Daydream Island, home to the Daydream Island Resort and Spa, is exactly what its name suggests, a dream.

The resort provides visitors some of the best affordable luxury in Australia as well as a host of other activities that can suit everyone from thrill seekers to relaxation specialists.

The island has a tropical climate and is located within the Whitsunday Islands group off the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia.

Daydream Island: Accommodation

The Daydream Island Resort and Spa offers affordable luxury in each and every one of its 296 rooms and suites.

There are 46 “garden rooms,” 117, “garden balcony rooms,” 61, “ocean balcony rooms,” 63, “coral ocean balcony rooms,” and 9, “luxurious suites.”  

No matter what room you end up with, you will have a fantastic view of either the turquoise tropical water or the lush rainforest.  

When not admiring the view, all the rooms are within walking distance of all the amenities the resort has to offer, including the restaurants, swimming pools, the spa, and the main lobby.  

The resort offers its guests a variety of restaurants and bars each with its own theme and distinctive style.

Ranging from a coffee shop to a buffet style eatery to fine dining, there is no shortage of eating options.   

Things to Do

        The list of activities at the Daydream Island Resort and Spa is seemingly endless.  It seems you could spend months there and still not accomplish all of them.

With that being said, here is a complete list of everything the resort has to offer.

The activities that are complimentary with a stay at the resort are: catamaran use, kayaking, gym facilities, giant chessboards, tennis courts, badminton, croquet, scavenger hunt board games, public fish feeding, a variety of treatments at the Rejuvenation Day Spa, the ever changing Daily Activities Program, paddle boarding, cricket, educational marine talks, guided rainforest hikes, waterpolo, archer, basketball, beach volleyball, bocce, an open air cinema, live music every night, quoits, and beach access.

The resort also offers a few other activities that visitors can experience at a small cost, including: paddle board tours, sunset kayak tours, make-up workshops, trivia, bingo, kayak adventures, golf driving nets, the super arcade experience, and the gold class cinema experience.

If these aren’t enough for you, Daydream Island also has one of the largest man made living coral reef lagoons in the world.

It features more than 140 species of marine fish and 83 species of coral.  The reef was designed to be a scaled down version of the Great Barrier Reef, providing visitors with a look as some of the things you might see out on the real thing.

Located near the front gate of the resort, it is a truly fascinating feature.

As you can see whether you want to attack the outdoors and spend time in the beautiful weather, or just relax by the pool and in the spa, whether you are young, or old, there is something for you at Daydream Island.

How to Get There

        If you are flying, the Whitsundays are serviced by two different domestic airports: the Great Barrier Reef Airport on Hamilton Island and the Whitsunday Coast Airport on the mainland at Proserpine.

From the Great Barrier Reef Airport it is only a short and scenic 30 minute catamaran ride to Daydream Island.  The catamaran can be caught on the jetty right off the airport.

 From Whitsunday Coast Airport, Cruise Whitsundays offer a coach transfer to the Port of Airlie (about 30 minutes) where visitors can catch a catamaran to the island (another 30 minutes).

It is also possible to arrange a direct helicopter flight to the island through the Daydream Island discovery desk.

 The  Whitsunday islands can also be accessed by the Bruce Highway.  This highway covers the east coast of Queensland and runs from Cairns to Brisbane.  

From Brisbane it takes around 12 hours to reach Port of Airlie (8 hours from Cairns).

 From there, it is a 30 minute catamaran ride to the island.   Port of Airlie can also be reached via rail either from Brisbane or Cairns.