Whitehaven Beach is a sliver of white-sand and clear water heaven, but it usually takes a few hours to reach the secluded spot by boat. With this tour, quickly reach the beach by helicopter from Whitsunday Airport. Get aerial views of the Whitsunday Islands on a roughly 15-minute flight, spend some free time on the beach, and head back to the coast. You’ll have plenty of time left in your day for another adventure.

Ideal for travelers who want to see Whitehaven Beach but don’t have time for a boat ride
Be back in Airlie Beach after a few hours
See the beautiful Whitsunday Islands from above
Transfers to and from Airlie Beach are available at no additional cost

What's Included

Helicopter flight to Whitsunday Island
1.5 hours of beach time at Whitehaven Beach
In-flight pilot commentary

Food and drinks - order a gourmet platter to enjoy on the beach! Contact GSL team

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

384 Shute Harbour Rd
384 Shute Harbour Rd, Airlie Beach QLD 4802, Australia

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

We provide ground transfer from GSL Whitsundays (384 Shute Harbour Road) to Whitsundays Coast Airport in Proserpine

What To Expect

Whitehaven Beach

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Total weight per passenger: 125 kg
Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Adult pricing applies to all travelers (Ages 3+)
Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund.
All passenger weights must be advised at time of booking

Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Most travellers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 3 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Featured review

Gilles_A

Wonderful experience with my partner. Landed on the beach, went for a swim, and then an amazing gourmet platter with Champagne . Couldn't think of a better way to experience beautiful Whitehaven beach. Our pilot was 1st class, extremely attentive to our needs. Couldn't be happier, and worth every cent. Highly recommend it.

Reviews

5.0

47 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 47 reviews

Wonderful experience with my partner.

Gilles_A, May 2023

Flynn

Kyla_K, Oct 2022

Our pilot FLYNN was amazing!! He was super relatable and very professional! Loved every second of our flight

Amazing flight and crew but didn’t get what we paid for

Marika_M, Apr 2022

Absolutely loved the flight and the pilot with the other crew. The flight was spectacular and the crew were just beautiful and funny. The pilot was absolutely amazing and would highly recommend. However, we experienced false advertising. It states 2 hours time with 1.5 hours at Whitehaven but we only got an hour. Not happy as we paid for something we did not get. When we got back we had to wait 40 minutes before we could leave the airport because we had to wait for another plane to come in. The bus driver Jen? was so gorgeous and not her fault but a lot of time was wasted.

Response from Host, May 2022

Thank you for your review. The total tour time is 2 hours with approx 1.5 hours to spend at Whitehaven Beach. Occasionally, due to the wind and certain weather forecasts, it can take slightly longer in travel time to get to the beach. This will therefore take away from the beach time, unfortunately. We will look into this and will pass your feedback on to our management team. We hope you have a great day.

You need to see the Whitsundays from the air !

Karen_C, Dec 2021

From the beginning to the end of our tour when we were dropped back to our accommodation, the customer service was friendly and informative . The helicopter ride to Whitehaven was fantastic - so exciting ! The whitsunday islands need to be seen from the air. Whitehaven Beach is beautiful. Loved every minute. Big shout out to Travis ( tour guide) Jack ( our pilot ) and Rosie ( tour guide and pilot )!

Response from Host, Jan 2022

Hey Karen, Thank you so much for your review and lovely comments. We are so pleased you enjoyed your experience with GSL Whitsundays. I'll also pass your comments onto Jack and Rosie :-)

Incredible!

Martika_B, Aug 2021

So AMAZING. Would definitely recommend. We want to do it again next time we are back. Beach to ourselves and it was so beautiful

Response from Host, Sept 2021

Hi Martika, Thank you for your review. Being in a Helicopter is truly a wonderful experience and of course the beach to yourself. :-) Thank you for sharing this experience with us. Look forward to welcoming you again! Thank you! Team GSL

Stacey W

Stacey_W, May 2021

It was the most incredible experience at a very good price. Highly recommend! The weather was perfect and the beaches are second to none.

Response from Host, May 2021

Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to leave this awesome review. We are so spoilt here in the Whitsundays to be surrounded by such beauty! We are so pleased to hear you had a great time and had the opportunity to experience it alongside GSL. We look forward to having you join us again and we thank you for your recommendation. Kindly, GSL Whitsundays

Whitehaven Helicopter ride

Kristen_A, Mar 2021

Amazing experience! The trip was certainly ticked off the bucket list. Viator was wonderful to deal with from start to finish. Would recommend to anyone.

Response from Host, Mar 2021

Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to leave this great review. We are so pleased to hear you enjoyed your trip with GSL and are honoured we were able to assist you with ticking it off your bucket list. Viewing the GBR from above is truly stunning and the beauty can only be understood when experienced first-hand. We hope you were able to take some great photos - don't forget to tag us so we can see how much fun you had. Kindly, GSL Aviation

Absolutely awesome highly recommend

raymond_h, Dec 2020

To see the reef close up it's a bucket list item everyone should do. The whole experience was mind blowing and a fantastic pilot.

Response from Host, Dec 2020

Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to leave this great review. We work hard each day ensuring we provide the best experience in the Whitsundays. We are so lucky to have such a great team of pilots - I'll be sure to pass on the kind words. We look forward to having you join us again and we thank you for the recommendation. Regards, GSL Aviation

Incredible experience

Christopher_M, Sept 2019

Absolutely amazing, such a beautiful part of the world. Our pilot Dave was very friendly and accommodating, so too were the transfer drivers. The ride itself is so smooth, wasn’t expecting that! And the views are simply beautiful. Definitely worth every penny getting the helicopter, views just can’t be beaten.

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Hi there, Thank you for your wonderful review. This is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We hope you got to take lots of great photos to show off - don't forget to tag us so we can see how much fun you had with us. Thank you again for your fantastic review. We hope to see you again soon. Kind regards, GSL Whitsundays

Great opportunity to see the beauty...

Eidrees G, Mar 2018

Great opportunity to see the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsunday Islands from the sky. Unfortunately the sound aboard the noisy airplane was very bad so the commentary from the pilot was very hard to understand. There are no headphones provided, which was very unfortunate!

Response from Host, Mar 2018

TOUR OPERATOR COMMENT: Thank you for your feedback. So sorry about the noise on your heli tour. All passengers are given headsets for the purpose of noise reduction and commentary - we will make sure to follow up with this internally and investigate why you weren't given a headset. We'd love to have you on board again so that we can provide a better service for your tour next time. Thank you again for flying with GSL Aviation.