I sailed with a group of friends, eight in total in February 2021. We chose Whitsunday Escape because we had already chartered from them four years ago and had a great experience.

This time was even better. We had a beautiful boat, Great Escape (Lagoon 450). She is absolutely luxurious and meticulously maintained. Everything worked perfectly. She’s so big, eight people did not feel crowded at all. Dining and lounge seating inside, dining and lounge seating out the back, lounge seating, daybed and trampolines out the front and seating for six in the flybridge.

She is kitted out with absolutely everything you could need: oven, stove, microwave and BBQ with plenty of fridge and freezer space. The cabins were the best part: four queen beds with air-conditioning and their own ensuites – pure luxury not having to share a bathroom on a boat.

We spent eight nights on Great Escape and we were all sorry to leave her.

The weather was mostly fine, just a few showers. We stayed and snorkeled in a different spot every day as well as going to Whitehaven Beach to sit on the sand. The guide books on the boat were excellent in helping to find sheltered anchorages according to the conditions, as well as the best snorkeling. (We learned on our last trip, you don’t ignore the guide book if it tells you an anchorage is not suitable for overnight stops – lol).

Some of our highlights were seeing turtles, white-tipped sharks, squid, tuna, a cuttlefish that hung around our boat one night to eat the baitfish that were attracted by our lights. We got to handfeed batfish from the back of the boat in one anchorage!

And we spent one day on Hamilton Island for cocktails, dinner and a spot of shopping. It’s pretty special coming into Hamilton Island on your own boat!

The staff at Whitsunday Escape are so professional and hiring from them is so uncomplicated. The marina is also a one-stop-shop for all the diving and snorkelling gear and we also hired paddle boards which was fantastic for one lady in our group who was not confident swimming in the ocean – she just paddled alongside us as we snorkeled.

Thanks so much Whitsunday Escape! We’ll definitely be back again!

To the Whitsunday Escape Team,

Thank you so much for what turned out to be easily, hands-down, one of the best holiday’s we’ve had.  No, actually, it was the best.

This was our first experience of a bare-boat charter, and also our first time to the Whitsundays.  COVID forced us to looked closer to home for a holiday, and we are so glad we did.  The team at Whitsunday Escape were a pleasure to deal with from start to finish, always professional but at the same time extremely accommodating and very welcoming.  From the regular emails and phone calls to ensure everything was in place for our arrival, to the daily morning ‘Scheds’ radio calls (which quickly became a very entertaining and funny way to start our day), communication was excellent.  Nothing was too much trouble.

Needless to say we loved the beautiful Whitsundays, and we were left scratching our heads wondering why we hadn’t done this before.  The ability to plan our own itinerary the night before, with a glass of wine, fresh seafood and the best seat in the house, was superb.  And then the flexibility to ‘up-anchor’ the next morning, change our minds and do something different, or stick with the plan, made it our perfect holiday.  No queues, no crowds, just our own luxury boat, great company, and a beautifully changing landscape every minute of the day.

We enjoyed it so much so we are coming back next year, and the year after, and probably the year after that.  This time we are hoping to book two boats from the Whitsunday Escape team, as we want to introduce our families to the joys of a stress-free, wonderful holiday in the Whitsundays.

We’re looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Many thanks,

Fiona & Simon, Fran & Matt

*Picture of boat supplied by Whitsunday Escape*

My family and I chartered a catamaran with your company from the 24th January for 7 nights.

Just wanted to say thank you very much for the best holiday! It was our first family holiday since we had our youngest…8 and a half years ago and it did not disappoint.

My children have never been on a sailing boat before and never any longer than an hour or so, so we didn’t know how they would go and I myself am not the biggest water or boat person and honestly didn’t know how I would go either but we ALL loved it and can not wait to get back next July for another holiday!

Thank you again and I have attached a couple of photos that have the Sea Dragon (Seawind 1160 3) in them.

Have a great evening and be in contact soon.