The Airlie Boat Hire Story...
About Us
We moved to Airlie Beach around May 2014 from Sydney. This was our semi-retirement plan for a sea change.
We started our business with 3 boats, and very quickly realised there was a great need here for self-hire and drive boat hire.
Our small family business started growing at a rapid rate, and we increased our fleet from 3 to 10 boats. The realisation of trailing all these boats to the boat ramp back every day became a daunting and almost impossible scenario.
So we expanded again and took on a marina berth at Coral Sea Marina – Resort.
We originally started our business as part of a national franchise (Boab Boat Hire), but as time went on,n this was holding us back from growing our business; so we decided to exit the Franchise and Rebrand our boats to Airlie Boat Hire.
This has given us renewed energy and freedom to run our business for our customers in the best way possible. Customer service goes a long way, and we are able to give our customers the best possible experience here in The Whitsundays under our own brand.
Our son Ryan has been instrumental and a blessing to us. He plays a vital role in our business. He is a welder by trade and also has a huge passion for fishing and is extremely good at it.
Our customers love receiving advice from Ryan on all aspects of fishing, and many of our customers come back from their hires elated with their successful catches.
Deb runs the office,e and Bob and Ryan do all the run-throughs, maintenance, and ongoing upgrades to our boats.
Since moving to Airlie Beach, we have made many friends. We have met and supported many local business owners, as they have with us.
Through honesty and integrity,y we will continue to support our local community to promote our business for many years to come.
We look forward to seeing our regular customers and meeting many new customers coming to visit our beautiful backyard we have come to call home, The Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef.
See you all soon!
Bob, Deb and Ryan
We hired luki for 3night 4 days and what an absolute amazing time we had. We island hopped staying in some wonderful bays, got to see whitehaven and even stayed a night at hamilton island in which the team booked the berth saving us the hassle. The team had great communication, answered any questions and told us about some great places to stop and see. A good run through of the boat before we departed. We had the best time and great experience. 100% recommend hiring a boat to see the beautiful whitsundays. Thank you again
Such a great crew, super easy to book and the entire process was insanely good. We booked the YF70 for 5 days and lived aboard it. They made it all so easy could not recommend these guys more highly.
These guys were great. Very friendly, knowledgeable and genuinely wanted us to have a great experience out around the islands.
Every time we’re in Airlie we hire a boat from Deb and Team and always accomodating and a pleasure to deal with,probably 5/6,times now👍🏽 Looking forward to many trips to come🙏🏽
Great way to see Airlie Beach - from the water. I forgot my boat license in Melbourne - hired the small 3.8meter runaround - easy to handle $200 hire including petrol for 4hours
Great service, great boats. Highly recommend taking the larger boat to the snorkelling locations on Hook island
I couldn’t recommend them enough. The staff are absolutely amazing. We spoke to Debbie when making the booking—such a lovely lady and incredibly helpful. When we arrived, we met Ryan at the dock, who pointed us in the right direction and was a great help from the start. Halfway through our trip, we ran into a bit of a disaster and accidentally filled up with diesel instead of petrol. We contacted Ryan to explain what had happened, and he did everything he could to get us up and running again. After spending quite some time back at the dock fixing the issue (apologies, I can’t remember the name of the other gentleman who helped), they managed to sort everything out for us. Truly an amazing company with the best staff—thank you all so much!
Had an absolute blast! Massive thanks to Deb and Stuart!! My partner and I were looking to explore some of the lesser seen parts of the islands and mix in some fishing as well. The conditions weren't perfect but we had a perfect day!
Great communication and service. ABH Gave us the option to postpone due to changing weather conditions on multiple occasions. Definitely recommend the team at Airlie boat hire.
We hired Lukie. The boat was fairly new. Reliable and the whole process was easy from start to finish. The family and I had a great time. 10/10 would recommend and hire again.
Deb and the team are fantastic, I only hire from Airlie boat hire, the boats are in tip top condition, can’t wait to do it again.
We had a great time, up here in late December... So the weather was Dicey... But they kept us informed on their thoughts of what we could do and achieve with the winds that were predicted.... Allround great experience..staff were super helpful and chilled and happy to answer all our questions... The boat was well equipped... Money well spent.... Thankyou
We hired 'Maggie' and had such an amazing day cruising around the Whitsundays! Great boat, beautiful views, fantastic snorkeling!
100% recommend! Bob had some great suggestions for us to visit. Picking up and returning the boat was simple and easy. Communication was great, they would respond to our emails quickly.
HAD THE BEST DAY ! Amazing family-run business with good service makes you feel welcome and safe. Couldn't speak highly enough about Airlie Boat Hire.
