Whitsunday Islands 24 Feb - 1 Mar 2021

Day 1 - 24 February 2021

For the first time in my travel career, I have never booked a holiday one day before I jet off the next day 🙀 I didn't feel ready as normally I'd plan and book my own holiday at least 3-6 months prior to make my trip super perfect. This time it was actually my partner who has done all the research and planning which was pretty nice to sit back and relax🙃 We stayed at our friend's place in Pyrmont the night before as we had to drop off our fur baby, Pixie with them. Our flight was at 11am with Jetstar which was delayed by 30 minutes. At the gate, there were these 2 Jetstar staffs who check people's carry on bag to make sure the weight doesn't go over 7kg and cus I was super smart and wanted to do the right thing, I bloody lined up to do the check which ended up having to pay $65 as we both had 2 bags each over by 3kg! If I didn't go to them then we would have been able to get away with it😫 Or if I pre-booked the extra kg then it'd have been $45 or check in bag would be $15. So yeah, had to learn the hard way lol 😅

The airport was actually busier compared to last November when we went to Uluru so this is a good sign for travel for sure.

We landed at Hamilton Island airport at 12.30 which we also had our ferry connection to Port of Airlie which took another 1.5 hr. If you were to stay at some of the fancy hotels like Beach Club, Intercontinental etc you'd have complimentary pick up as well.

When we got to Port of Airlie, we had maccas, bought some snack and drinks for our day trips and caught a cab to our accommodation at Mantra Croc Club which was about 5 minutes drive. The check in staff was super friendly and even congrats us on our 12 year anniversary😍 Our anniversary is on 23 Nov but whenever I go on my holiday or book my clients, I always put a note that it's special occasion and most hotels would do something nice for you. In our case, we got a bottle of red in our room 🍾

The room is spacious and clean. Not my usual type of accommodation but we had $450 credit with Qantas to use and this one the most decent one on their site. For 4 nights including breakfast was $721 so we ended up paying $271 after using the credit so $68/night with breakfast for 2 of us is not bad. Breakfast here is $25/person if you book it separately so make sure to get the room rate with breakfast as it's worth it.

At 5pm, we went for a swim and the water was warm. Scott thought it was a heated pool but it wasn't as the sun was that hot that kept the water warm! We had cocktail by the pool and got ready to go have dinner with my Thai high school friends who were holidaying at the same time by coincident. Since it was their last night they wanted to party on which we would have joined them but we had an early start the next day so had to be responsible 😛

Day 2 - 25 February 2021

Breakfast was a buffet but we weren't allowed to do it ourselves due to covid19 so just had to choose whatever we want and the staff got it for us. Then we headed back to the marina to do our day trip to Daydream Island which was about 30 minutes by ferry.

When we arrived at the island, we were told to go to the Transit Lounge which the staff gave us a day guest wristband and a map. No explanation or nothing which was a bit odd so we ended up looking at the map and see what else we can do.

Our first stop was 10am feeding the fish session which there was a guide who explained to us about how they take care of the marine lives on the island. Then we decided to check out Lovers Cove which was a nice little coral beach and do some snorkelling.

What I'd highly recommend to get are:

- A full snorkelling face mask which breathing under water was so much easier, you can talk and it didn't fog up.

- A pair of snorkelling shoe which protect your feet , can take into the water and swim. They are also great for some light hiking trail.

- A bottle of Rose, cheese and dips to snack after your snorkel.

Lunch was included with the trip which we got an entree and main each at Inkstone Kitchen and Bar. Their Salt & Pepper Crusted Squid was amazing😋 Drinks wasn't included.

After lunch, we checked out the other side of the island which also had an open air cinema, a church and small size swimming pool. We hiked through their rainforest trail for 20 minutes and went back to Lovers Cove for another swim. This time no one else was around so we got the beach to ourselves 😊 Around 4 ish we checked out their man made underwater observatory which was built 2 years ago. It was very pretty and you can do yoga here as well!

Before we caught our ferry at 5.45pm we had a quick swim at the pool bar with some cocktails to complete our day🍸

Day 3 - 26 February 2021

Disaster is probably the best way to describe today trip and I wished I cancel the sailing tour we did.

It started to rain all morning but stopped for a bit after we got to the marina for our sailing tour. When we checked in, I asked the staffs what were our options if we want to cancel and they said no refund and we can change our date only once. We were there for 2 more days but the weather forecast said raining all week and the staffs said our day was probably the least rain so we decided to go ahead.

After we sailed off for 30 minutes, it started to rain again and didn't really stop. Our first stop was at Whitsunday Island and checked out Whitehaven beach. While we were hiking up the tree covered some of the rain which was okay but when we got down to the beach....... boy oh boy the rain was like thousand of needles and it came in all direction so that was fun....... NOT😖🌧

We were meant to be picked up to go back to the boat at 1pm but by 12pm, everyone was over it and the crew picked us up earlier.

Lunch started soon after but imagined this, 70 people on board with indoor area that could only accommodate 30 people crammed into a small space like sardines in a can. Most people had to stand and eat while the boat was unstable so yeah, not fun. A lot of people wasn't happy about the tour and I have emailed the cruise company about this. I think if they gave us an option of cancelling with a small cancellation fee of 20-30% then I'd be happy to cop the fine as I know they have cost to operate as well but that wasn't an option at all.

I'm pretty sure that if the weather was nice, this would be an amazing experience but even when I tried to be positive and make the most of it, 8 hours of rain, cold, wet and sea sick just really shit me off to be brutally honest.

