Thursday, September 10, 2015

Hamilton Island - Family Trip 2015!

Hi lovelies, we are back from our family vacation to Hamilton Island! It was the first time Chloe was travelling and also sleeping away from home (and her cot, since birth!). It was very daunting, but we survived and while Chloe was not a happy bub all the time during the trip, it was nice to spend some QT with the family!


Accommodation
We stayed at the Shorelines number 18 apartment, which is on the western side of the island. It boasts stunning sunset views across the ocean! The apartment was equipped with a high chair and also a portacot. It has a self-contained kitchen so you can buy groceries and make your meals at home.  I really loved how spacious the apartment was and the views were just breathtaking. The only downside, was I thought that the apartment was not as clean as expected (we saw roaches) and also the decor and furniture did feel and look a little tired.

If we were to go again, I would probably choose to stay at a lodge on the Resort side of the Island near Catseye Beach. But staying anywhere is fine, as getting around the island is very easy, you can walk or ride a Buggy or Shuttle pretty much anywhere!

Things-to-do
We really wanted to just chill and relax so I didn't fill our itinerary with many activities. A couple things I would definitely recommend though (besides chilling on the beach):
1. Hike Passage Peak - the views will not disappoint! The hike is quite steep and in the bush so wear your sneakers!
2. Have lunch at the Hamilton Island Golf Club - $65 for a 2 course lunch, as well as a tour of the scenic golf course and includes return ferry taxi to Hamilton Island.

Restaurants
We only ate out a handful of times as we wanted to cook meals at home - I highly recommend ordering via Coles Online at least a week in advance! We left it too late and had to resort to the Island's only General Store (which charged exorbitant prices for groceries). We ate the Marina Tavern for dinner, I would say it is pretty average (order a burger or the parmi!).  We also had takeout from Popeye's Fish and Chips (yummy chips!) and Bob's Bakery (yummy pies).

Hope you found this helpful! Let me know what you recommend doing in Hamilton Island!