Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach is a coastal town and beach in the Whitsunday Region of Queensland, Australia, on the Coral Sea coast. It serves as the mainland gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. The town centres on a sandy foreshore, the man-made Airlie Beach Lagoon, Coral Sea Marina and the Bicentennial Walkway, and is known for sailing, island day trips and access to Conway National Park.

Visitors can expect a compact resort town set along a sandy beach and esplanade with palm-lined foreshore, swimming lagoon, marina and waterfront dining. The natural beach faces Pioneer Bay with views to the Whitsunday Islands. The main swimming area is the large, free, patrolled Airlie Beach Lagoon adjacent to the beach. The foreshore has parkland, BBQ areas, markets and the Bicentennial Walkway linking to Cannonvale and Coral Sea Marina where reef and island tours depart.

The area is traditionally part of the lands of the Ngaro and Gia peoples. The town was named after Airlie in Scotland and developed from the 1930s as a small coastal settlement, expanding significantly from the 1950s-1960s with tourism and as the service centre and departure point for the Whitsunday Islands and Great Barrier Reef.

Airlie Beach is the mainland tourism hub for the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, known for its sailing culture, weekly markets, and as a base for reef tourism and island access. It hosts community events and markets on the foreshore and is central to the region's visitor economy.