Absolutely the best experience! So easy, stress free and we got to take our time and visit the most amazing places. The team showed us the best spots to go, Mantaray Bay is incredible the fish are so big and come to eat when you chuck in food and ofcourse Whitehaven beach was breathtaking, the bluest water you've ever seen. The boat was fabulous, I had 2 small children that were able to nap in the cabin as we drove along. The boat was clean and comfortable and Deb went well above and beyond to make sure we got the most out of our day. Highly recommend!! Thankyou so much.
Went on the jet boat ride, on our honeymoon. PK was awesome! Chill dude, good energy and fun ride!
Absolutely great service and value for money. Thanks to Deb and the guys at Airlie Beach Boat Hire for making our family day to the Whitsundays absolutely fantastic. Great boats with a great wealth of knowledge as to what to do and where to go. We had a very memorable day with great snorkelling, and great fishing. The kids are still raving about it. All the kids saw fish whilst snorkelling and also caught some whilst fishing with the rods. Thank-you so much and we will be back again.
I don’t give out 5 stars all too often - but I was super happy with our day on the water. Deb and the guys at the ramp were extremely helpful and thoughtful. Deb recommended we upsize to accommodate the family and we are glad we did. We really enjoyed our day out on the water even though the wind was a little on the stronger side - we managed to have a great time. Also recommend the fishing rods, bait ect that they provide. A little more tackle if you’re a series fisherman but enough to catch a few smaller fish. All in all a great day. Great equipment and helpful staff. Deb we can’t wait to see you again next year :)
We had a great day hiring a boat. We got out to hook island and did some snorkeling and saw some turtles and a reef shark as well as all the fish
These guys are great to deal with, We booked 2 different boats last week and found the whole experience was spot on. From Deb with the bookings, to the helpful the staff at the marina. exceptional service guys. Special shout out to the younger staff member ( Sorry forgot his name but was from NSW) at the marina who took the time to brief us on what to do for the day. We all apricated your help for a great day had by all . We will see you next year !
Fantastic boat. Deb and the team were amazing. Highly recommended. We did all the tour stuff but on our own time. Whales, snorkelling, fishing and white haven beach.
Outstanding service that I highly recommend. Everything went smoothly from start to finish. Deb and Stu were incredibly friendly, helpful, and very knowledgeable about the area. The pricing was very reasonable, especially for the high-quality boats provided by Airlie Boat Hire.
Our experience with Airlie Boat Hire was wonderful. We are from the U.S. so I emailed Deb several times with questions and concerns and each time she responded quickly and was very helpful with her answers. When we arrived in Airlie Beach everything was wonderful. Stew at the dock was so friendly and so helpful going over the boat with us and reviewing what areas we planned to visit. Everything about our whole experience with Airlie Boat Hire was top notch. We are actually in the process of planning a return trip to Airlie Beach now and we will definitely be renting from Airlie Boat Hire again!
Coming from the U.S. I was uncertain about doing a boat hire in the Whitsundays. After a few emails with Deb, we decided to book not one but two days. The experience was amazing, especially for us coming from the U.S. Deb and her team at Airlie Boat Hire made our vacation... sorry holiday, spectacular. Deb was patient answering our emails and she provided additional information about the Whitsundays during our call prior to the rental. Once we arrived on the dock for the boat we met Stew, a great guy and very helpful. He provided the safety briefing, helpful journey information and the best places to visit while boating. We also found that Deb upgraded our boat because of the weather conditions. We really appreciated the upgraded boat after our first 30 minutes on the water. Deb knew this and I'm very grateful. To wrap-up, Airlie Boat Hire - Great People, Simple, Fun, and Affordable. This small family operation gets 5 stars and 2 thumbs up. In fact, we are planning another trip back to the Whitsundays in 2026, and yes, we will be booking with Airlie Boat Hire!
Had a great time exploring the Whitsunday Islands for 2 days on the sports boat with my wife a few weeks ago. The fellas were all super friendly and very happy to offer up local advice and the best routes to take. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it tongue bay or Whitehaven due to strong winds but we had a blast exploring, relaxing, and snorkelling in the less busy areas around hook island. Everything is further than it seems on the map! Thanks team for making it happen 🚤 🤿
Excellent. We loved it! Booked it twice in the end. Easy to use, unlicensed boat, fitted the whole family!
We didn't end up renting a boat due to the weather but the team here answered all of my questions and were so lovely and helpful giving advice, even when we were very indecisive. Looking forward to coming back, when Airlie boat hire will be our first call.
We got a last minute booking and the staff were very attentive and helpful. The boat was well equipped and very luxurious. Couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable way to spend our day in Airlie. Credit card fees are a little high though and there was no mention of the $16 surcharge for using card was the only let down.
The little red boats with all the supplies were perfect for a family fishing morning. Thank you so much.
We made a last minute decision to hire a boat to spend the day on the water, Deb couldn't help us enough even tho they where short staffed they had the boat sorted with snorkelling gear a esky with ice, the weather was awesome which was a added bonus. We would highly recommend this awesome business if you want to hire a boat. The boats are all of high quality and well maintained Regards Scott
Unfortunately we had to cancel our boat hire day due to being sick beforehand but the service we received and help with refunding us was perfect and if we come back we would definitely go through this company again.
