[5] The city is situated approximately 290 kilometres (180 mi) or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane.

It is located on the bay of the same name open to the Coral Sea between the Queensland mainland and nearby K'gari (also known as Fraser Island).

[6] The local economy relies on tourism which is based primarily around whale watching in Platypus Bay to the north, ferry access to K'gari, accessible recreational fishing and boating and the natural north facing, calm beaches with wide undeveloped foreshore zones.

[1] A 2010 study by Deakin University showed that people on the Fraser Coast area including Hervey Bay, were the happiest in Australia.

[11] Butchulla (also known as Batjala, Badtjala, Badjela, and Badjala) is the language of the Fraser Coast region, including K’gari.

The first recorded European sighting of Hervey Bay was made by James Cook while carrying out his running survey of the east coast of Australia, on 22 May 1770.

[14] Until around the mid-1980s the area was serviced by a rail link from the main North Coast line that diverted from Aldershot and went through Takura, Walligan, and Nikenbah, before continuing on to Pialba and Urangan.

The line was a major freight point for the Port of Maryborough and for the sugar cane industry until road transport assumed the role.

The city is served by the Hervey Bay Airport, with direct flights from Brisbane (QantasLink) Sydney and Melbourne (Jetstar Airways).

The City of Hervey Bay (now the Fraser Coast Region) has released an airport master plan which includes future provision of a taxiway parallel to the main runway, additional car parking and a larger terminal.

[citation needed] The Electoral district of Hervey Bay has Queensland's second highest share of residents aged over 60.

[23] Hervey Bay has a warm humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with hot, wet summers and very mild, relatively dry winters.

The coast is predominantly affected by south east trade winds; keeping the temperatures down in summer and up in winter.

However, Fraser Island affects weather in Hervey Bay, protecting the marine environment from open ocean storm effects.

The Fraser Coast Regional Council operate the Hervey Bay Library at 161 Old Maryborough Road, Pialba.

[47] In April 2022, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation opened a bureau at Hervey Bay to improve its coverage of the Fraser Coast.

[48] Staffed by two locally-based journalists, the new bureau on Boat Harbour Drive was opened as part of the ABC's regional expansion.

The natural foreshore area of Hervey Bay has a 14-kilometre (8.7 mi) long bike and pedestrian path that visibly integrates recreational fitness into the environment and community.

[citation needed] Competition sports are generally regional and played against nearby cities, Bundaberg, Maryborough and Gympie.

Researchers at The Oceania Project conducted a 25-year study which found the bay was an important social hub for humpback whales.