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Airlie Beach

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My first impression of Airlie Beach wasn’t great. I thought it was just a wierd little town on the water that didn’t have much to do or see. That was after driving 5 out of 6 long long days. I spent a night in Airlie Beach on my way up to Cairns and then came back down to do some sailing.My second impression was quite different though. Have spending a few days in Cairns recuperating and thoroughly enjoying the sunshine and water I felt very refreshed and ready to see something new.I booked the sailing in the Whitsundays while I was in Cairns and I think I may have booked it a couple days too soon. After diving the Saturday, I took my free trip to Green Island on the Sunday and then drove the 6 hours down to Airlie Beach on the Monday. I’m not a huge fan of organizing things to the hilt and then running around trying to complete everything so these few days felt rushed. I had to get to Airlie Beach before 6 on the Monday to check in at the sailing office and then be ready to go at 8 the next morning to get on the boat.Airlie Beach is basically a tiny little town that is made up of one main street and then a few streets up the hill to get to the houses there. The main strip is made up of hostels, bars, a couple of restaurants and a few places to shop.There is a bit of a beach but most of the coast is made up of a rocky shoreline. You can swim at a large lagoon they have near the water that’s patrolled by lifeguards every day.Aside from that there isn’t much to Airlie Beach. Cannonvale is just up the road from Airlie for major shopping and the Marina is just around the corner as well, which is the launching point for most peoples adventures in Airlie Beach, Sailing!!![gmap]