Airlie Beach, nice spot, tropical, blue water and well, a wedding to attend. Flick back a few pages, quite a few actually, perhaps two years worth. Here we are standing on stage during a cooking demo. We had an audience of around 50 people and in the very front row were two very happy faces. They stood out to both of us the whole demonstration with their interest and excitement for the demo. We did not meet them this day though, but we did talk about them after that long day was over. Fast forward a few more pages and Katie realised that we were following each other on Instagram. Skim a few more pages and we were spontaneously invited to their second wedding without actually meeting them in the flesh! Well it was a bit of no brainer for both of us – of course we’re going, we love surprises and meeting new people. Fast forward and here we are on a short plane flight off to Airlie Beach, the hub of the Whitsundays.
We ended up getting accommodation at the Whitsunday Terraces which is just over the road from the ocean and in walking distance of everything we needed to do, well, apart from the wedding, but we had a courtesy bus pick us up for that. Oh and if you copy us for accommodation, there is quite a steep hill to walk up to get to the terraces although it’s only about 50meters of walking.
We actually had arrived just on sunset which was pretty nice to watch from our minibus transfer service. We were both very hungry, very hungry indeed. Hungry enough that we just dropped our bags locked the door and went on a food quest.
This fine quest led us straight to Dominoes, one of my old staples whilst living in Melbourne although I can now say to current date that I have not had it in quite some time and the taste sensation has all but been forgotten by my taste buds. Ah, don’t stray away from the story Josh.
Alright, food quest. Well Dominoes ran out of vegan cheese, how convenient. Next. Apparently we came across a place called Mika which I do not remember now, but Katie does. Oh yeah and they were too pricey so we decided to move on and continue our quest. We tried a noodle place too but they said they make all of their stir fries with oyster sauce and they couldn’t make fried rice without egg which was a first of course but hey this is not vegan territory, yet. So, in the end we landed on Subway. I had not had Subway in about 4 years and it used to be my all time favourite as a non vegan.
Oooo wee, Subway vegan option was quite limited though I still landed on a falafel foot long with a bunch of salads. Katie got the veggie option which was basically the same without the falafel, but with avocado. The falafel one was not bad, not bad at all, higher than expected – but since it was our only option and we were actually starving by this point, it tasted good enough.
We were both wiped out, it always happens on plane flights no matter the duration. We collapsed on the bed and turned on the TV to see what movies we could fall asleep to. King Arthur Legend of the Sword! Heck yeah not going to sleep now! It was about the half way mark in the movie but that is kinda the best part anyway. Nah the whole movie is great, wherever you begin it from.
We were in search for a place called Wisdom Cafe for breakfast. It’s located right by the Lagoon at Airlie Beach. They can make pretty much anything you want but they don’t have any mock meats. They do have falafel, vegan cheese and vegan mayo etc. We had avocado on toast with mushrooms and tomato. It was super tasty and satisfying. After breakfast it was time for me to venture off a bit further to meet the bucks guys for kayaking. Katie came with me for the walk along the boardwalk across to Shingley Beach. It’s a very beautiful walk and well worth doing if you’re visiting here.
Kayaking was great, the rest of the gang were fun to be around. We saw a bunch of turtles bobbing their heads and a couple of small eagle rays jump out of the water.
On Katie’s walk back, she spotted a Woolworths right near our stay. She stocked up on all the drinks and snacks of course. What a pleasant surprise for me when I got home.
The wedding we attended was absolutely stunning. An amazing location, with beautiful surrounds, the food was so delicious, and they even had a Cactarium! It was a very intimate wedding, which was lovely, and we’re so grateful we got to attend!
Katie has curated some of the vegan places in Airlie Beach for your convenience. I’ll let her tell you all about it below.
Situated right by the lagoon, these guys are really helpful and can make whatever you want – they have vegan cheese and mayo on hand, as well as falafels, etc. We got avo on toast with tomato and mushrooms. Delicious. They also have a good selection of drinks too. Nearly everything in their cake cabinet is vegan too! Open during the day, not at night.
A light, bright, cute place situated near Abel Marina – this is a great place to get your daily smoothie bowl or juice/smoothie fix. Nice views and a good vibe here. They had a beautiful old residential dog that was super cute and friendly! Open only during the day.
This cafe is located on Waterson Way, Airlie Beach. We ventured up here to look at the menu and they have some vegan options, but we didn’t end up eating here.
Fat Frog Cafe: A bit further down from Airlie beach in Cannonvale, this place apparently does a great Big Vegan Breakfast. Open during the day.
For dinner options there is Mika, which is a tad pricey, but if you’re after a nice dinner, could be a goer. They do vegan lasagne, cauliflower bites, and a few other things.
We also discovered called D’Viet house which they could veganize some dishes. The food was great!
There is also Dominoes! They had run out of vegan cheese when we went there for a late dinner on our arrival, so we ended up going to Subway, where Josh got the falafel subway, and I got the veggie delight, which is basically avocado and salad on a roll – but it was still tasty.
The Whistunday markets were on one of the days we were there so we wandered down and had a look. We found Mango ice cream! I can’t resist ice cream when I see it, so we just had to get some!
If you have a self contained apartment or just want to grab a few nibblies, drinks, etc – there is a local Woolworths here too.
If you’re planning a trip to the Whitsundays and have a stop at Airlie beach, hopefully this blog post will come in handy! And if you know anyone going to that part of the world, make sure to share this with them!
