Air Whitsunday Seaplanes

We visited Airlie Beach for our honeymoon in June 2019. We were beyond excited to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef. Since I experience sea sickness, we decided to book the Panorama Tour. We called on June 22 to confirm our tour. We were advised that our plane was experiencing mechanical problems and our tour may be cancelled. The following day our fears were confirmed. Our tour was cancelled and it was too late to book a tour with an alternate company. We were crushed and disappointed that Air Whitsunday did not have a back-up plan. The only solution was to hope and pray that two of the passengers scheduled for the following day cancelled their trip. In the end, this company was the reason we did not get to snorkel in Australia and since we are from Canada, we may never have another chance . . .

Went on the Panorama tour recently and can highly recommend anyone doing this. This is basically 3 tours rolled into 1. A scenic flight, snorkelling at the outer reef (with a small group, which means you don't have other peoples flippers in your face) , then you get to have a couple of hours on Whitehaven beach, enjoying a swim and a delightful 3 course lunch.I could keep rambling on about how great a day this was,. This in all sincerity is a must do tour.

We went on the Panorama Tour package. Everything went great from the moment we stepped in the airport . It was reassuring to be taken in charge by true professionals as we were traveling with a 5 year old and my partner being 6 months pregnant. The tour took us to the best place in the Whitsundays as well as the reef and we felt privileged throughout the all tour. Lifetime memories come at a price but they’re within you forever!

BEST WAY TO ADMIRE THE BEAUTY OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF!Originally booked in for a private helicopter tour, then they advised the helicopter required maintenance and they offered 3 other options, one of them is a free upgrade to Panorama tour, which we took:- Seaplane up to 10 people- Land on Whitehaven Beach, wind permitting, if not Chance Bay- Second stop to a private lagoon in the heart of GBR for snorkeling- Snorkel gear + wetsuit included- Lunch includedWhat a day we had! We loved it so much! Pilot Steve is friendly and helpful, the seaplane is clean and in a great shape, and the whole experience on a seaplane with stunning views of GBR is just amazing.Really recommend!

Amazing flight over the Great Barrier Reef and over the Whitsunday Islands! It was breathtaking! Heart reef, Whitehaven Beach, hill inlet everything was aAmazing! Pilot was great and did a pass by each site in both directions allowing for great pictures no matter what side of the plane you were on! Highly recommended tour!

We’ve been to the famous Whitehaven Beach before but wanted to do something extra special this time so we went ahead and booked the Panorama Tour with Air Whitsundays.We joined three other couples on this tour and our first stop was southern Whitehaven Beach.We had an amazing aerial view of Hill Inlet before a making a water landing and motoring over to the waters edge where we stepped out of the plane straight onto the beautiful white beach!We had lots of free time at Whitehaven and also had a delicious 3 course lunch.After about 2.5hrs we took off in the seaplane again and headed to the Great Barrier Reef.During this flight we got to see the iconic Heart Reef from above and all the gorgeous colours of the GBR before making another water landing in a reef lagoon. We had the lagoon all to ourselves and had one hour of snorkelling time.After an truly wonderful day we got to see even more gorgeous Whitsundays views on our return to the airport.All in all an amazing day with great company 10/10

Amazing experience. Booked the panorama tour. Definitely worth it.

One of the best tours i made in Australia. I did the full tour 4,5h for 565$. But it was too much rain and we couldn`t fly to Whitehaven Beach, but i got 20% back...It was ever a dream from me to fly over the Great Barrier Reef and take pictures and so my expectations was very high^^. Its an awesome tour, we had later sun shine and the water got deep blue. After 20minutes flight we landed on the water and went to the own glas water boat. To be honest, this was a bit boring but it was just 5 minutes so allright^^. After that we reached the place where we could snorkeling with full equipment (allready in the price).I did 1 month later scuba diving but this wasnt so awesome like here. I snorkeled inside the Great Barrier Reef between corals for 1h it was enough time to see everythingIf you have enough money then its definitelly worth to pay at least tour d" so that you have the chance to snorkel..."

We initially booked the reef adventure tour which offers to land on the reef and do 2 hours of snorkelling. Because of the bad weather and strong wind it had to be changed to a 1h scenic flight on reef and whithaven island with an important discount. The crew have been very reactive to avoid us to loose our day. The tour itself is very beautiful and provides a view of the reef that you can't imagine when you are at the sea level.

We did the sea plane panorama tour to heart reef and Whitehaven.Air Whitsunday seaplanes have been taken over by GSL so the new company has been running this for less than two months. The day was fantastic. Tour was advertiser for 5 hours, but we were out for closer to 10 hours. It seems if they book two trips for the day, you get to spend longer out on the reef/islands.The day started with a free pick up, and a short drive to the marina where we were given a free coffee/juice and given our snorkel gear and weighed, then we drive thirty min to a little airport outside of Prosperine. Next was an hour flight to heart reef, where pilot Steve passed over twice, one for the left side, one for the right. So everyone got a good view, we then landed on the reef and went snorkeling. We had a slight problem with a leaky mask, but luckily there was one spare on the boat. The boat needs the mask defogging spray, because dish detergent just doesn’t work as well, and no one wants to smell detergent while snorkelling the reef. Some adult size swimming life jackets are also needed as poor swimmers would feel more confident than with the noodles. The pilot flew back to collect the second tour group, so we had two hours on the reef. We then flew 30 mins to Whitehaven. By this time it was after 1 pm, and we were very hungry. Travis was waiting on the beach for us, gladly took photos, while Steve turned the plane around so we got good photos. Next was lunch, we were very hungry as we had no eaten since our 730 pick up. Lunch was nice, under a gazebo for shade. Menu was pretty good. We did suggest to Travis that the amazing brownies be served on the reef for morning tea, and just the fruit after lunch would be plenty. We then had more than 90 mins at Whitehaven. There was one paddle board that most of us managed to fall off. We then flew into the port of Airlie. If the winds are good, and I presume if there is a group behind you, you get to land on the water again. You are met by a boat that takes you back to the marina. This saves a 30 mins road trip.Total cost was $599 each. It sounds expensive, but you get three seperate flights. (You can rotate sitting next to the pilot, so different groups can get the front view. Usually the tour will take four people. Our reef boat driver flew with us to the reef and flew back with the second group.) You get a fantastic view of the reef including heart reef and Whitehaven beach where you see turtles from the air. You get lunch, you get to go snorkelling with a small group and you get to go on a seaplane. It’s worth every penny. Why go on a boat, when you can go by plane and spend longer in the islands.The staff are brilliant. Dylan from booking came out on the footpath and sold us the tour, otherwise we may of kept walking. Steve the pilot was brilliant in his commentary. Travis seemed very interested in the guest experience, and was very keen to hear our thoughts and I have no doubt he will take on board our suggestions (and have menu /allergen ingredients laminated for gluten free passengers etc). Dimix2 were great too. Everyone just seemed so happy to be working here. I have some read some poor reviews about being cancelled by poor weather. All companies likes money, they only cancel for safety reasons. Landing on a choppy ocean is much harder than landing a helicopter on the beach or taking a boat to the beach. Bucket list day. Thanks