• Experience Type: Outdoor
• Activity Level: Relaxed
• ID Required: Yes
• Booking Required: Yes

Where do your seaplanes land at the reef?
We land inside Hardy Reef, which is one of the many reef structures which make up the Great Barrier Reef. Air Whitsunday have been landing at Hardy Reef for nearly 50 years.

How many people are normally on your tours?
Our largest aircraft can carry up to 13 passengers on a scenic flight, and our largest seaplane can carry a maximum a maximum of 10 passengers. Our helicopters can carry up to 3 passengers. On our seaplane tours to the reef, we sometimes we have a second aircraft travelling at the same time, so the maximum is 16 passengers on board our semi-submersible.

How long does it take to fly to the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier reef is about 30 minutes flight time from the mainland

Do you fly past Heart Reef on your tours?
Yes we do! Heart Reef was discovered by Air Whitsunday in 1974, and it's located within Hardy Reef. We fly past it on all of our reef tours.

What do we need to take on a full day tour?
Swimwear
Towel
Sunscreen
Camera
Hat
Sunglasses
Medications - such as epipens, antihistamines, or inhalers

What facilitiies are available while on tour?
The facilities in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are basic. Our glass-bottom boat does not have a treatment system onboard, so there is no toilet or showers. Camping toilets are available at Whitehaven Beach.

We are in the outdoors, and you may come across insects, bugs, wildlife, and marine life. You may also experience showers of rain, or inclement weather on certain days. We provide food/water for our guests, and carry first aid/emergency equipment on board the aircraft and our vessels.

What is the risk of stingers in the water?
In the summer months, there is a greater risk of encountering 'stingers' in the Whitsundays, although technically they could also be present in cooler months. Being stung is actually quite rare, and the risk is reduced (not eliminated) by wearing a stinger suit in the water. Air Whitsunday will provide a stinger suit for all of our guests, and the stinger suit also provides UV protection.

You can find plenty of information online about Box Jellyfish, and Irukandji, which are the primary risks when we refer to 'stingers'.

What sort of marine life will we see?
The Whitsunday Islands and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are home to an enormous variety of marine life. You'll find thousands of species around the Whitsunday region, but some of the larger varieties are Barramundi Cod, Groper, Parrot Fish, Giant Trevally, Maori Wrasse, Potato Cod, and Coral Trout. Yes, Nemo lives here too!

You can find surgeonfish (Dory), and clown fish (Nemo) amongst the coral of the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef. You may also spot sharks around the Whitsunday Islands and Great Barrier Reef. We commonly see small reef sharks, as they like to swim around the bottom of the coral bommies.

We may also spot tawny nurse sharks, which are friendly and often 1.5m - 2m long; they can be spotted from the air too! Many other species live in these waters, including tiger sharks, grey reef sharks, and hammer heads.

Other types of marine life include giant clams, turtles, rays, dolphins, dugong, and whales (in the winter months). Many of these can be spotted from the air too, particularly whales between the months of June and September.

Cancel or change your booking up to 24 hours prior to departure.

100% cancellation fee applies for cancellations, no shows, or booking changes within 24 hours of departure

Your voucher(s) and booking information will be included in the confirmation email you will receive shortly after purchasing the experience on Amazed.com.

If the booking needs to be first confirmed by the host, you will receive your Amazed voucher within 24-48 hours of purchase.