When I decided to go to Airlie Beach I didn’t know much of what was the place about and what was there to do, but I ended up finding some destinations easy to access from the very center.
The center and busiest part of Airlie Beach is where the public swimming pool is. Not far from the Greyhound bus stop. I stayed in a hostel very near Airlie Beach Lagoon, the swimming pool, and this is the busiest part of Airlie Beach. There are lots of shops, souvenir shops, restaurants, and nightlife is also here. I ended up spending New Year’s Eve in Airlie Beach which was maybe not a good idea for my pockets as the hostel was full and double the price. And because I didn’t plan things well, I ended up having to switch hostels. The place was super crowded for the New Year’s holidays.
I did spend some time at Airlie Beach Lagoon and around, walking to Coral Sea Marina which offers nice ocean views, and also to Boathaven Beach where I saw the cutest black cockatoos flying freely around. AWESOME! At this beach, there were people swimming and sunbathing but for example at Airlie Beach itself, no one was in the water. It was weird that the ocean was just there but everybody seemed to prefer the swimming pool. I think it was because of the jellyfish. There were signs of danger spread around and I wouldn’t want to be the one getting stung so I did as locals do, because they must know better. This way, I didn’t go for a swim at Airlie Beach ever.
After exploring the surroundings, I had to find more places to excite me. One of them was this day trip to Coral Beach.
From Airlie beach to Coral beach
This beach is kinda far from Airlie Beach, walking there is definitely not an option, but there is a public bus that stops not that far.
On this day I took a bus from Airlie Beach to Shute Harbour. The bus stops right in front of the hostel and the bus stops are easily spotted and signed, just search for Shute Harbour Road at Airlie Beach Central. The bus schedule is easy to find, just ask at your hotel. At the hotel, they gave me a proper printed bus schedule which was very useful. I could pay in cash for the ticket on the bus, which wasn’t expensive, and I left the bus at the last stop. Take plenty of water and even food with you because you will not see any place to buy these things, except at the Harbour cafe where I bought a pie. At the harbour they indicated to me which way was the trail to Coral Beach because I was kinda confused. My GPS in Australia was never accurate. NEVER. It would never show the location with precision which sucked to realize which direction should I go. Gladly everything is signed and there is no way to get lost on this trail.
So I followed the indicated directions. On my way the views are gorgeous. The scenery at the harbour itself is already rewarding. So beautiful this area. The water color is a delight. Before reaching the proper forest trail I had to walk in the street for quite a while, but I had some gorgeous views while walking here, so even though it was very hot, it didn’t bother me that much.
The start of the trail to Coral Beach is signalized. There is a dirt parking lot and the trail starts there. Then the path is through the bush. Very easily done and quiet. I didn’t come across many people on this trail, nor at the beach that was all mine for quite some time.
The beach is not the most stunning ever, but is tucked between some hills which gives it a charming vibe. The sand is filled with shells and it is not fine and comfy to walk on. There were some people snorkeling, and some fishing, but overall not many. If you are looking for a quiet beach, this is a very good option.
At the right end of Coral Beach was another trail to a viewpoint. I decided to explore it too.
It’s a view of the surrounding islands and the sea. Beautiful! And not that far from the beach, so might be worth a walk through the jungle.
View on the way back to Airlie Beach. Notice how the colors change:
Honeyeater Lookout trail
On another day I decided to follow the Honeyeater Lookout trail having no idea that it would be this long. But you don’t have to go all the way to the end of the trail to enjoy beautiful views. The beginning of this trail is up a hill and to get there you will cross majestic views of the Airlie Beach area. WOW so beautiful up there. I’m sure there are accommodation options up here and I think this might be a great spot to wake up and have stunning sea views. Be ready to spend some hours walking this trail to the viewpoint and back. I had nothing else to do so I ventured into the Australian jungle.
I ended up seeing a snake I had never seen before. Looked dangerous because the belly was red and the top was pitch black. I saw a bunch of snakes and almost stepped on one so I grabbed a stick and was rustling the leaves on the floor as I walked to warn the animals that something was coming. I also saw a big yellow-spotted monitor lizard crawling up a tree. It froze as it saw me and I could stare at it for quite a while in amazement, watching how its skin was shedding and how he was holding onto that tree trunk. I looked it in the eye. I also saw a cute smaller lizard with a red and blue belly, we also exchanged eye contact as I took several pictures, but the highlight of the forest trek was a spider encounter. The cutest spider I have ever seen. Yes, it’s true. I saw the smallest tiny spider filled with colors wow. It was a colorful jumping spider OMG so cute!!! I tried to snap some pictures but the thing was so small that my camera was having trouble focusing on the animal. Maybe, I spent so much time on this trail because I stopped to stare at different animals for quite some time.
At the very end of the trail is a viewpoint and a bench. Only came across a handful of other people while I relaxed there. The view is beautiful indeed! I didn’t regret doing this hike at all.
And, besides these 2 days of exploring around I have also done the Whitehaven Beach day tour and the scenic flight above the Great Barrier Reef.
