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Airlie Beach · Hardy Reef · The Whitsundays
Heart Reef Tour
Heart Reef lies inside Hardy Reef on the outer Great Barrier Reef, and nobody swims there: you see it from the air. Fly Australia's 65-minute flight from Airlie Beach crosses Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet on the way, with a window seat for everyone.
Pick your way
Which Way to See Heart Reef?
Heart Reef is a heart-shaped coral formation inside Hardy Reef, on the outer Great Barrier Reef off the Whitsundays, and nobody swims there: you see it from the air. The flight in the calendar below, Fly Australia’s Airlie Beach: Whitsunday Islands & Heart Reef Scenic Flight, is from US$240 a person (checked November 2026) for 65 minutes over the islands, Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet and Heart Reef. Two other trips add a day in the water.
Airlie Beach: Whitsunday Islands & Heart Reef Scenic Flight
Fly Australia's 65-minute flight from Airlie Beach over Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet, Hardy Reef and Heart Reef. A window seat for everyone; marine park and airport fees included. The plane does not land.
Check dates →Airlie Beach: Fly Raft Package with Scenic Flight & Snorkeling
Ocean Rafting's Fly Raft day: a 60-minute flight over Heart Reef, then fast boats to the Hill Inlet Lookout walk, snorkelling on an inner fringing reef and lunch on Whitehaven Beach.
See the package →From Airlie Beach: Great Barrier Reef Adventure Cruise
Cruise Whitsundays' 10-hour day to a pontoon at Hardy Reef: snorkelling, an underwater observatory and a semi-submersible. It does not show you the heart; that takes a flight.
See the day →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
The one trip that sets down beside the heart is not on either booking site: the Heart Island helicopter from Hamilton Island, sold direct.
- 4.9 / 5 1657+ Reviews
- 65 minutes Duration
- Heart Reef Over Hardy Reef and Heart Reef, with Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet on the way
- Window seat For every passenger, with live commentary from the pilot
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the Heart Reef Flight Covers
The Whitsunday Islands, Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet, then Hardy Reef, Hook Reef and Heart Reef, with the pilot talking you through it.
Highlights
- Experience the wonder of the Great Barrier Reef, with views of Heart Reef
- Marvel at the Whitsundays, including iconic spots like Whitehaven Beach
- Fly in specially designed planes with panoramic windows for unobstructed views
- Learn about the sights from your pilot as you cover 200 km of natural beauty
- Spot diverse marine creatures from the the aircraft, from manta rays to whales
What's Included
- Courtesy pickup and drop-off bus service from 2 locations in Airlie Beach
- Access to air-conditioned lounge
- Luggage storage
- 60-minute scenic flight
- Live commentary by your pilot
- Window seat for all passengers
- Marine park fees, airport fees, and taxes
- Free car parking at the location
Good to know: Wildlife sightings are not guaranteed · If the weather is unsuitable on the day, the activity provider's staff will make an assessment and contact you directly. In this case, the flight will be rescheduled at a more appropriate time or day. If you're unable to reschedule then a full refund will be offered · Seating is arranged for the best weight and balance of the aircraft · Passengers are responsible for being ready at the designated pickup location and time provided. If passenger misses their scheduled shuttle pickup for any reason and must make their own way to the airport all associated transport costs will be the passenger's responsibility. No reimbursement will be given. · Not suitable for: Wheelchair users, People over 287 lbs (130 kg)
How the Flight Runs
From a bus stop in Airlie Beach to the outer reef and back in about an hour and a half.
A Bus from Airlie Beach
A courtesy bus picks you up at a named stop in Airlie Beach (Cruise Whitsundays, 384 Shute Harbour Road or Fly Australia Charters) for the 10-minute ride to the airfield. If you drive, parking there is free.
Lounge and Boarding
An air-conditioned lounge and luggage storage at the airfield. Seats are allocated for the weight and balance of the aircraft, and every passenger gets a window.
Islands, Beach and Inlet
A high-wing plane with large panoramic windows flies over Long Island, Hayman Island, Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet, and the pilot makes several passes at each place for photographs.
