Said to be the world's largest living structure and the only one visible from outer space, the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef is often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world. The Great Barrier Reef stretches over 2,000 kilometres and is home to tens of thousands of species of brilliantly coloured fish, coral and other marine life including whales, dolphins and turtles.

If diving is your passion, then this is your paradise. The Great Barrier Reef is a divers Mecca, and the Whitsundays has companies catering for every skill level from student to novice to dive master. If snorkelling is more your style, then the warm shallow waters of the Great Barrier Reef in the Whitsundays provide some of the most colourful fish and coral formations anywhere in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The Whitsundays is recognised as having some of the best fishing in Queensland. Charter vessels operating out of Shute Harbour, Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island offer a variety of trips to the rich waters of the outer Great Barrier Reef chasing tuna, mackerel and coral trout, or tagging and releasing sailfish and the legendary black marlin.