Airlie Beach offers the closest port to the Whitsunday Islands along the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland Australia. It's a small town of only 25,000 and has grown out of the area's popularity as a tourist destination. It's main industry remains tourism and as such there are many venues set up to accommodate travelers hoping to make trips to the Whitsunday Islands and the Outer Great Barrier Reef. While in the past, Airlie Beach appealed specifically to the backpacker crowd, it's popularity has spread and now there are facilities catering to all travel types. Even so, you'll still find no shortage of affordable accommodation around town.

If you arrive in Airlie Beach hoping to make your way to the islands, Abel Point Marina is where you'll find the boats. The marina is about a fifteen minute walk away from Shute Harbour Road.

The main drag in town where you'll find most of the affordable accommodation is called Airlie Beach proper. The developments stretches out to Cannonvale to the west of the strip. You'll also find ferries leaving for the Whitsunday Islands from the Julilee Pocket and Shute Harbour suburbs.

There are buses in town that connect the airport terminal with Airlie beach, but it is important that you purchase tickets before boarding at a booth inside the arrival gate. Tickets cost $15. Alternatively you could take a taxi which also costs about $15 per person.

Airlie Beach itself is not the best beach destination. The beaches themselves are overrun with jellyfish and you do not want to swim without a stinger suit to protect you. Instead, it is better to use Airlie Beach as a jumping off point to make your way to the Whitsunday Islands.

There are plenty of restaurants around town that are varying in price. They typically are set up to cater to tourists and as such the quality is usually not the best and the prices more than you might pay elsewhere. If you search hard you might be able to find a couple gems among the rest so read up on some reviews so you know what you're looking for.