Hardy Reef and Heart Reef
Out over Hardy Reef, Hook Reef and Heart Reef, with live commentary from the pilot. Manta rays, turtles, dugongs and, at some times of year, whales can show below; sightings are not guaranteed. The bus takes you back to town.
Photo Gallery
Heart Reef and the Whitsundays from Above
Coral, white sand and turquoise channels below the wing on the way out to Hardy Reef.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Fly Australia's 65-minute flight from Airlie Beach, with a courtesy bus to the airfield, a window seat for everyone and marine park and airport fees included. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before; if the weather is unsuitable, the flight is moved or refunded.
Before You Book
Heart Reef Questions, Answered
Swimming, the pontoon day at Hardy Reef, the helicopter that lands, when to go, and where the reef is.
Prices are each page's featured tour: GetYourGuide checked November 2026. GetYourGuide and Viator prices are in US dollars; figures marked A$ are Australian dollars.
Four Ways to See Heart Reef
The scenic flight against the Fly Raft day, the pontoon day at Hardy Reef and the helicopter that lands nearby: what each shows you, whether you get in the water, and what it costs. GetYourGuide prices with the month they were checked.
| Feature | THIS PAGE Scenic flight | Flight + boat day (Fly Raft) | Pontoon day at Hardy Reef | Heart Island helicopter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What You Pay | From US$240 per person (checked November 2026) | From US$388 per person (Queensland public-holiday surcharge extra; checked November 2026) | From US$226 per person (12 January 2027 read US$253; checked November 2026) | A$1,470 a person on Hamilton Island Air's own site, booked direct (checked November 2026) |
| How Long | 65 minutes, plus a 10-minute bus each way | A full day | 10 hours | Not sold here; see the helicopter guide |
| Do You See the Heart? | Yes, from the air, with Hardy Reef and Hook Reef | Yes, from the 60-minute flight | No: the pontoon is at Hardy Reef, and the heart is seen only from above | A helicopter to a pontoon near Heart Reef |
| Do You Get in the Water? | No: the plane does not land | Yes: snorkelling on an inner fringing reef, and Whitehaven Beach | Yes: snorkelling and swimming at Hardy Reef | No swimming at Heart Reef itself |
| Leaves From | Named stops in Airlie Beach, by courtesy bus | Pickup from 17 Airlie Beach stops (North option) | Port of Airlie, Airlie Beach | Hamilton Island |
| Limits | Not for wheelchair users or passengers over 130 kg | Not for pregnancy, back problems, reduced mobility or over 125 kg | No luggage or large bags; free cancellation up to 2 days before | Ask Hamilton Island Air |
| Best For | Seeing the heart and the islands in about an hour | Seeing the heart, then a day on Whitehaven Beach | Snorkelling on the outer reef without flying | Standing on a pontoon in the Heart Reef lagoon, at the highest price |
| Check dates | See the package | See the day |
Two More Flights
Other Scenic Flights from Airlie Beach
Ocean Rafting's one-hour flight from Whitsunday Airport, and Whitsunday Air Tours' 70-minute flight from Laguna Quays for up to seven passengers.
FROM WHITSUNDAY AIRPORTAirlie Beach: Whitsundays & Heart Reef Scenic Flight
Ocean Rafting's one-hour flight over the Whitsunday Islands, Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet and Heart Reef, from Whitsunday Airport near Shute Harbour, with pickup from 21 stops round Airlie Beach, a guaranteed window seat, pilot commentary and a lounge with lockers. Weight limit 125 kg; passengers must climb the aircraft steps unaided.
UP TO SEVEN ON BOARDAirlie Beach: Whitsundays & Great Barrier Reef Scenic Flight
Whitsunday Air Tours' 70-minute flight for up to seven passengers over Conway National Park, the Whitsunday Islands, Hill Inlet and the Great Barrier Reef, with a guaranteed window seat and pilot commentary. It flies from Laguna Quays Airport: its listing allows about 30 minutes each way for the van from your Airlie Beach hotel. Weight limit 130 kg.
Heart Reef
How People See Heart Reef
What the reef is, what the flight in the calendar covers, what the boat and pontoon days add, and the one trip that lands.
