Whitsundays,AUS

[mainshiptom]

Hi

I am looking and planning a holiday in AUS and would like to combine a hotel resort stay with a boat hire,Motor if poss but will comprise on a cat if need be,

Any advice or suggestion what to go for? any one been and can comment?

we are looking to go in July/Aug which is a low season so hope to get bargains?


Tom

 

[Juggler7823]

Make sure that you take plenty of cash. The pound to the Aus dollar rate is very poor and prices are horrendous! Petrol was the only cheap thing we found.

 

[snappy]

Hi Tom we have just come back from a month in Oz including a week on Hamilton Island. Certainly agree with Juggler about costs. A pint of Guiness in Durty Nellys cost me 10 AUD, £6.40! My other tip would be to make sure you have booked your charter boat and any important excursions before you get there; we found there was no availability from Sunsail for anything. Bring us back a bottle of yellowglen white!

cheers

 

[ReefMagnet]

You can charter motor boats. Be warned however that they all putter around at sailboat speeds - there's nothing that planes. The main charter co's are Sunsail, Whitsunday Yacht Charters and Charter Yachts Australia. For upmarket island resorts, have a look at Hamilton Island (which is more like a town - with marina, shops, eateries and private residences), Daydream Island, Hayman Island and even perhaps Peppers Palm Bay on Long Island. There are other budget island resorts and resorts on the mainland of course but imo the above Islands win hands down. You can include stays at just about any location while chartering, as the islands have either a marina (Hayman, Hamilton) or mooring facilities which some people do although my preference would be to charter and resort stay as separately.

As for the high cost of grog, do what us locals do and buy it at a bottle shop on the way and smuggle it in

 

[AndieMac]

Hi

I am looking and planning a holiday in AUS and would like to combine a hotel resort stay with a boat hire,Motor if poss but will comprise on a cat if need be,

Any advice or suggestion what to go for? any one been and can comment?

we are looking to go in July/Aug which is a low season so hope to get bargains?


Tom

Tom, don't restrict your shore-based accomodation searches to just the resorts, include the privately owned (but leased through management services) villa units, particuarly on Hamilton Island (personal favourite ), being pretty much in the centre of everything and close to the stunning Whitehaven Beach.
Many local Aussies by-pass the resorts for their second holidays because the self contained villa's represent better value all round, with many on Hamilton Island including their own golf carts, being the only motorised transport on the island.
Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour (mainland departure points to the islands) are sixteen nautical miles from Hamilton Island by ferry or charter boat and great for stocking up on cheap food and grog and some nice restaurants, but are at least an hour away from the nearest airport (Proserpine) and an hour and a half to Mackay.
Hamilton Island has it's own airport within a kilometre of the marina, which is very convenient, but the general store is not cheap because of local shipping costs and not the huge choices of the the major mainland supermarkets.

The local nautical publication "100 Magic Miles" - The Whitsunday Islands, will be included in every charter boat and is essential reading both prior to and during your voyage.

Hayman Island (northern part) is nice but very expensive, located next to the fabulous Hook Island with the popular Butterfly Bay in the north and Nara Inlet on the southern side. You need a boat to explore Hook.

From what I saw and experienced, Sunsail will be my next choice, they run a very proffesional show with tidy newer boats and a slick operation. There are some other dodgey operaters with fancy websites who just don't deliver and lack professionalism, with much of the fleet, tired and shabby.

Good luck with the trip.

 

[fromtheashes]

Hi

I am looking and planning a holiday in AUS and would like to combine a hotel resort stay with a boat hire,Motor if poss but will comprise on a cat if need be,

Any advice or suggestion what to go for? any one been and can comment?

we are looking to go in July/Aug which is a low season so hope to get bargains?


Tom

Yep great time of year to do the whitsundays hire a boat put all your wine and groceries on it and then your self sufficient when on the island do as the locals do and drink the local brew a damned side cheaper than your beers from back home, a pint of local $4.50 a pint of import $10 so you do the maths. So do it and get down there we did it on a mono hull a Bavaria 50 with five bedrooms three bathrooms plenty of room and cheap as, it was called Kasella, try www.kasella.com.au and mention me, I might get a cheaper rate next year, ha ha!
Cheers