Hamilton Island

1 day tour

Hamilton Island is part of the Whitsundays archipelago  . This island is located off the coast of Queensland, Australia. A destination that, over the years, has become popular with travelers, especially for those looking for a gateway to discover and dive in the  Great Barrier Reef .

This little paradise was the setting for a successful marketing campaign, and the campaign had the following slogan: “The best job in the world”. This action caused a sensation in hundreds of countries and made thousands of people send their summaries dreaming of a vacancy. The entire campaign was filmed on Hamilton Island. This promotion, originally developed by the Queensland State Department of Tourism, was so successful that it was eventually adopted by Australia. Among the 6 winners, one was Brazilian. Check out the reprinting of the G1 website .

Hamilton Island has a well-structured marina with many options of bars and restaurants, golf course, trails, sports courts and even a small zoo. This island has few private hotels, bungalows and vacation villas.

On the island, much of nature is preserved. With the exception of a few vans and minibuses, which transport visitors, on Hamilton Island there are no “normal” cars and all pedestrian movement is done by golf carts.

Being a large resort within an island, the visitor has access to a series of activities such as: Snorkeling, stand up paddle, sailing, kayaking and wind surfing.

And, with palm-fringed beaches, oceanfront accommodation and excellent restaurants, Hamilton Island is perfect for a full-day tour, or, if you prefer, you can stay there. We chose to stay in Airlie Beach, as it has a more affordable value and more options and accommodation.

Within this scenario, we set up a  complete itinerary departing from Airlie Beach  ( see more here ), our base city, and we enjoyed  8  incredible days in the region. On the fourth day we took the opportunity to visit Hamilton Island.

So, let’s go to our full day itinerary on this island paradise, but be sure to also check out a 48 hour itinerary indicated by the Official Tourism Website of Australia.

Day 4 of a trip through the Barrier Reef region started early, at 7 am with the walk between the hotel and the port of Airlie Beach. For 40 minutes I traveled this route, and around 8 am I was sitting at the port waiting for my ferry to Hamilton Island, the destination chosen for this day. That same day, the husband went one way and I the other. We decided that each one would do what they like best. He went deep sea fishing and I went to have a beach and tourist day on Hamilton Island.

At exactly 8:30 am the ferry left for the luxurious island, and after 1h15 on the boat I arrived at the destination.

Hamilton Island is a private island and built for tourism. Its infrastructure is all designed to serve customers.

This island has free internal transport ( minibus ), rental transport system (golf carts) and transfers from hotels that are scattered around the island.

Hamilton Island has paved streets and a complete complex with swimming pools, clubs, activity centers, golf course, restaurants, snack bars, supermarket, and much more.

Learn more about the island’s infrastructure here .

When I arrived on the island, the idea of ​​a script was already in my head. I got off at Hamilton Island’s Yatch Club and then walked a little uphill (many streets on Hamilton Island are steep), in less than 3 minutes I was at bus stop number 11 (at the school stop – learn more about the transport system free here ).

After taking the free bus the first destination was One Tree Hill (the highest point on the island and where the tourist can see the 360º of this small paradise). The two stops at this point are number 14 and 17 ( see map ).

After exploring this space a bit and taking lots of photos, I headed towards the pools and the Resort Center, which houses the pools open to the public and the main beach on this island.

Before getting off at One Tree Hill, I made sure to stay on the bus and only get off on the return after it had passed until the end of this route.

This was a way of getting to know the island in comfort and “without paying anything”. I did the same when I headed towards the pools. I stayed on the bus and took a longer tour of the Golf Club to see the island’s facilities.

When I arrived at point number 1, I got off and went towards the center of the Resort. I located the main pool ( Main Pool ), took some pictures and went to the second pool ( Sails Pool ), recognized the terrain and walked through the scorching sand of an Australian summer day to the last and third pool ( Bougainvillea Pool ) open to the public.

Photos and more photos, and then I located the spot I wanted to stay, exactly in the second pool and right in front of the sea.

Plenty of sun, pool and total relaxation. So I spent my time at the resort. But, obviously, he wouldn’t leave without taking a dip in the blue waters of the Hamilton Island sea. Warm and calm water to spend another hour of deep leisure on Catseye Beach.

After the beach, I took the salt water with a nice shower, went to bus stop number 1 and took the green line (Green Line). This would take me to the restaurant and the surroundings of the Yatch Club again.

The package I bought included lunch at one of the local restaurants, and that’s where I went.

I arrived at Marina Tavern at 1 pm and stayed there for about an hour. Lunch finished at the time of preparations for the return to Airlie Beach.

I went to the Cruise Withsundays window , presented my return voucher and rescheduled my schedule. Once booked, it was time for an ice cream to say goodbye to the island. At 2:45 pm I was already on the ferry returning to Airlie Beach.

Hamilton Island (site oficial)

Great Barrier Reef  (site oficial Austrália)

Great Barrier Reef Website

Cruise Whitsundays

Tour Whitsundays (site oficial)

Reef Star Cruises (tours de barco em Airlie Beach)

SeaLink (horários de ferries para Magnetic Island)

Depto de Transporte de Queensland

Airlie Beach – Turismo

Whitehaven Beach – Turismo