Family Fun at Daydream Island Resort, Whitsundays

We have just returned from a family holiday at Daydream Island, which reopened earlier this month. Two years since Cyclone Debbie caused significant damage to the Island, and following a massive renovation and update, Daydream Island is now open for business and ready to welcome guests.

Below are all the details!

Location:

Daydream Island is a small private island located in the Whitsundays, Queensland. Daydream is one of seven islands of the Molle Group, a sub-group of the Whitsunday Islands and is the closest island to Airlie Beach,

Getting There:

We flew direct from Melbourne Tullamarine Airport to Prosperpine Airport. Cruise Whitsundays had organised a transfer for us from the airport to the Port of Airlie and then we took a 30 minute Ferry to the Island. You can also fly into Hamilton Island and ferry straight across to Daydream.

The Living Reef

Daydream's Living Reef is without doubt the heart of the island, with the fabulous new underwater Observatory giving guests a chance to get up close to over 100 species of fish, without getting wet. There is even an underwater shower with some of the best views of the locals! There are a couple of marine biologists at the resort who undertake daily fish feeding, Stingray Splash tours and guided tours of the Living Reef. There is also a fabulous Reef Exploration Centre on site which is open daily.

Pictured above is the view from the bathroom in the Underwater Observatory!

Pictured above is Daydream's Reef Exploration Centre

The Accomodation

There are 277 rooms on the island, ranging from Suites to family rooms. We stayed in a ground floor superior beachfront room in the Canopy Wing which was just a hop and skip away from the stunning coral sea. The kids loved being on the ground floor as our huge terrace led straight out to the pool area, Beach Hut and also a gorgeous grassy area where the wallabies could be found at dusk and dawn.

The Kids Club

During our stay the kids visited Daydream's Kids Club twice and would have gone every day if we had let them! The Club was run by two lovely ladies Bec and Jules who were so great with the kids and took them on Rainforest Tours, into the Reef Exploration Centre, they played pool games and also got to do arts and craft.

We spent the Easter Weekend at the hotel and they planned so many fun activities for the kids; the Easter Bunny made an appearance in the hotel lobby, there was an egg hunt and egg and spoon race.

Dining

There are three restaurants on the Island and two Bars (Tonic and Barefoot Bar which features the swim-up Pool Bar.) Inkstone has the most sensational views over the Coral Sea and overlooks North Molle Island.

The resort's signature restaurant, Graze, looks out over the Living Reef where we had breakfast each morning and it was such a gorgeous way to start the day.

Pictured above and below is the view from Daydream's Inkstone Restaurant

Watersports + Activities

The Activities Team are fantastic and manage all the water sports on the island. The catamarans had not arrived when we stayed, however we took the kids kayaking a couple of days and they absolutely LOVED it. There is also complimentary paddle boarding each day.

Activites are offered each day of the week and during our stay they ranged from fish feeding, waterpolo, table tennis, bowling, ball sports, kids movies in the Underwater Observatory, and other fun activities for the whole family.

The Pools

Daydream Island has introduced a new pool landscape, offering guests stunning views over the Great Barrier Reef from two of the pools. There is a kids pool, spa, and four enormous pools to choose from.

Local Wildlife

Daydream Island is home to Wallabies, Cockatoos, loads of other stunning birds and of course all the resident fish, sharks and stingrays in the Living Reef. Our kids loved getting up close to the friendly wallabies and cockatoos and also visited the Underwater Observatory each day of our stay.

Ocean Rafting + Whitehaven Beach Tour

One of the highlights of our trip was the OCEAN RAFTING Southern Lights Tour where we got to explore the Whitsundays islands, swim, snorkel and bush-walk all in one day.

We got picked up at Daydream Island at 10am and then went snorkeling (Ava and Alex’s first time, they loved it!) then had a guided walk at Whitsunday Island National Park to the famous Hill Inlet outlook.

The view from Hill Inlet was spectacular with the most incredibly white sand juxtaposed with the crystal clear blue water.

We then got back on the boat at Hill Inlet beach and had a scenic ride to the southern end of Whitehaven where we had lunch on the beach and swam with fish.

The Ocean Rafting boats are the fastest day boats in the Whitsundays and also have special permits allowing direct access to all areas of Hill Inlet beach and other special snorkel sites. Each boat also has an Eco Host, ours was Danni, who was so warm and knowledgeable and so helpful with the kids too! (She even had special wet suits and snorkels for them.)

Our skipper, Dan, was also super friendly and knowledgeable on the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef.

We had the best day ever and highly recommend Ocean Rafting if you are staying at Daydream or Airlie Beach. Alex actually told us when we were on the beach that it was his ‘bestest day ever’!

Find out more at www.oceanrafting.com.au.