Ocean Rafting: Whitehaven Beach, Snorkelling & Hill Inlet Lookout
Description
"THE ORIGINAL AND MOST AWARDED TOUR IN THE WHITSUNDAYS" Visit three top destinations whilst having the ride of your life! Each Ocean Rafting day includes an exhilarating ride to world famous Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet Beach and Lookout, pristine snorkelling reefs and guided Whitsunday Island National Parks walks, all in one day! The semi rigid inflatable vessels are super fast allowing you to experience a fun ride, adventure and education amongst the natural beauty of the Whitsundays. Ocean Rafting offers two different Whitehaven Beach tours to choose from, the Northern Exposure and the Southern Lights tour. The significant difference between the two tours is that the Northern Exposure offers more snorkelling time and the Southern Lights offers more Whitehaven beach time. Ocean Rafting is the only tour operator to have direct access to the stunning and iconic Hill Inlet beach and secret snorkel sites around the Whitsundays ensuring a memorable underwater experience.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Explore the Whitsunday Islands in one day, snorkelling at special fringing reef locations and the enjoying the ultimate access to Hill Inlet and Whitehaven Beach.
Check in at Ocean Rafting's office at Coral Sea Marina or take advantage of a courtesy transfer from your accommodation.
Experience world famous Whitehaven Beach and the beautiful swirling sands of Hill Inlet at the northern end of Whitehaven Beach.
Ocean Rafting offers the ultimate access to Hill Inlet beaches and lookout. Enjoy a guided walk to Hill Inlet lookout for photo opportunities of the famous view!
Experience world famous Whitehaven Beach and the beautiful swirling sands of Hill Inlet at the northern end of Whitehaven Beach.
Multi award winning Ocean Rafting visits the “Wild Side” of the Whitsunday Islands, the uninhabited islands with beautiful natural scenery brimming with marine, bird and animal life. There are two exciting tour options, the Northern Exposure and Southern Lights. Each Ocean Rafting day offers three days in one, including an exhilarating ride to Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet, pristine snorkelling reefs and guided Whitsunday Island National Parks walks. Ocean Rafting offers the ultimate access to the stunning and iconic Hill Inlet beach and special snorkel sites at Hook Island and Border Island ensure a memorable underwater experience. The semi rigid inflatable vessels are super fast allowing guests to experience a fun ride, adventure and education amongst the natural beauty of the Whitsundays. 32 passengers at most allows for personal snorkelling lessons and the pleasure of a small group. A buffet style lunch is served at the beach with plenty of time to swim in the turquoise ocean or just relax on the silica white sand. Ocean Rafting has been operating since 1997 and is proud to have special permits allowing its vessels to visit protected areas in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The Skipper and Eco Host will ensure guests have a fun filled adventure and personalised service with snorkel lessons and a guided National Park walk in the Whitsunday Islands. Tours depart from Coral Sea Marina North and courtesy coach pickups are included. -------------------- ITINERARY -------------------- Northern Exposure Explore the swirling sands of Hill Inlet beaches, lunch time in Hill Inlet, two snorkel destinations and Hill Inlet Lookout. This tour offers the ride of your life to experience unparalleled access to Hill Inlet Beaches at North Whitehaven where you will spend an hour relaxing on the beach. Join your guide on a bushwalk for breathtaking views at Hill Inlet Lookout. Snorkel two pristine fringing coral reefs around Hook Island, home to an array of tropical fish, turtles and other amazing marine life. Southern Lights Enjoy both ends and lunch time at world famous Whitehaven Beach, one snorkelling destination and Hill Inlet Lookout. Experience an exhilarating ride to the white silica sands of Whitehaven Beach, enjoying approximately two hours relaxing at South Whitehaven and a guided bush walk to Hill Inlet Lookout to view the spectacular shifting white silica sands. View pristine coral reefs at a top Whitsunday snorkel site, offering amazing marine life encounters in uncrowded locations.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
This tour included a tropical lunch and a sunsuit. Any dietary requirement must be advised 48 hours before travel. Please reconfirm your pick-up time with Ocean Rafting 48 hours before travel by calling. Please ensure your online check-in is completed 48 hours before check-in. This link will be in your confirmation email from Ocean Rafting. You don't have this. Please reach out to Ocean Rafting. Please note that if you are travelling to the Whitsundays on a cruise ship, the timings of this experience do not align with the visiting cruise ship schedule.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please back in a small bag swimwear, towel, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, refillable water bottle and comfortable walking shoes
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Reviews(4,934)
We scored Bonny as our guide and Hayden as skipper aboard Thrilla. Bonny had the energy of an 80s aerobics instructor three coffees deep, while Hayden looked like he should’ve had spurs attached to his thongs ready to ride Thrilla into battle. After a genuinely excellent safety briefing — including “if you don’t like the first two minutes, the next six hours are really going to suck” — we LAUNCHED into the Whitsundays. Whitehaven was spectacular, the snorkelling was some of the best I’ve ever seen — incredible coral, huge GTs, Nemo, Dory and marine life everywhere — and the wild ride home was brilliant. Then somehow it got better. We saw more than half a dozen humpbacks, including one fully breaching directly behind the boat. On my birthday. Ridiculous. Bonny and Hayden absolutely made the day. Hilarious, professional, knowledgeable and clearly passionate about the Whitsundays, marine life and conservation. An absolute cracker of a tour. If you’re in Airlie Beach, do it. 10/10
Now THAT is a birthday worth remembering! 🎂🌊🐋 A fully breaching humpback right behind the boat?! Talk about the ultimate birthday surprise! 😂 We’re stoked Bonny and Hayden delivered the full Thrilla experience—big rides, incredible snorkelling, plenty of laughs and a few questionable 80s aerobics vibes! 💪😆 Thanks for the epic 10/10 review. We’ll see you back on Thrilla for the next adventure! 🤙 Team Ocean Rafting
We had an amazing day with Ocean Rafting on the Thrilla on 15 August! The whole day was incredible, but the crew really made it special. They were so friendly, funny, energetic and always there to make sure everyone was having a great time. The boat ride was so much fun and the snorkelling was amazing. We saw so many beautiful fish, a turtle and even whales during the day! 🐢🐋 The Whitsundays and Whitehaven Beach were absolutely stunning. Everything was really well organised, and the atmosphere on the boat was just amazing from start to finish. A huge thank you to the whole Thrilla crew for such an unforgettable day! I would 100% recommend Ocean Rafting to anyone visiting the Whitsundays. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip in Australia! 🇦🇺
What a THRILLA of a day! 🌊🐢🐋 We’re so stoked the crew brought the laughs, energy and good vibes from start to finish—and that you got the full wildlife bonus with fish, a turtle AND whales! 😍 Thanks for the 100% recommendation and for making Thrilla part of your Aussie adventure. We’re thrilled it was a highlight! 💙🤙 Team Ocean Rafting
The skipper, who came from Chile, as well as Louis were PERFECT!!
