Ready to ditch winter? Escape to Great Keppel Island…

If Ernest Hemingway were still around, I’d say this would be his chosen location to pen his latest book.

Barefoot serenity. Hammocks. Palm trees. Washed down with a mojito and a tropical beat.

It has a vibe that suits anyone’s desire to chillax and offers plenty to keep the young or young at heart engaged and supercharged.

Great Keppel lies in the Southern Great Barrier Reef – around 1454 hectares in size, it’s home to 17 white-sand beaches and has an interior rich with native flora and fauna.

Want some blissed out, vehicle-free island living for yourself? Here’s how.

How to get to Great Keppel Island

Great Keppel Island is only a 30-minute ferry transfer from the mainland at Yeppoon with Freedom Fast Cats. Ferries leave Yeppoon in the morning and return in the afternoon so you can easily pop over for a day trip, but we highly recommend staying a night (or five!).

Where to stay on Great Keppel Island

You won’t be left wanting for tropical island charm here – there are no cars or high-rise buildings and plenty of cute beach bungalows that can handle you traipsing sand in through the front door.

Great Keppel Island Hideaway

These cosy and cute beachfront cabins offer minimalistic rustic style but give you the sound of lapping waves and evening rain on a hot tin roof.

Great Keppel Island Hideaway has a fully equipped central kitchen and BBQ area to cook your meals, which means you can bring your own food and drinks over to the island, making it an affordable Great Barrier Reef holiday.

Their restaurant and bar has casual fare ranging from burgers to fillets washed down with cocktails or cappuccinos. The large covered outdoor seating area, pool table and big-screen projector are complemented by beautiful sea views over Putney and Fisherman’s Beaches.

Great Keppel Island Holiday Village

Great Keppel Island Holiday Village is located in a gum tree bush setting less than a minute’s walk to two perfect swimming beaches. Accommodation includes twin rooms, double bed canvas tents erected on timber decks, ensuite cabins, and campsites.

Discover why Great Keppel Island is your perfect next discovery with Geoff Mercer here.

Best walks and beaches on Great Keppel Island

Let’s face it, you’re going to find it pretty hard to muster up the energy for a walk with all that relaxing going on, but should you want to amble, there are short beach walks through to adventurous bush tracks with spectacular views of the Keppel Bay Islands to explore.

Suggested walking tracks:

Find a deserted stretch of white sand only a short stroll from Fisherman’s Beach.
A 30-minute walk south along the headland leads to Monkey Bay.
A walking trail from the southern end of the airfield takes you to Long Beach, one of Keppel’s best.
A three-hour return bush track from Fisherman’s Beach leads to the lighthouse on Bald Rock Point. This is the island’s most challenging walk.

Snorkelling on Great Keppel Island

Great Keppel has 17 beaches to explore. The two main beaches, Fisherman’s and Putney, are safe for swimming, and we spotted dolphins swimming past while we were there.

There are few spots around the island where you’ll find pristine and healthy coral teeming with brightly coloured fish, starfish and turtles, especially between Great Keppel and Humpy Island to the south. The best snorkelling spots are Shelving Beach, Monkey Point and Clam Bay.

Or you can hire snorkelling gear and get face down, bottom up, right off the main beaches.

Cruising around Great Keppel Island

Great Keppel is the largest of 18 islands in the area. Grab yourself a boat and go and seek out your own castaway moment.

Glass-bottom boat cruises

On the day we arrived, we headed out with Freedom Fast Cats (the ferry crew) for a glass-bottom boat tour. We didn’t have the best conditions to see the colours, but we saw plenty of turtles and staghorn coral, which grows quickly and fares well when cyclones hit.

Our guide shared many insights about the reef, the effect of coral bleaching (which we could see in some areas), and how important it is to care for the reef. Our girls connected with his stories and gained an appreciation for the beauty of the underwater world.

Adventure cruise

Looking through glass is fine, but if you’re keen to dive in and explore the underwater world up close, this cruise also offers boom netting (otherwise known as the ocean spa) on top of the glass-bottom tour, morning tea and lunch.