Airlie Beach, QLD

Airlie Beach holidays in Australia are the epitome of a beach town holiday.  The carefree and relaxed attitude emanates from every part of the town. The Airlie Beach Lagoon is a manmade saltwater swimming area surrounded by sand and grassy knolls, where those on Australia holidays in Airlie Beach lounge away the day in the sun. The beachside parks are a great location for afternoon barbeques which proliferate and continue into the evening hours. The Airlie Beach holiday experience is enhanced further with the alfresco dining restaurants where fresh seafood overflows from every dish.

Once the sun sets another ambiance embraces the town. You’ll find a thriving energy exuding from the bars during the nights of your Australia holiday to Airlie Beach. Nightclubs are busy with those on holidays to Airlie Beach and the parties last well into the night. The energy is contagious and irresistible, and often encourages many tourists to stay longer than first expected.

Several small communities surround Airlie Beach including Bowen to the north, Abel Point Marina to the east and Shute Harbour to the west.  Bowen is famous for its heavenly beaches, and Shute Harbour is the departure point for the island ferries. The jagged coastline between these beachfront communities offers breath taking views of the distant Whitsunday islands. There are several on community events throughout the year to keep people on holiday in Airlie Beach thoroughly entertained. Events include the annual Whitsunday Fun Race Festival every September. Another great attraction for visitors on holiday in Airlie Beach are the markets every Saturday with fresh food stalls, including local mangoes and bananas and a variety of arts/crafts.

Flying to Proserpine Airport, also known as Whitsunday Coast Airport, in Proserpine is the easiest way to reach Airlie. Airlines flying to here are Virgin Australia, Tiger and Jetstar. This airport has recently undergone a $9m upgrade to the terminal and carparking facilities. Bus, hire car and taxi connections are available to Airlie Beach and/or the Whitsunday Islands. There is also Hamilton Island airport which is one hours travel by ferry from Airlie Beach. Ferries also leave Hamilton Island and travel to Daydream Island, Hayman Island and Long Island.Cruise Whitsundays (the ferry operator) will move its operations to a new terminal at the Port of Airlie Marina in September 2014.

One word sums up Airlie Beach's climate: tropical. This means pretty uniform warmth throughout the year, which is divided into two distinct rainfall seasons.

Summer

In 'summer' (which stretches from December to February, although temperate seasons really are just academic in the tropics), you can expect temperatures to range over a narrow band between 25C and 35C, with extremely high humidity and precipitation. This is also the cyclone season, which accounts for the lack of events scheduled in this period.

Autumn

'Autumn' (March to May) is still hot and wet, with a significant chance of cyclones. Towards the end of May, however, temperatures are 5C cooler, on average, and precipitation levels drop significantly; make the most of these pleasant conditions at the Airlie Beach Food and Wine Festival.

Winter

In 'winter', the mercury no longer tops 30C (although average lows don't dip far below 20C) and precipitation levels plummet. This is the season of Airlie Beach Race Week, a sailing regatta that makes use of the spectacular waters of the Whitsunday Passage.

Spring

'Spring' is the driest time of year, and combines the best temperatures (generally in the mid- to high-20sC) with the greatest concentration of festivals and events. The Airlie Beach Triathlon, one of the biggest in Queensland, is staged in September, while the Whitsunday Fantasea Reef Festival, a celebration of the Great Barrier Reef, takes place in November, just before the weather gets really hot.