The Great Barrier reef has always been a dream to visit and it was one of the main reasons why we decided to come to Australia. There are many tours offering a trip to Great Barrier reef and it’s difficult to pick the best one for you – we were looking for an eco tour, as well as a great snorkeling spot where corals still flourish.

Having read a lot about it prior to the trip, the effects of global warming on reef are real. Officially 20% of the reef has already died, though this number is said to be much higher. The main reason is in fact global warming since the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem needs constant temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees, otherwise it begins to disintegrate.

The northern part of the reef is the most affected, the corals are bleached in many areas, so we set on a tour to in the mid reef from Airlie Beach and combine the trip with another dreamy spot – the Whitsunday islands. And what better way to discover the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday islands thank flying over and landing on them?

Flying or cruising?

Flying over the Great Barrier reef was one of the most memorable experiences in our lives, so flying all the way! 🙂 Seriously, if your budget allows it, go for the flight and have a whole different perspective. We did a tour with Air Whitsundays and actually have both the flight and snorkeling in one round 5-hour trip. You’ll see the best of what the Great Barrier reef and the amazing Whitsunday islands including the Whitehaven beach have to offer. It’s cool that groups are small in size; in our case we were a group of 9 which is actually the maximum and we did feel super safe all the time. On top of that taking of and landing on water by a seaplane is just awesome.

The Panorama tour is all about experiencing both Great Barrier reef and the Whitsunday islands from above and below. This is also how the itinerary was set and we’ll share each experience mostly through photos.

Great Barrier reef from above

The tour started at 8 AM at Airlie beach, on the Air Whitsunday airport. We started of the tour with some safety instructions, rented out wet suits for snorkeling and headed towards the Great Barrier reef. Awesome scenes unfolded before our eyes, including the famous Heart reef which is actually quite small and difficult to find.

We reached the reef which is about 100 km from the coast at Airlie beach and had our first landing on water which was probably the smoothest we’ve ever had. According to our pilot it takes quite a lot of practice and there are risks of landing into waves, hitting corals or even whales but his 15 year old track record is spotless.

Great Barrier reef from below

We landed in a secure area and jumped on a glass bottom boat and admired the marine life. After a few minutes ride, we stopped for snorkeling for about an hour. The sight was well protected and for this operator only, so we had the coral walls all to ourselves. There are beautiful corals with plenty of colors and in fact better than we expected.

Since we were traveling in winter, the water was quite cold at 21 degrees. Glad we had those wetsuits! When coming back to the boat we were served champagne in the middle of the reef. How awesome is that? 🙂

Whitsunday islands and Whitehaven beach from above

We took the boat back to our plane and had another scenic flight above the Great Barrier reef and reached Whitsunday islands where we did several loops so everyone got a great look. That was also when we saw many whales flipping; nature at its best from above.

Whitehaven beach is the dreamiest spot you can imagine and the excitement just kept on building as we approached the beach.

Whitsunday islands and Whitehaven beach from below

We landed right next to Whitehaven beach, had some more bubbly champagne and had another snack. There was also some time to enjoy one of the world’s whitest sandy beach and take some nice photos with the seaplane.

Our last take-off took us above Whitsunday islands and slowly back to Airlie for the mainland touchdown.

Flying over the Great Barrier and Whitsunday islands was a dream and would highly recommend to anyone looking to experience both the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier reef in a unique way!