Hamilton Island
Hamilton Island is the big resort island in the middle of the Whitsundays, with a jet airport and a large, well-run marina that's a popular place to end a delivery or swap crew. It's a private island, so the marina is the way in. The thing to know before you arrive is the airport: the runway runs right beside Dent Passage, and MSQ has rules for tall boats.
- 1Hamilton Island Marina · OSM.
- 2Marina Village waterfront · OSM, Front Street shops.
- 3Airport ferry jetty · OSM.
- 4Dent Island, north end anchorage (NGA) · Approximate.
At a glance
| What it is | Resort island marina with an airport next door |
| Marina | 301 wet berths, superyacht berths to 45 m, VHF 68, office 8 am to 4:30 pm (marina site) |
| Speed | 4 knots, no wash, in the marina (marina site) |
| Dent Passage | Masts over 8 m keep to the east side and don't stop under the flight path (MSQ 374/2026) |
| Maps | No MSQ Beacon to Beacon map. MSQ pilotage area map, chart and Reef Authority Map 10 (Whitsunday) |
Getting here
Dent Passage. NGA describes it as the narrow strait between Dent Island and Hamilton Island, and says anchoring is prohibited in most of it. There's a light on the west side of Dent Island, and NGA notes a shoal of 2.4 m close off the point 0.4 mile north of the runway beacon.
The flight path. MSQ notice 374/2026 (14 July 2026) says aircraft use the runway 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Boats with an overall height over 8 m should keep clear of the flight path zone while planes are moving. If you're heading into the marina in a tall boat, keep to the eastern side of Dent Passage and don't stop in the aircraft zone. The same applies at the southern end of the runway in Driftwood Bay. The notice has a chartlet.
Berths and anchoring
- The marina. Its site lists 301 wet berths, superyacht berths up to 45 m, VHF 68 and office hours of 8 am to 4:30 pm. Check-in is from 11 am and check-out by 11 am. There are no gates on the arms, and it's patrolled at night.
- Anchoring nearby. NGA gives 15 to 27 m off the north end of Dent Island, and a sheltered spot for boats with local knowledge in 29 m about halfway between Henning Island and Whitsunday Island.
Facilities
The marina's site lists shipwrights, mechanics, a boatyard, a chandlery, detailers, amenities blocks with toilets, showers and coin laundry on both sides of the marina, and access to the resort's restaurants and bars for marina guests.
Rules in brief
- Speed. 4 knots, no wash, inside the marina.
- Marine park. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the Whitsundays Plan of Management apply.
- Notices. Whitsundays notices cover Dent Passage and the airport zone.
Ashore
What's within about a 15-minute walk (1.2 km) of each marina, ramp or landing on this page, measured along streets and footpaths in OpenStreetMap. Addresses are from OpenStreetMap where it has one; where it doesn't, we show the name and distance only. ⚠ As at 18 October 2026: we haven't confirmed each place is still trading, so check before you walk.
From Hamilton Island Marina / Marina Village waterfront (marina)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bars, pubs and clubs | |||
| Marina Tavern | Pub | 410 m | Front Street |
| Island Bar | Bar | 570 m | – |
| Reef Lounge | Bar | 590 m | – |
| Bommie Deck | Bar | 600 m | – |
| Verandah Bar | Bar | 680 m | – |
| One Tree Hill | Bar | 1.1 km | – |
| plus 1 more within the walk | |||
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| Ice cream parlor | Ice cream | 30 m | – |
| Marina Deli Cafe | Cafe | 40 m | – |
| Pizzeria and Gelato Bar | Restaurant | 80 m | – |
| Romanoes | Restaurant | 140 m | – |
| Manta Ray | Restaurant | 160 m | – |
| Popeye's Fish&chips | Restaurant | 310 m | Front Street |
| Coca Chu | Restaurant | 580 m | – |
| Bommie | Restaurant | 580 m | – |
| plus 3 more within the walk | |||
| Entertainment | |||
| Hamilton Island Wildlife Park | Wildlife park | 270 m | – |
| Supermarkets and provisioning | |||
| Popeye's Fish & Chips | Seafood shop | 320 m | – |
| Bob’s Bakery | Bakery | 330 m | Front Street |
| IGA | Supermarket | 340 m | Front Street |
Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: Dent Island, north end anchorage (NGA).
No marine stores or chandlers are mapped in OpenStreetMap within the walk; see the Facilities section above for marine businesses we know of.
Places, types, addresses and walking distances: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 18 October 2026.
About this page
These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, current MSQ notices to mariners, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.
Official links
Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.
- MSQ notices to mariners, Whitsundays
- Hamilton Island Marina (business site)
- Reef Authority: Whitsundays Plan of Management
- Reef Authority zoning Map 10: Whitsunday (PDF page)
- MSQ: crossing a coastal bar (safety advice)
- Queensland notices to mariners, all areas (subscribe)
- MSQ Queensland tide tables
- Bureau of Meteorology: tide predictions
- Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland warnings (incl. marine wind warnings)
- Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland coastal waters forecasts
Sources & credits
Written in our own words from NGA Pub. 127 para 7.32 (Dent Island, Hamilton Island) and the MSQ Whitsundays pilotage area map (no MSQ Beacon to Beacon map covers the Whitsundays) (read 19 October 2026; each MSQ sheet carries its own 'information current to' date, quoted on the page), NGA Pub. 127 Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), the MSQ notices-to-mariners listings on publications.qld.gov.au (notices named on the page read in full on 19 October 2026; notice lists rechecked 27 October 2026), the Queensland Government (TMR) recreational boating facilities list (fetched 19 October 2026), Marine Rescue Queensland unit pages (checked 19 October 2026), Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority zoning pages (linked, not reproduced) and OpenStreetMap. MSQ notice 374/2026 (14 July 2026) read in full on 19 October 2026. Hamilton Island Marina website (fact only, 19 October 2026).
Maritime Safety Queensland. Contains Maritime Safety Queensland data (Beacon to Beacon guide, notices to mariners, nav-aid open data, port procedures maps, tide information) © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts restated and summarised in our own words. Not endorsed by MSQ or TMR.
Queensland legislation. Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Regulation 2016 and Transport Infrastructure (Waterways Management) Regulation 2012 © State of Queensland, CC BY 4.0. Summarised; the authorised versions at legislation.qld.gov.au prevail.
NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are out of date; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.
OpenStreetMap. Map tiles and some facility positions © OpenStreetMap contributors, data available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).
Others. Facts from local authority pages and notices (for example the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Queensland Parks and Defence notices), volunteer marine rescue sites and businesses' own websites are cited for fact only and restated in our own words. Listing a business is not an endorsement.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Zoning maps and plans of management are linked, not reproduced; the official maps and the zoning plan prevail.
Last checked: 27 October 2026.
Need a boat delivered to Hamilton Island?
Get a delivery quoteNeed a delivery skipper for this coast? Get a quote from Capt. Garry Hartshorne, AMSA Master <45.