Great holidays rely on great holiday accommodation and Airlie Beach has it all. The Whitsunday region has been one of Australia’s most popular family holiday destinations for decades and over the years the town has developed a fantastic supply of excellent luxury accommodation. During this time Airlie Beach has grown from a tiny seaside hamlet to a bustling town that is the hub and mainland base for the huge tourism industry that has grown here.
Family holidays are the backbone of the Airlie Beach tourist industry and it is important that the holiday accommodation here is competitive with what is available in places like Cairns, Port Douglas, and Hervey Bay. Local developers have recognized this need and designed and built many apartment-style resorts to cater to the need for plenty of quality holiday accommodation-style resorts. Because of the small nature of the Airlie Beach commercial area, most of the available holiday accommodation is within walking distance of the shops, restaurants, and cafes and most are in elevated positions giving them fantastic ocean views.
Airlie Beach accommodation also needs to be supported by other tourism infrastructure and Airlie Beach has this in abundance. The Council has built a huge lagoon-style swimming pool right on the oceanfront in the town area. This provides a magnificent tourist facility as marine stingers are prevalent in the ocean here during the wet season. Able Point Marina gives tourists access to a huge fleet of charter boats taking cruises to the outer Barrier Reef and also to the many islands and resorts located close by, in the Whitsunday Passage. Most families will want to visit the islands during their stay. Many of them will fly directly from their home port to the Great Barrier Reef airport located on Hamilton Island and then take the ferry across to Airlie Beach to their chosen holiday accommodation.