Whitehaven Beach

Whitehaven Beach is a 7-kilometre stretch of white silica sand on Whitsunday Island in the Whitsunday Region, Queensland, within Whitsunday Islands National Park and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Renowned for its 98% pure silica sand, turquoise waters and the swirling tidal patterns of Hill Inlet at its northern end, the undeveloped beach is accessible only by boat, seaplane or helicopter and is consistently ranked among Australia's most celebrated natural beaches.

Visitors arrive by licensed boat tour, sailing charter, seaplane or helicopter to an undeveloped natural beach with powdery white silica sand, clear turquoise water and fringing national park bushland. There are no shops, resorts or shade structures on the beach. Visitors can walk along the sand, swim in designated areas when conditions allow, and follow short bushwalking tracks to the Hill Inlet Lookout and Tongue Point Lookout for elevated views of the swirling sands of Hill Inlet. The experience is guided and nature-focused.

The Whitsunday Passage was charted by Captain James Cook in 1770. Whitehaven Beach was named in 1879 by Staff Commander E.P. Bedwell of the Royal Navy after Whitehaven in Cumbria, England. The beach and surrounding islands were incorporated into Whitsunday Islands National Park established in 1944 and later included within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area inscribed in 1981.

Located within the sea country of the Ngaro people, the Traditional Owners of the Whitsunday Islands, who have inhabited the region for thousands of years. The islands hold ongoing cultural significance for Aboriginal heritage, traditional knowledge and connection to land and sea.