Whitsunday Islands Travel Forum

My girlfriend and I recently sailed the Whitsundays for a week at the end of January on a bareboat yacht. Loved the place! Warm water, turtles, dolphins, not that crowded, good diving, lovely islands and beaches. Can anyone recommend another place in the world that is a great sailing playground with good diving and warm water/weather like this? I want to book another holiday, but going back to the Whitsundays might not be that creative of me...! We're UK based.

I live near the Whitsundays in Mackay and a few years ago I went on a cruise to Vanuatu and Noumea. I just fell in love with the Isle of Pines. Magical, laid back, uncommercialised and that water! However I think it is expensive and it is part of French Noumea.

Of course Vanuatu was lovely as well and much more affordable. There is one island in Vanuatu that I saw on a travel show that really took my eye. It is called Espirito Santo Island [ not sure of the spelling ] Fantastic beaches and the deepest blue fresh water lagoons! They were amazing!

Anyway I have pages on the Isle of Pines and Vanuatu if they interest you.

Hope all this helps...cheers and so glad you enjoyed your stay here!

How about the Maldives? I believe it is possible to take an island-hopping cruise rather than being based solely on a single resort island. I certainly enjoyed the snorkelling I did there and there were dolphins around. Do your research, and it might be possible to swim with a whale shark!

A little bit closer to the UK, try Mauritius and the Seychelles Islands like Reunion Island. Absolutely gorgeous places and have everything you described.

If you want to come back as far as Australia, there are hundreds of island to choose from including Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoan Islands, Cook Islands, French Polynesia.

Other beautiful islands off the coast of Australia worth visiting include Dunk, Bedarra, Hichinbrook, Orpheus and Magnetic Islands, Double, Green and Fitzy Islands, Great Keppel Island and many more. I recommend Dunk Island and Great Keppel Island.

The Whitsundays are pretty fantastic. We swapped a week on our boat in the Whitsundays for a week on a boat in Thailand and cruised around near Phuket. That was very nice and not expensive when you consider the cost of living in Thailand. We got to visit Krabi, Phi Phi and other islands as well as just sail around. We have also sailed in the Ionian Ocean around Corfu and surrounds and that was wonderful.