area! There were 3 rooms for guests at the b&b and throughout our 4-night stay we met guests from Brazil, America, England & Germany.
We did a lot in just a few days so we will break it down in a more useful way for those of you that have this place on your bucket list!
Transportation: I booked our flights in and out of Hamilton Island- whoops! Double check the islands and beaches before coming here. We had to catch a 90 minute ferry (cruisewhitsundays.com) when we landed that was $50pp each way! At least the scenery wasn't at all painful to look at...
Favorite Local Hangout:
The lagoon! Tyler and I had an awesome time on our first full day in Airlie Beach by just swimming in the local lagoon. Tons of people were here all day long just laying in the grass, reading, napping and even doing yoga. You don't want to swim on the beaches here... At least not without a stinger suit! It's jellyfish season and one of the most dangerous jellyfish here is about the size of your fingernail. No thank you!
Favorite Meal:
We tried out a few places along the main strip of Airlie Beach but to be honest, my favorite meal was cooked by Tyler on the "barbie" at the B&B. I was a little hesitant about trying kangaroo meat but it was AMAZING! Alongside some fresh bread and grilled asparagus, this was probably one of my favorite meals of the whole trip.
P.S. Skip the tex-mex... We made that mistake one evening. Salt, Little Vegas Burger Bar & Capers were all restaurants we visited that were pretty good. And of course, we couldn't go wrong with "Cold Rock Creamery" for some ice cream!
Favorite Excursion:
This is the one place on our trip that I didn't book some sort of excursion or tour... Shame on me! Our first day we woke up quite early and hustled down to one of the tour shops and EVERYthing was full for the day. Options were limited for Thursday and Friday so we went ahead and booked something for both days right then and there. On Thursday, we were on a 60ft. retired racing boat (The Merit) that took us out snorkeling around Hayman Island & Langford Reef. Unfortunately the wind was not strong enough for us to truly sail but it was still great snorkeling and tons of fish! We were gone from 8-5 and it was HOT HOT HOT.
I preferred our Friday tour with Mantaray Charters over the sail on Thursday, even despite the bigger tour group (24 vs 18). With the heat and the bright sunshine, the Mantaray boat was much more comfortable for seating arrangements and staying in the shade. The captain and crew were extremely personable and overall the day went by much faster! The meals and snacks aboard the boats were the same both days but actually very good.
Favorite beach:
Well that's easy... The Mantaray tour took us to Whitehaven beach! Whitehaven is ranked as one of the top beaches in the world and it did not disappoint. We did an easy 10 minute walk up to the lookout point before making our way down to the sand. The sun reflecting off of the bright white sand was almost blinding but surprisingly enough, the sand never gets hot enough to burn your feet! The sand is also fine enough to actually squeak under your feet.
In the water we found Lemon Sharks all around us (harmless) and several stingrays as well! I could have spent all day floating in the water here and I don't even consider myself a "beach person." The tide was high when we visited but the guides told us that the beach looks different every single day! I would love to see all of the bright white sandbanks at low tide. After a few hours at the beach, we had our second and final stop at Luncheon Bay for snorkeling. It was fairly similar to the spots from the previous day but still so much fun!
Favorite New Lingo:
Stubby cooler- a koozie.
Eski (sp.)- cooler or chilly bin
I feel like there is so much more I want to add but we have arrived in Cairns and tomorrow we leave for an overnight diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef!
I will fill in the missing details when we get back.
XOXO
Elissa
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