Fly Raft from Airlie Beach
Where Fly Raft picks you up in Airlie Beach: the 17 named stops, the 7:00 and 8:15 starts, Whitsunday Airport and Coral Sea Marina, and why not from Hamilton Island.
Fly Raft leaves from Airlie Beach and nowhere else. A courtesy bus collects you from one of 17 named stops in town, at the 7:00 AM start for the North option or 8:15 AM for the South option, and it is about 10 minutes to Whitsunday Airport, the small airfield near Shute Harbour where the flight leaves. After the flight a transfer takes you to Coral Sea Marina for the boat, and at the end of the day the bus drops you back at your stop. Pickup is included in the price, from US$388 a person (checked November 2026).
Pickup is from a named stop, not from any address in town.
The pickup stops
These are the 17 stops for the North option:
- Airlie Beach Hotel
- Tasman Holiday Parks - Airlie Beach
- The Hostel Airlie Beach
- Fat Frog Beach Cafe
- BIG4 Whitsunday Islands Holiday Park
- Colonial Palms Motor Inn
- at Water’s Edge Resort
- BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort
- Nomads Airlie Beach Hostel
- Discovery Parks - Airlie Beach
- Mirage Whitsundays
- Whitsunday Shopping Centre
- The Boathouse Apartments
- at Marina Shores
- NRMA Airlie Beach Holiday Park
- Mantra Club Croc Airlie Beach
- The Sebel Whitsundays Airlie Beach
The South option collects from 16 stops; the booking form shows them when you choose it. If your accommodation is not on the list, pick the stop nearest to it. The drop-off at the end of the day is at the same stops.
The airfield and the marina
There are two departure points in one day. The flight leaves from Whitsunday Airport, the airfield at Flametree near Shute Harbour, about 9 km by road from the centre of Airlie Beach. The boat leaves from Coral Sea Marina in Airlie Beach, about 10 km by road from the airfield. Both transfers are included, so you never need to find either on your own.
If you are driving yourself: booked on Viator, the same package also lets you meet at Whitsunday Airport instead of taking the bus; on GetYourGuide it comes with the pickup.
Arriving by air: which airport
Whitsunday Airport is not the airport you fly into. Commercial flights land at Whitsunday Coast Airport near Proserpine, which the Whitsunday Regional Council puts 30 minutes from Airlie Beach; by road it is about 38 km to the centre of town. Plan to arrive the day before your Fly Raft day: a 7:00 AM pickup leaves no room for a morning flight in.
For how the three airfields around Airlie Beach compare for scenic flights in general, airliebeachscenicflight.com covers Whitsunday Airport, Whitsunday Coast Airport and the others.
Not from Hamilton Island, not on a cruise day
The tour does not pick up or depart from Hamilton Island, and you join it from Airlie Beach; the GetYourGuide package departs from Airlie Beach. If you are visiting on a cruise ship, the day’s timings do not align with the ship’s schedule, so a shorter trip is the realistic choice.
Which start time
The start time comes with the option. North starts at 7:00 AM and visits two snorkel sites; South starts at 8:15 AM and gives you more time on Whitehaven Beach. On 14 November 2026 only the North option was on sale. Northern Exposure or Southern Lights sets out the difference, and the calendar at the top of this page shows which is open on your date.
More from Airlie Beach
Whitsundays Tours with Open Dates
Boat days, sailing trips and flights from Airlie Beach with live availability. What each includes and its cancellation terms are shown before you book.
Picked Up in Airlie Beach
The Fly Raft package collects you from a named Airlie Beach stop and drops you back there after the flight and the raft day.
Check dates