What Heart Reef is
Heart Reef is a coral formation in the shape of a heart, inside Hardy Reef, in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park off the Whitsunday Islands of Queensland. Hook Reef lies just south of Hardy Reef and Line Reef to the north.
It is protected. Tourism and Events Queensland and Tourism Whitsundays both say you cannot swim, snorkel or dive at the formation itself, and a boat on the water shows you reef, not a heart. So every Heart Reef tour is one of two things: a flight over it, or a day in the water somewhere else, sometimes with a flight added.
The flight in the calendar
Fly Australia’s flight starts with a courtesy bus from a named stop in Airlie Beach (Cruise Whitsundays, 384 Shute Harbour Road or Fly Australia Charters) for the 10-minute ride to the airfield. If you drive, parking there is free, and there is an air-conditioned lounge with luggage storage.
The plane is a high-wing aircraft with large panoramic windows, and every passenger gets a window seat. In 60 minutes in the air it covers about 200 km: Long Island, Hayman Island, Whitehaven Beach and the sand bars of Hill Inlet, then Hardy Reef, Hook Reef and Heart Reef. The pilot makes several passes over each place and talks you through what is below. Manta rays, turtles, dugongs and sharks can show in the water, and whales at some times of year, though sightings are not guaranteed. Marine park fees, airport fees and taxes are in the price.
Seats are allocated for the weight and balance of the aircraft, so you cannot pick a side. The flight does not suit wheelchair users or passengers over 130 kg. If the weather is unsuitable, Fly Australia’s staff contact you and move the flight to another time or day, with a full refund if you cannot take one. Miss the shuttle and you pay your own way to the airfield.
On GetYourGuide the flight is rated 4.9 from 1,657 reviews. Fly Australia also sells it on Viator as 1-Hour Whitsunday Islands and Heart Reef Scenic Flight (US$237, checked November 2026).
For a first look at Heart Reef with the least time and fuss, this is the trip: about an hour and a half from bus stop to bus stop.
Check dates for the Heart Reef flight
Two more flights cross the same reef: Ocean Rafting's one-hour flight from Whitsunday Airport at Shute Harbour, with pickup from 21 stops round town, and Whitsunday Air Tours' 70-minute flight from Laguna Quays for up to seven passengers. Its listing names Heart Reef in its highlights but not in the route description, and allows about 30 minutes each way for the van.
If you want to get in the water
The Fly Raft day pairs a 60-minute flight with a day on Ocean Rafting’s semi-rigid boats: the guided walk to the Hill Inlet Lookout, snorkelling on an inner fringing reef (not Hardy Reef) and lunch on Whitehaven Beach, with snorkel gear and a sun suit or wetsuit included. It is from US$388 a person (checked November 2026); drinks and the Queensland public-holiday surcharge are extra, and it does not suit anyone pregnant, with back problems or over 125 kg.
The pontoon day is the way to get in the water at Hardy Reef itself. Cruise Whitsundays’ Great Barrier Reef Adventure Cruise spends 10 hours on the trip to a pontoon moored 39 nautical miles offshore, with snorkelling, a semi-submersible ride and an underwater observatory. The heart is not part of it; helicopter flights from the pontoon are an optional extra, subject to availability. The Hardy Reef pontoon day explains what you get and what you do not, and can you swim at Heart Reef? covers the rules and the stinger season.
The one trip that lands
Hamilton Island Air flies a helicopter from Hamilton Island to a pontoon near Heart Reef. Its own site prices it at A$1,470 a person (checked November 2026), and it is booked direct, not on GetYourGuide or Viator. The Heart Island helicopter sets out what it includes and why none of the scenic flights lands.
Where it is, and when to go
Heart Reef is about 76 km north-east of Whitsunday Airport in a straight line, past the islands, which is why the flights cross Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet on the way out. Where is Heart Reef? has the regional map and the three airports.
None of the flights names a closed season. The tropical cyclone season runs from 1 November to 30 April (Bureau of Meteorology), and the weather decides each day, so book early in your stay. The best time to see Heart Reef goes through the months, the start times and the stinger season.
