My best friend and I are planning to arrive Airlie Beach on Dec 24th and will likely stay for 4 full days. Will we be able to go on a sailing trip during these dates or will everything be closed for the holidays? Is the weather this time of year ok for sailing? Assuming we can go on an overnight trip,) our next dilema is whether to spend the remaining night(s) on Airlie Beach or on Hamilton island. Any thoughts? (We're both in our late 20s and would prefer not to be someplace that is primarily couples, families, honeymooners etc.) Thanks!

MM,

Check out Prosail (I think their website is prosail.com.au). They do the majority of overnight (2 night/3 day) sails out of Airlie, and are very reasonably priced. They have a range of boats, from backpacker-type to real luxury. I went on Dreamcatcher, which was perfect. Age ranges were mid-20s to mid-30s, and nobody was in a couple out of the 8 of us. The food was great, the boat was comfortable, and the whole thing was something like $400AUD.

As for the other nights, you'll have real problems finding reasonable accommodation up that way on the islands, as it will be Christmas (obviously). I would do a 2 night, 3 day sail and spend the other night in Airlie (you can do a day trip from there for the extra day). The other option is do a one-night/2 day sail and take your chances for Hamilton Island. There's one or two booking agencies on the main drag in Airlie that have last minute Hamilton Island (and some other) bookings, and I've seen the rates as low as $150/night (although in July). Again, it's a crap shoot, and if it were me I'd book the 2 nights sailing and relax in Airlie for the rest.

PixieChick,
Thanks for the great advice. I have 2 more quick questions:
1)Do you know whether people get seasick on those yachts after 2 nights/3days? (I suppose we could drug ourselves on dramamine for 3 days if need be).
2)We're planning to spend the first night and 4th night in Airlie Beach and will go sailing the second and third nights. Since accomodations in Airlie seem pretty cheap compared to Hamilton, would you recommend that we book a room in Airlie for all 4 nights so that we have a secure place to store our luggage while sailing? (I've heard that a lot of boats only want you to bring the minimum and that they don't offer storage for luggage).
Thanks!
MM

MM-

Nobody seems to get sick. The Whitsundays are quite calm. If you want, you could bring some Dramamine (get the non-drowsy kind from the US as it's not available here).

I wouldn't spend the money to book a room you won't be in just for your luggage. If you're staying in a hotel/motel, they should be able to hold your luggage for you for the middle nights. Just lock up the bags. You should only bring the minimum amount for the boat (ie. 1pr trousers/tracksuit pants, 1 jumper, 1 t-shirt, bathers...)

Have fun.

Hi mm93. Airlie Beach is a party town at night. It is full of backpacker having a great time.
There are alsorts of places to stay. We stayed at Waters Edge Resort (not on the water though.) but we are in our 50's.
I agree with the above posts.
Better book very quickly though for that time of year.
Enjoy.

try the australian section at the thorn tree
www.lonelyplanet.com

for further advice on airlie and sailing trips.