Picnic on Whitehaven Beach

On our fourth and final full day on Daydream Island we decided to book a day tour to Whitehaven Beach.

At the Daydream Island tour desk guests can book different tours depending on their needs. Unfortunately our experience was not the most encouraging. When inquiring about different day tours that would be suitable for two adults traveling with a small child the tour desk staff member basically said that there wasn’t anything suitable. This response surprised us as Daydream Island Resort is targeted at families.

Looking through the tour brochures we spotted the Picnic on Whitehaven Beach day tour and it was exactly what we wanted to do. A short ferry trip over to Hamilton Island, then another ferry out to Whitehaven Beach to spend a few hours relaxing in the sun, and then back to Hamilton Island for a few hours before returning to the resort in the evening. The tour included a picnic lunch and all transport and we were pleased to find the cost was just $130 per person. And as the child with us was under-age she was included at no additional cost.

Surprisingly the Picnic on Whitehaven Beach tour was brushed over by the Daydream Island tour desk staff we spoke to, with them really not encouraging us to book it at all. Whether that’s because it’s one of the most value-for-money tours that we were offered, or they don’t receive a lot of commission from the bookings I’m not sure, but it was something we needed to find in the brochure ourselves.

We left Daydream Island at 9am and took the Cruise Whitsundays Ferry over to Hamilton Island for short stop-over before continuing to Whitehaven. Picnic lunch is included in the tour and we received our lunch packs as we re-boarded the ferry from Hamilton Island. As a vegan and having a disappointingly limited selection of food available at Daydream Island Resort I was unsure of the quality of the vegan lunch I had requested through resort staff. However all my food fears were alleviated upon being given our packs. Thankfully Cruise Whitsundays are a completely different company to Daydream Island Resort and our packed lunches were impressive.

My vegan pack consisted of a fresh salad with dressing, sliced melon, an orange, a pack of dried fruit and a water bottle. The regular lunch my friend and her daughter each received was a ham and salad wrap, a tub of yoghurt, an orange, a cookie and a bottle of water. Everything we needed for a healthy, relaxing picnic lunch on the beach.

Arriving at Whitehaven Beach the ferry pulls all the way up to the shore and the beach is stunningly beautiful. Five kilometres of the softest silica sand in the world, the beach literally continues as far as the eye can see. The water is a pristine aqua green and crystal clear, inviting us to step in.

Disembarking the ferry we were offered jellyfish suits. I was unaware that the Whitsundays is home to many jellyfish that have a tendency to sting those swimming. However as we were there in July and peak jellyfish season is October to May we decided to go without and didn’t have any issues.

As we had a small child with us, the ferry staff whom remained on the beach for the full three hours we were there offered us a small beach tent at no additional cost, making the experience even more pleasant. The staff had also scattered various play equipment along the beach ranging from cricket bats, balls and wickets to buckets and spades which absolutely made our sandcastle obsessed little girl’s day.

Our time on Whitehaven was perfect. The sun was warm and shining, the water was beautiful for swimming, our picnic lunch was delicious, and there weren’t too many people on the beach with us.

When it came time to leave, we boarded the ferry and headed back to Hamilton Island for a few hours of exploring. Hamilton Island has a really nice town area with restaurants, cafes, shops and a small supermarket. We were able to buy sandwiches and wraps to take back to Daydream Island for an inexpensive dinner and sit down for an afternoon coffee in a cute cafe, enjoying the end of a beautiful day.

Our trip to the Daydream Island and the Whitsundays was made with the Whitehaven Beach tour. If we hadn’t done it, the holiday would have felt a little lacking due to the less than impressive resort facilities. However for what I feel was a very reasonable price, especially with everything that was included, the Picnic on Whitehaven day trip completed our Whitsundays getaway in style.