For the boat days to Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet themselves, whitehaven-beach-tours.com covers the cruises, sails and prices in depth.
Heart Reef, Whitehaven and Hill Inlet in One Flight
Fly Australia's 65-minute scenic flight from Airlie Beach: a courtesy bus to the airfield, a window seat for everyone, live commentary from the pilot, and marine park and airport fees included. Starting from US$240 per person.
Check datesMore from Airlie Beach
Reef and Island Trips with Open Dates
Boat days, sailing trips and flights from Airlie Beach with live availability. Where each starts, what it includes and the cancellation terms are shown before you book.
Heart Reef: Questions
Swimming, prices, how long the flight is, where it leaves from, landings, boats, weather and weight limits.
No. Heart Reef is protected, and swimming, snorkelling and diving at the formation itself are not permitted (Tourism and Events Queensland; Tourism Whitsundays). People get in the water elsewhere on Hardy Reef: Cruise Whitsundays' pontoon day moors there for snorkelling and swimming. See can you swim at Heart Reef?
Fly Australia's 65-minute Whitsunday Islands and Heart Reef scenic flight is from US$240 a person (checked November 2026). The flight plus a boat day, Ocean Rafting's Fly Raft package, is from US$388 (checked November 2026). The one trip that lands beside Heart Reef itself, Hamilton Island Air's Heart Island helicopter, is sold direct at A$1,470 a person on Hamilton Island Air's own site (checked November 2026). See the Heart Island helicopter.
Fly Australia's flight runs 65 minutes, 60 of them in the air, and the courtesy bus from Airlie Beach to the airfield takes about 10 minutes each way. Whitsunday Air Tours' flight is 70 minutes but flies from Laguna Quays Airport, and its listing allows about 30 minutes each way for the van.
No. The scenic flights are fixed-wing planes that fly over Heart Reef and come back; none lands on the reef, on a pontoon or on a beach. The trip that lands beside Heart Reef itself is Hamilton Island Air's Heart Island helicopter from Hamilton Island, which sets down at a pontoon in the Heart Reef lagoon and is booked direct; its other helicopter trips land on Cruise Whitsundays' pontoon on Hardy Reef or on Whitehaven Beach. See the Heart Island helicopter.
From the Airlie Beach side of the coast. Fly Australia's courtesy bus collects you at named stops in Airlie Beach for a 10-minute ride to the airfield near Shute Harbour; Ocean Rafting's flight picks up from 21 stops and flies from Whitsunday Airport at Shute Harbour; Whitsunday Air Tours flies from Laguna Quays. Heart Reef is about 76 km from Whitsunday Airport in a straight line. See where Heart Reef is.
Not its shape. Tourism Whitsundays says the heart is best seen from above, and boat and pontoon trips do not show it. Cruise Whitsundays' pontoon day spends about four hours at Hardy Reef, the reef Heart Reef sits in, and helicopter flights from the pontoon are an optional extra, subject to availability. See the Hardy Reef pontoon day.
None of the flights names a closed season; the weather decides each day. The tropical cyclone season runs from 1 November to 30 April (Bureau of Meteorology), and if the weather is unsuitable the operator moves your flight or refunds it. If you also plan to get in the water, the marine stinger season is November to May (Queensland Government). See the best time to see Heart Reef.
Fly Australia's staff assess the weather and contact you; the flight moves to a better time or day, and if you cannot make another slot you get a full refund. You can also cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before. Booking the flight early in your stay leaves days to move it to.
Yes. Fly Australia's flight is not suitable for passengers over 130 kg (287 lb) or for wheelchair users, and seats are allocated for the aircraft's weight and balance. Ocean Rafting's flight sets 125 kg and asks every passenger to climb the aircraft steps without help; Whitsunday Air Tours sets 130 kg.
Inside Hardy Reef, on the outer Great Barrier Reef off the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, about 76 km north-east of Whitsunday Airport near Airlie Beach in a straight line. See where Heart Reef is, with a map.
Still have questions? Email us at info@heartreeftour.com