Much more than just a gateway to paradise, Airlie Beach is a worthy place to linger, says long-time visitor Craig Tansley. Find out why Airlie Beach landed at no.20 in your Top 50 Aussie towns.
Find the complete list of the Top 50 Aussie Towns here.
What makes Airlie Beach so dreamy?
Oh Airlie Beach, are you the most misunderstood town in Australia? You don’t even really have a beach, do you? You’re more a collection of tiny golden-sand bays that drain right out at low tide.
And visitors use you – don’t they? – as a stepping stone to somewhere else: the Whitsundays, the 74 dreamiest islands in Australia just offshore, one of the best sailing destinations on the whole planet.
Many of you have no idea how good Airlie Beach actually is, because you probably bypassed it and flew direct to Hamilton Island. Airlie Beach is a mix of very good places: there are traces of Byron, with its bounty of backpacker bars, but its streetscape is more an amalgamation of Port Douglas and Magnetic Island.
It has sparkling emerald waters with palm-fringed parks
Airlie’s main street is fringed by those turquoise waters that you expect to find here. From the middle of the day on, they look more emerald. Then there are the palm trees in the pretty parks and, beyond them, yachts straining at their anchor lines.
This is a town for yachties. You won’t meet saltier characters anywhere in Queensland; they’re the lifeblood of this place. It’s a working town, for working people: if you want all-out postcard-perfect, book Palm Cove. Dwarfed by hillsides of green rainforest, Airlie is a town you’ll drive around once and think: Is that it?
It is the perfect hidden retreat for a holiday getaway
And then 36 years later, you’re still uncovering bits of magic. I’ve been coming here since 1986 when my family fell in love with the place on a yachting holiday. Now one of my brothers lives here, my mother’s here most winters (on a yacht she’s lived on ever since Airlie and the Whitsundays got into her soul).
There’s always a new sunset bar somewhere, and a sunrise cafe just as close to the water. There’s a boardwalk and a bike and pedestrian path that follows the ocean right round from town. It’ll take you to the best places to eat, drink and be merry – just follow it.
Something’s always jumping in the water, but in a town populated with such a high proportion of colourful characters, I sometimes put my back to the sea to enjoy the show that is playing out on land.
Explore more of Airlie Beach in our travel guide or find out which other towns made it into your Top 50.
