Aquavue Hervey Bay: no more jet ski tours — kayak and SUP hire, and where to go instead

If you searched for jet ski hire in Hervey Bay and landed on Aquavue, here is the short answer: Aquavue no longer runs jet ski tours. The business once listed as "Aquavue Café & Watersports" now calls itself Aquavue Beachfront Bar & Eatery. It sits at 415a Esplanade, Torquay, and its hire hub rents kayaks, stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) and cruiser bikes. Nothing on its current website offers jet skis.

This page sets out what Aquavue actually offers today, what it costs, and where to look if a jet ski was the whole point of your trip. We are an independent guide, not Aquavue, and we have no booking arrangement with it.

What happened to Aquavue's jet ski tours

Aquavue was started in 2002 by the Burch family, who had previously traded as Torquay Beach Hire. For years it was the name that came up for jet skis on the bay: an archived page from 2019 shows a "Fraser Island Jetski Safari" across to K'gari (Fraser Island).

Lauren and Jayden Christie bought the business in November 2023. Today the website leads with the bar and eatery, and the "Recreation Hub" lists only three things to hire: kayaks, SUPs and cruiser bikes. There is no jet ski page, no jet ski price and no jet ski booking. Many directories and older blog posts still describe Aquavue as a jet ski operator. They are out of date.

Aquavue kayak, SUP and bike hire: prices and hours

Everything is booked through a shared online booking page with The Salty Axe, Aquavue's axe-throwing sister venue next door. Direct prices on that page:

Hire runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 9 am–2 pm, and every day 9 am–2 pm in Queensland school holidays. It is weather-dependent, so a strong wind can cancel your session.

All hires are "dry hires". You get a safety briefing, not a lesson. Under-18s need a responsible adult to sign. If you have never been on a SUP, pick a calm, low-wind day and stay close to the beach.

Aquavue reviews: what we can and cannot tell you

We did not collect Google or Tripadvisor scores for Aquavue, and we do not paraphrase reviews we cannot link. Aquavue has no GetYourGuide listing for its hire, so there are no platform scores to quote either.

What we can say from its own pages is plain. It is a beachfront venue first and a hire hub second. The hire is cheap, short and unguided. If you want food and a paddle in one stop at Torquay, it does the job. If you want a guide, a tour or an adrenaline ride, it is the wrong place.

If you wanted a jet ski in Hervey Bay

This is the honest part. Checking the official sites, we could not confirm any current jet ski tour operator in Hervey Bay with a working website:

• Aquavue has dropped jet skis.
• One former jet ski tour business's domain is now a parked page.
• A K'gari lodge resells a Moon Point jet ski tour, but does not name the operator, so we cannot vouch for it.
• Boating Hervey Bay, on Jetty Street in Urangan, hires boats and runs jet ski licence courses, but lists no jet ski tours.

Our jet ski guide keeps track of this and explains the licence rules below. If you do find a tour, note that jet skis must stay 300 m from whales and dolphins, so a jet ski is not a way to see the humpbacks up close.

What to book instead of an Aquavue jet ski tour

None of the following is Aquavue, and none is a jet ski. They are the closest bookable things for the people who search for one:

• A guided kayak with dolphins. The Rainbow Beach kayak tour, run by Epic Ocean Adventures, a different business, pairs a beach 4WD drive with a paddle off Rainbow Beach, looking for dolphins, turtles and, in season, whales. It is A$149 for 3 hours on GetYourGuide. Rainbow Beach is a long drive south of Hervey Bay, so it suits a stop on your way up or down the coast.
• Kayaking on K'gari's remote west coast. Tasman Venture's full-day boat trip includes guided kayaking up a creek, plus snorkelling and a beach stop. It is A$269 on GetYourGuide. See our remote west coast guide.
• Speed and a view. For a fast, short thrill, a 15-minute scenic helicopter flight over the bay is A$180 on GetYourGuide.

GetYourGuide prices are checked regularly. For every paddling option, including calm-water spots along the Esplanade, read our kayaking guide. For families, the Hervey Bay with kids page lists other easy half-day ideas, and Enzo's on the Beach explains why the old Scarness hire is gone too.

Who Aquavue suits

Good fit: families and couples who want an hour on the water and lunch by the beach; cyclists who want a cruiser bike for the Esplanade pathway; anyone staying at Torquay on a weekend.

Look elsewhere if: you want a jet ski, a guided tour, a lesson, or a weekday hire outside school holidays. For whales, go to our whale watching guide; for a full list of things to do on the bay, see things to do in Hervey Bay.

Our call

Use Aquavue for a relaxed, self-guided kayak or SUP session off Torquay beach — not for jet skiing.

It is the verified kayak and SUP hire on the Hervey Bay Esplanade, it is cheap (from A$40), life jackets come with the kayaks, and the bar is right there when you get out of the water.

Skip it if you came for a jet ski tour — Aquavue does not run them any more and we could not verify any current jet ski tour operator in Hervey Bay — or you want a guide; for a guided paddle, the Rainbow Beach dolphin kayak tour is the closest bookable option.

Check the Rainbow Beach kayak tourfrom A$149 · GetYourGuide