Hamilton Island Race Week
Hamilton Island Race Week takes place Aug 15 - 22, 2026 (41st edition) in Hamilton Island, Australia. The dress code is Resort chic - the week has a real fashion scene; linen and sundresses by day, cocktail dress and jacket for the ticketed evening events. Typical cost ranges from 2000 to 7000 EUR per person.
Australia's premier tropical regatta, sailed among the Whitsunday Islands on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef, where grand-prix maxis share a start line with cruising crews. On land it becomes a week of chef dinners, fashion showcases and marina parties that draws plenty of people who never go near a boat. The combination of trade-wind racing and resort-island glamour is why it sits on most sailors' lists.
- When
- Aug 15 - 22, 2026 (41st edition)
- Where
- Hamilton Island, Australia
- Dress code
- Resort chic - the week has a real fashion scene; linen and sundresses by day, cocktail dress and jacket for the ticketed evening events
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 2000 to 7000 EUR per person.
- Weather
- 15 - 24C, dry-season winter, sunny with steady southeast trade winds
- When to book
- Island accommodation opens roughly a year ahead and sells out; onshore event tickets are released in the first half of the year
- Getting there
- HTI (Hamilton Island), 5 min by buggy to the marina and yacht club
- Where to stay
- qualia, Beach Club Hamilton Island, Palm Bungalows
- Official site
- https://www.hamiltonislandraceweek.com.au/
How to attend
Racing is free to watch from the island's beaches, One Tree Hill and the Hamilton Island Yacht Club, but the onshore programme is ticketed and released through the official site earlier in the year, with the marquee dinners selling out first. Crew berths are available through charter operators such as Grand Prix Yachting and Flying Fish for those who want to race without owning a boat. The real constraint is beds - the island has finite accommodation and race week fills it, so book flights and rooms well before you think about tickets.
Insider tip
Passage races head out into the Whitsunday Passage where you see nothing from shore - take the One Tree Hill vantage point or book a day charter for the days the fleet races among the islands.
Get inside Hamilton Island Race Week
Booking matters here: island accommodation opens roughly a year ahead and sells out; onshore event tickets are released in the first half of the year. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.