Thank you so much for this wonderful feedback! 🌊💙 We’re thrilled that our skipper from Chile and Louis were PERFECT! 😄🤙 We really appreciate your trust and hope to see you again soon for another adventure! Team Ocean Rafting
Ocean rafting is really fun and fascinating！Love the bumpy and wild journey and it was such an adventure when the speed of wind was about 25 knots today. Luckily we enjoyed much sunshine on the Hillet Lookout and Whitehaven Beach. We also encountered whales during this journey and watched the breaching！Crew members are all very friendly. Kai, Kerr and Abbie are the best！
We were with the duo Daisy & Tim. Very welcoming and full of energy! A very beautiful day made of speed, fun, and discoveries of the beauty of nature. We highly recommend it!
Thank you so much for this wonderful feedback! 🌊😄 We’re thrilled that Daisy and Tim made your day full of speed, fun, and beautiful discoveries! 🏝️💙 Thanks for your recommendation, and we hope to see you back on the waves very soon! 🤙 Team Ocean Rafting
Great experience despite not so sunny weather! We went with the Wipeout - Captain Daisy and Abby were just the best crew to get the most fun out of a not-so-sunny day out at sea! Gotta love this all-female team <3 you can truly feel how much they do love their job and interacting with people. Ride was a bit bumpy, but the coolest playlist made up for that, even when it was raining like crazy! We even saw whales on the trip to the Whitsunday beach - it was beautiful and awesome to experience this wonderful nature. I would recommend the Wipeout, Abby and Daisy anytime and +++. Thank you ladies!
Rain, waves, whales and an all-female crew? Sounds like a proper Ocean Rafting adventure! 🌧️🌊🐋💙 We’re stoked Daisy and Abby kept the vibes high with great tunes, big smiles and plenty of fun—even when the weather turned it up! 😄🎶 Thanks for the wonderful review and recommendation. We’ll pass the love on to the girls! 🤙 Team Ocean Rafting
Captain Smith (Brent) and Rose (Georgie) gave us a great day out on Thunderstruck. The sea was rough so we had a wild ride but the snorkelling and beach spots were calm. The crew were funny, passionate but professional and took great care of everyone on board. A fun and memorable day out.
Thanks so much for the awesome review! Sounds like Thunderstruck delivered the full adventure package — wild waves, calm snorkels, and plenty of laughs! Brent and Georgie will be stoked to hear they helped make your day a memorable one. Come back and ride the waves with us again soon! Team Ocean Rafting
Special shout out to Bernie and Louie (sorry if I spelt wrong) you guys made the trip a 10000/10. These 2 were so caring, kind, hilarious and gave us the best day of our lives. I brought my 5 year old along to the snorkeling trip and they went above and beyond to make sure she felt comfortable during the whole trip, even taking their jackets off to give my daughter to keep dry during the boat trip. The northern lights trip was beyond amazing. We went snorkeling with another company a couple days prior but will NEVER book with anyone else other than ocean rafting, thanks for the beautiful day❤️❤️
What an absolute legend of a review! Thank you so much for the 10000/10 — Bernie and Louie will be absolutely stoked to hear this. We’re so glad they made your little one feel safe, comfortable and part of the adventure. Sounds like they’ve officially set the bar pretty high! Thanks for choosing Ocean Rafting, and we can’t wait to have you back on board. Team Ocean Rafting
The crew on jammin were fantastic so much fun I have never had an experience like it the snorkeling spot was so beautiful and the lookout was great for photos I would highly recommend this trip especially on this boat
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear that you had such a fantastic time with the Jammin crew. It’s great to know you enjoyed the snorkeling spot, the lookout, and of course, the fun atmosphere on board! We really appreciate your recommendation and hope to welcome you back for another unforgettable adventure soon. 🌊☀️ Team Ocean Rafting
During the tour, a staff member opened a cooler with drinks and told us we could help ourselves throughout the trip. She encouraged us to take as many drinks as we wanted and then came around to write down our names. Since the meal was included and paid for in advance, we expected the drinks to be included as well, or at least to be clearly informed about the prices beforehand. However, we felt they took advantage of the situation, as we only realised they were charging for them when we disembarked. We ended up paying 30 AUD for just two cans of beer. The included menu didn't provide any complimentary drinks, so if you didn't pay extra, you had nothing to drink all day. On top of that, the food was quite bad: just two slices of processed chicken deli meat (not real chicken), four potatoes, and some quinoa with chickpeas. We certainly weren't expecting such a disappointing meal after paying for the most expensive tour in the area.
