Cid Harbour, Whitehaven & Nara Inlet
This is why people come to the Whitsundays: Cid Harbour, Whitehaven Beach and the long, steep-sided inlets on Hook Island. They're all within a short sail of each other and of Airlie, Shute and Hamilton. They're also busy, and the Reef Authority's Whitsundays Plan of Management sets the rules on anchoring and moorings here, so read it before you go. And don't swim in Cid Harbour.
- 1Cid Harbour · OSM.
- 2Whitehaven Bay · OSM.
- 3Hill Inlet · OSM.
- 4Tongue Bay · OSM.
- 5Nara Inlet · OSM.
- 6Macona Inlet · OSM.
At a glance
| Cid Harbour | West side of Whitsunday Island, 11 to 15 m, good holding (NGA) |
| Whitehaven and Tongue Bay | East side of Whitsunday Island. NGA gives 9 m about 0.6 mile W of Tongue Point |
| Nara Inlet | Hook Island, 6.7 to 8.5 m inside, bank under 5.5 m across the entrance (NGA) |
| Macona Inlet | Hook Island, bar 3.7 m in the fairway (NGA) |
| Swimming | Don't swim in Cid Harbour: dangerous sharks (Queensland Parks). Parks also warns of crocodiles and stingers in this park |
| Maps | No MSQ Beacon to Beacon map. Chart, MSQ pilotage area map and Reef Authority Map 10 (Whitsunday) |
Getting here
Whitsunday Island. NGA calls it the largest of the Cumberland Islands, about 8.5 by 10.5 miles, and says most of its bays and inlets are full of shoal water and reef. Cid Island, with a light, sits about 0.5 mile north of Reef Point at the western tip, by the entrance to Cid Harbour.
Hook Island. It's separated from Whitsunday Island by a narrow channel with a least 11 m in the fairway, but NGA says local knowledge is essential for it. Nara and Macona inlets both run about 2.7 miles north into the south coast of Hook Island, with drying coral fringes. There's a light on the east entrance point of Nara Inlet and a lit beacon off the entrance point of Macona Inlet.
Anchorages
- Cid Harbour. NGA gives 11 to 15 m with good holding. No swimming. Queensland Parks' conditions for this national park say it straight: dangerous sharks, do not swim in Cid Harbour, serious injury or death may occur from shark attack.
- Whitehaven, Tongue Bay and Chance Bay. NGA gives 9 m about 0.6 mile west of Tongue Point, and 13 m in White Bay on the east side of Whitsunday Island. Hill Inlet, at the north end of Whitehaven, is a tidal inlet. We have no official depths for it, so don't plan on taking a keelboat in.
- Nara Inlet. 6.7 to 8.5 m inside, but the bank across the entrance has under 5.5 m (NGA). Fine for most yachts at sensible tides. Keep off the coral fringes.
- Macona Inlet. Bar of 3.7 m in the fairway. NGA notes a dangerous rock was reported in the fairway across the bar in 1978, so go slowly and watch the sounder.
Facilities
No shops or services. Queensland Parks runs camping areas with toilets at Whitehaven Beach and Chance Bay among others (permits and fees apply), and says open fires aren't allowed on the national park islands. Bring your own water and take your rubbish home. Fuel and supplies are at Airlie or Hamilton Island.
Rules in brief
- Plan of Management. The Whitsundays Plan of Management sets rules on anchoring, moorings and access here. It's long, so check the parts for the sites you're visiting.
- Zoning. Reef Authority Map 10 (Whitsunday) covers this area.
- Notices. ⚠ 412(T)/2026 (27 July 2026): a yellow special mark near Stonehaven Reef, Hook Island, has been temporarily withdrawn. QPWS ran feral animal control on southern Hook Island from 6 to 15 October 2026, with a 200 m exclusion zone from the shore; that's finished, but QPWS does run these programs, so check the Whitsundays list.
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.
Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: Cid Harbour; Whitehaven Bay; Tongue Bay; Nara Inlet; Macona Inlet.
These are national park islands. There are no shops, bars or services ashore, and OpenStreetMap shows none within a walk.
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
- Queensland Parks: Whitsunday Islands National Park camping (Cid Harbour no-swim warning)
- Queensland Government: dangerous marine life
- Reef Authority: Whitsundays Plan of Management
- Reef Authority zoning Map 10: Whitsunday (PDF page)
- Reef Authority (GBRMPA): zoning maps, all areas
- 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 paras 7.32 and 7.33 (Whitsunday Island, Hook 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. Queensland Parks Whitsunday Islands National Park camping page and park conditions (checked 19 October 2026). MSQ advice on feral animal control on Hook Island (6 to 15 October 2026, now past) and notice 412(T)/2026 read in full on 19 October 2026. Bay names from OpenStreetMap.
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.
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