Sailing the Whitsundays on the Atlantic Clipper

While traveling along Australia’s East Coast, I knew that I wanted to visit the Whitsundays. These islands, located in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef, are known for their beauty and overnight sailing trips. After lots of research, I decided to book a two-day, two-night sailing tour on the Atlantic Clipper boat.

Day 1 – Setting Sail

I was already staying in Airlie Beach (where the tour would be departing from), so I had the entire morning to prepare for my voyage. Only a small bag is allowed on board, so I could pack a limited number of items into my daypack. Luckily the company provides a packing list, so this wasn’t too difficult. In addition to clothing and toiletries, you are allowed to BYOB as well. I booked the tour for August, which is winter in Australia. This is one of the best times to visit the islands because the weather isn’t too hot, and there is also a much lower risk of being stung by deadly box jellyfish during this time.

I made it to the departure point at 2:30 PM, right on schedule, and met my companions for the next few days. We soon boarded our boat, where we met our crew and had a safety briefing on the top deck. We were then shown to our rooms which were extremely small; I could understand why no large bags were allowed! After meeting my two roommates, I headed back up to the top deck and watched as we left the dock and set sail for the islands. We had a full boat with 54 passengers, but half of the group was on a tour and didn’t really talk to the other half of us.

The Atlantic Clipper

My room on the Clipper boat

Before long we were in open waters, where we dropped anchor and got to enjoy one of the boat’s two waterslides (first, we put on the full-body stinger suits that were provided to avoid stings from box jellyfish). The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out with fellow passengers and enjoying the sunset from the open water. For dinner we had a surprisingly good spaghetti bolognese, and then a group of us spent the evening on the top deck. The stars were beautiful, and I enjoyed watching big fish swimming and playing in the boat’s lights. While the Clipper is known for being a party boat, it was a tame night onboard.

The first night’s beautiful sunset

Stargazing on board

Day 2 – Sightseeing, Sunbathing, and Snorkeling

We had an early-morning wake-up call the next day, with the crew blasting the Circle of Life through the speakers. After having breakfast and getting ready for the day’s excursions, we took a small boat to Whitsunday Islands National Park. Once we arrived we had a short hike to a really beautiful viewpoint. The water was absolutely gorgeous, and we could even see stingrays from our vantage point!

Whitsunday Islands National Park

Next we headed down to Whitehaven Beach, and the water was so pretty that I actually got in despite my fear of fish. Some group members saw a small shark swimming in the knee-deep water; I didn’t get to see this, but I did see a stingray which was exciting. We spent a couple of hours enjoying the beach, and then we returned to the boat for lunch.

In the afternoon, the group members who opted to scuba-dive went out on a diving boat, while the rest of us could choose to snorkel instead. I even opted to participate since they gave us noodles to float on if we wanted. We got into our trusty stinger suits and headed to the nearby snorkeling spot; the fish and coral were really beautiful and colorful.

After spending some time snorkeling, we headed back to our trusty boat and spent some time swimming (while still in our stinger suits). In the late afternoon, we were finally allowed to open the locked fridge with all of our alcohol; the company doesn’t let you drink until the day’s swimming activities are completed, which is obviously very smart and responsible.

We got ready for the evening’s “white party,” where we all donned white outfits and enjoyed another beautiful sunset. As the sun was setting, we spotted a humpback whale close to the boat which was an incredible experience! We had fish for dinner, and then most of the non-group-tour had a fun night hanging out on the top deck with the crew members. We stayed up until the boat’s midnight curfew and then returned to our bunks for our last night onboard.

Our white party outfits

The one group photo we got

Day 3 – A Final Morning Swim

We had another early-morning wake-up call the next day and then got into our stinger suits, this time to enjoy the big inflatable water slide. After a final morning of swimming, we headed back to Airlie Beach and said our goodbyes to each other. I wasn’t sure what to expect on the notorious Clipper boat, but it turned out to be a really incredible experience! It was the perfect way to enjoy the Whitsundays.