Start the day with an al fresco breakfast at Capers at the Beach where you can tuck into their great eggs benedict (go for the salmon) with a latte, and suck up the views over the Coral Sea as you watch the yachties going to and fro. Phone (07) 4964 1777.

Take the short drive to Whitsunday Airport where your seaplane awaits. You'll get a scenic flight over the Whitsunday Passage before your pilot drops you off on stunning Whitehaven Beach with a bottle of sparkling, cheese and crackers. You'll have the entire beach practically to yourself to loll in the water and lie on the sand. Air Whitsunday Seaplanes offers the two-hour trip for $220 per person. Phone (07) 4964 1777.

Take a one-hour drive north along the Bruce Highway to the gorgeously understated beach town of Bowen, famous as one of Baz Luhrmann's main sets for the movie Australia.

Have lunch al fresco overlooking the ocean and all of Bowen's sun-drenched beaches on Flagstaff Hill at 360 On the Hill. Phone (07) 4786 6360.

Spend the afternoon at Bowen's spectacular Horseshoe Bay, one of North Queensland's best beaches. You can sit on the beach and relax, swim in the Coral Sea or take any number of deserted coastal walks nearby before grabbing an ice-cream at a small cafe.

Too much sun? Leave the beach and go even further underground, far from anything resembling a crowd. Take the turn-off east to Hydeaway Bay from the Bruce Highway for a drive through the forest to the Whitsunday area's best kept secret, Cape Gloucester.

There's nothing here but an eco-resort and a small cafe/restaurant. You'll have miles of beach to yourself, plus you're almost guaranteed to see a whale if you come between July and October.

Stay the night at the Cape Gloucester Eco Resort, a very understated resort with rooms far cheaper than what you'd expect to pay at nearby Airlie Beach. There are three one-room cabins, three two-bedroom cabins and four units to choose from; most are practically on the beach and offer unspoilt views and the cheekiest lorikeets on the entire coastline. Call (07) 4945 7242. For a true local experience, have a few beers at nearby Monty's, where you'll no doubt run into a rabble of cruising yachtsmen and local fishermen.

Dinners at the eco-resort are far from a slap-up affair (the seafood platters practically walked up the beach and onto your plate) and the views at sunset are the best in the entire area. What's more, the bar is generally open 'til the last person leaves.