We couldn't be happier with Airlie Boat Hire. Their customer service is fantastic, Bev is very helpful and calls the day before to make sure you are ready. The team on the dock were super polite and helpful. We hired a Centre Cabin with stinger suits, snorkeling gear, BBQ and Eskys. How good is that! All we had to do was pack our fave picnic items and explore the Whitsundays. The boat performed perfectly all day, we had the best day ever. We are a boating family from the Gold Coast and could not recommend more Airlie Boat Hire.
My daughter and I had such an amazing day on the water in the 6.5 metre Yellowfin hired from Airlie boat hire. This boat took us everywhere! From snorkelling with mauri wrass, cod and Giant Trevally, then to Hill inlet and Whitehaven Beach to take in the sights, before floating around with mother and calf whales in the afternoon. Our boat was exceptionally well maintained, reliable and a very comfortable ride. You can tell this is a family run business from the moment Deb picks up the phone to answer all your questions and arrange your booking, she even reached out to give me some sunburn cream after hearing about the terrible burn I'd gotten the day prior to our booking. Deb's son Ryan is the first person you meet at the dock, he's got all the best places to visit so make sure to pick his brain. Ryan made hiring the boat a breeze, and he's gotta be one of the nicest blokes in town. Then, when you're ready to return the boat, Bob will be at the dock shuffling boats around like nothing you've ever seen, he's an absolute machine. The reef is beautiful, vibrant and brimming with life, the sands are pure white and the water crystal clear. But it's the people we meet that make an experience truly special. Deb and her wonderful family are the heart and soul of places like this, and I'm incredibly grateful for having met them on a day that was made so magical for my daughter and I.
From booking the beautiful boat Maggie right through to returning her was an absolute dream, Deb and her team were absolutely wonderful to deal with, very helpful and informative and made sure we had everything we needed to explore the amazing islands. We have a family of 6 and had plenty of room to cruise around without being cramped. We will definitely go through these guys again. 10/10 for everything! Thank you all for helping us create such perfect memories.
We took two different boats around Hook and Whitsunday Islands on consecutive days. Both in great condition and ran really well. Experienced, no fuss, down to earth team. Wonderful experience, highly recommend Airlie Boat Hire!
If you are ready to put that price, having the possibility to explore the Whitsundays by your own means is definitely the best experience. Super nice staff. Would recommend
Highly recommended We had an amazing time exploring hook Island and Whitehaven Beach The team here were great and had everything you need from an amazing day with the family or a fishing trip with the boys. Boats set up well with good sounders and the team run you through it all. We had the 6.5m centre cabin and did everything we need with a bimni extention and all, live bait tank was handy even to clean the kids hands after feeding George. Great times
Always go above and beyond for their clients. From pick ups to shopping trips...nothing is too much. Everytime I'm in Airlie Beach I rent from them for a few days to go island hoping and fishing.
Deb, Belinda and Bob could not have done more to help us have a great day. Being on a cruise we had limited shore time so Deb picked us up in her own car, allowed us to do a quick shop and gave us great advice for a day in the Whitsundays. The boat was in good shape, was easy to operate and easily fitted the 6 of us. Thanks for a great experience.
Thank you to the team at Airlie Boat hire, we had a wonderful experience. Booking was easy, getting onboard was easy, the suggestions from the team were great and we had the best day ever.
Debs and the team at ABH are first class. Answering millions of inane questions; flexible when bad weather threatened and the boats are first class. Best outfit in the Whitsundays
We loved our morning at airlie boat hire, we were able to hire a boat with our licenses that was a little bigger but didn't go far, wandering around the adjacent bay and then anchoring up, we had a turtle pop up every so often to see what we were up to.. It was a bit choppy as the wind built into the afternoon so the morning hire was perfect. The boat was nice, well equipped and the folks were very helpful fitting us in at the last minute :)
Amazing bunch of people, we're so helpful from the moment we called to enquire, gave us great advice for an amazing day the family will remember for ever
Rented the Smart Wave Xtra to get the feel of the waters in Airlie; got us to the Mollie Islands! Was a bit rough, but with the 50 HP Yammy, you could handle it! Highly recommend this company; they went above and beyond, providing advice and guidance when needed. Will be renting from you again!
Amazing service and great quality boats! Deb was fantastic. She went above and beyond our expectations when helping us organise our trip, making it one to remember! The boat had no issues and was reliable with long distances. Would highly recommend this company to anyone wanting the freedom to explore the Whitsundays at their own pace.
We had a fantastic experience. From booking and talking to Deb right through to picking up the boat on the morning. We hired the Sportsrider for our adventure, a great boat that was safe and fast enough to do what we needed. Would absolutely recommend the team at Airlie Boat hire.
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