On a positive note, the crew knew it was a shitty day for everyone in the rain and they made sure to take care all of us so hats off to them🙏

I'd be more comfortable to book this tour for my clients if they change their cancellation policy and I'd definitely go back again if the weather is better.

Day 4 - 27 February 2021

Scott knew it was going to be a rainy day before we booked our trip so today was a road trip day for us to check out some attractions.

We hired a car for $90/24 hour which was pretty handy as we checked out a few place but the highlight would have to be Eungella National Park. Normally people go there to hike and see the look out point but all we could see was cloud which was amazingly beautiful. I'll definitely come back here again when the weather is nicer.

Day 5 - 28 February 2021

Next stop Hamilton Island🤩

We caught the 10am ferry to the island so we can do some free activities on the island before we check into our hotel at 2pm. Transfer was also complimentary but I stupidly told them the wrong time lol. Luckily the hotel is a 5 minutes drive so Cristina ( check in staff) came and pick us up when we rang her.

We got to the hotel at 12pm and Cristina took us into the lounge to check us in. The moment when we walked in there we were like "OMFG, this place is F***ING AMAZING". Everything was so pretty and we got champagne with a canape while we were checking in. Cristina explained about the hotel, where to eat for our anniversary dinner, what to do etc. All the staffs were soooooo nice as well. I can literally stay here forever😍

Since our room wasn't ready, we were going to have a swim but at 12.30pm Cristina called us again and said our room was ready woot woot 🥳 Walking into our room was like the best thing ever cus we 💓💓💓 the place.

We saw a lot of people with buggy everywhere and Scott has serious case of FOMO ( Fear Of Missing Out), he said lets go get one after checking in. When we got to the buggy office, they said they were booked out until 5 March! We were like WTF! Like how????

Then we walked to the marina which was like 10 minutes to get some fish and chips for lunch. Oh and the whole island is owned by one family so wherever you go, when you need to pay for something, all you need is your last name, room number and where you are staying. You can then finalise your bill when you check out. Pretty cool huh?

Another cool thing with our hotel is that the staff can pick you up anywhere on the island for free. All we needed to do was call them. While we were having lunch, it started to rain so they picked us up back to the hotel😎 Now that's service!

When we got back to the hotel we asked the reception if there is anything they can do with the buggy booking and she said she can call them in a bit to see if there would be any last minute cancellation.

You can refill your filtered or sparkling water for free in the lounge and they provide free sunscreen and insect repellent. There are other hotels/resorts near ours which you can use their facilities as well. Beach Club is 18+ only. Perfect for a romantic getaway😍

We were going to use the stand up paddle boards but it was too windy and unsafe boooooooooo 😩

After lunch, reception rang and said she got a buggy for us!😁 But it started to rain again so heavily so we had to decide whether we still want it or not. Eventually I made the executive decision to just get it and hope for the best. I thought it was meant to be that we got it and the rain magically stopped soon after!

We drove around the island which was a pretty cool experience and would highly recommend anyone to do this.

For dinner, we ate at the hotel's restaurant which was nice. Degustation menu was $130 with pairing wine $70 per person. We didn't do this as the menu wasn't too exciting so we just did À la carte. Their Surf and Turf which was Moreton Bay bug + Wagyu was really yummy😋

Day 6 - 1 March 2021 ( Last day😭)

Our transfer back to the airport was at 11.45am for 1pm flight. Check out time was 10am however we got late check out until 11.30am so that was kinda cool.

We had to drop off our buggy at 9am so we took it out for another spin before coming back to have breakfast at the hotel. We checked out IGA near the marina and the Wildlife centre where you can also take pictures with the Koalas.

For breakfast, we decided to have it in our room so that was a nice experience. We had some free time before our transfer so just walked around and checked out Reef View hotel as I have a client who will be staying there at the end of March.

Back at the airport, there is a cafe where you can get food and drinks before your flight as well. We got 1A and 1B on our flight back home which gave us more leg space!

Overall experience of this trip - 6 out of 10.

The Boo Boo list😫

😫 Weather.

😫 Sailing trip through the rain.

😫 No suggested itinerary for Daydream Island trip.

😫 Only 1 night stay on Hamilton Island.

The Awesome list😍

😍 Staying at the Beach Club Hotel on Hamilton Island.

😍 Amazing customer service of the Beach Club Hotel.

😍 Driving the buggy.

😍 Breakfast in our room.

😍 Complimentary wine and champagne for both hotels.

😍 Lovers Cove Coral beach. 😍 Eungella National Park.

So how much did we spend on this trip?

Flight (carry on) - $360

Carry on penalty - $53

Accommodation 4 nights @ Mantra Croc Club - $135

Accommodation 1 night @ Beach Club - $390

Daydream island trip $169

Whitsunday sailing - $209

Car hire - $45

Total per person - $1,361

Bare in mind that we booked everything literally a day before we go so we could have saved more money if we booked in advance. I'd definitely go back and would stay on Hamilton Island longer next time. Best time to visit Hamilton Island is April - June.

If you want to visit the Whitsundays I can definitely help you organise your trip and you are not paying anything extra.

So how do I get paid? By you booking your accommodation, tours and flight through me. Our suppliers give us Travel Agents small percentage of commission so essentially you are getting my free service, tips and my job is to make sure your holiday is hassle free so why book online or by yourself when I can do everything for you 😁

📞 0425328050

📧 sekha@itravel-au.com