From the stunning coastline of the Great Ocean Road to the penguin spotted beaches of Phillip Island, Victoria has some of the most incredible wildlife and scenery in Australia. And to top it all off, it also has some of the most family-friendly holiday parks! Read our list of the best of the best, as voted by our readers.
From the stunning coastline of the Great Ocean Road to the penguin spotted beaches of Phillip Island, Victoria has some of the most incredible wildlife and scenery in Australia. And to top it all off, it also has some of the most family-friendly holiday parks! Read our list of the best of the best, as voted by our readers.
Little tots in particular will love this holiday park, where they can enjoy a toy room and a special toddlers-only playground and pool. Parents will be grateful for baby baths, cots and emergency baby supplies available on request. There’s plenty for older kids, too, with an indoor water complex, BMX track, cinema, flying fox and adventure playground. Units, suites and powered sites are available, but why not indulge a little and try the brand-new Safari Tents for a touch of glamour?
Within easy reach of two of Victoria’s greatest natural attractions – Wilsons Promontory and penguin-packed Phillip Island – BIG4 Inverloch Holiday Park boasts a prime location for nature-loving families. You’ll find a playground, bouncing cushion and splash zone for digital-detoxing. In case of a rainy day, an indoor heated pool should do the trick, as will a games room and table tennis. Enjoy all the mod-cons of cabin accommodation but still trick your littlies into a ‘camping’ experience in one of the Eco Glamping tents, which even have air conditioning and Wi-Fi.
Leaping up the ranks this year, this holiday park is the perfect base camp for a Great Ocean Road adventure, discovering miles of sandy coastline and the iconic Twelve Apostles. You’ll find a diverse range of accommodation options, from Bell Tents and Safari Tents all the way to the luxurious Spa Suites. Make time for a game of giant chess or air hockey, and splash around in the generous indoor water complex. There are amenities for little ones, including cots and a toddler pool and playground.
BIG4 Ballarat Goldfields is ideal if you’re visiting Sovereign Hill. With accommodation options ranging from caravan and camping sites to three-bedroom villas, you’ll find an option for every budget and family size. Kids will love the solar-heated pool with a special toddler beach, the giant jumping pillow and the Adventure Playground outdoors, as well as air hockey, pool and an indoor play land. Families will also love the big-screen movie nights and free in-house movies for all accommodation.
For a getaway with a little more luxury, head to this Queenscliff holiday park resort, just 90 minutes from Melbourne on the Bellarine Peninsula. There is a kids’ activity program that runs every day of the year, an indoor playground, a jumping pillow and an interactive NEOS360. While the kids are busy, adults can pamper themselves at the on-site spa, work out in the 24/7 gym or stretch out in the free yoga and Pilates classes. Rest your head in either the one-, two- or three-bedroom luxury villas or set up camp at one of the caravan or campsites.
Explore the Great Ocean Road from this great base, perfectly positioned in the middle of the Otway Ranges. Make it a multigen getaway in the luxury beach house, which can sleep up to 12 people and has everything from a TV with Wii console for the kids to a barbecue with alfresco dining for the adults. As a family, spend your days taking surf lessons at the nearby beach or fishing for dinner in the local rock pools.
Anglesea Family Caravan Park is the perfect base for exploring Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, home to some of the state’s most beautiful beaches and, of course, the iconic Twelve Apostles. Great facilities for families include mini-golf, a giant jumping pillow, games room and beach volleyball court, and with cottages sleeping up to seven, large families (or multigen getaways) are well catered to. Be sure to stop in on the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Ice-creamy while you’re here.
Just north of the CBD, Melbourne BIG4 Holiday Park is a great base to explore all Australia’s culture capital has to offer. You’ll find great, affordable accommodation including villas, cabins and camping sites, and kid-friendly facilities like a swimming pool, big-screen movie room, playground and games room complete with air hockey and table tennis. Amenities are modern and well maintained, with convenient features like under-floor heating and clothes dryers.
With tennis courts, a BMX track, basketball court, playground and go karts, get ready for an action-packed holiday in Victoria’s iconic Murray River Region at RACV Cobram Resort. A visit to nearby cactus country reveals more than 4,000 species of cacti and succulents (look, but don’t touch!) while back at camp you’ll find caravan sites, self-contained cabins and apartments. Parents can enjoy beautiful walking tracks, or perhaps just lounge poolside.
Discover all the magic of the Grampians at Halls Gap Lakeside Tourist Park, with views of the mountains and abundant wildlife all around. You’ll find a variety of accommodation to suit all family sizes and budgets, including spacious campsites, glamping and cabins. The woodfire heated pool is especially cool, not to mention an entire section dedicated to trampolines and a playground. For parents, you can even book a relaxing massage.
The famous Penguin Parade has long endeared Phillip Island to families as a fab holiday destination, and BIG4 Phillip Island boasts front-row seats. You’ll also find the Koala Conservation Park, chocolate factory and fantastic road trips nearby, with cabins and camping sites alike on offer. Kids will love racing around on buggies, playing rounds of table tennis, swinging from monkey bars on the playground and jumping for joy on the bouncing pillow.
It’s a tremendous achievement to have your property recognised by the people who matter most: the families who stay there. We love seeing how many wonderful options there are for travellers with kids in tow all across the world, and every year the list is expanding.
As you can probably imagine, it’s a massive job to compile the Top 10 each year, and the Holidays with Kids team has been hard at work for the last few months compiling all the survey responses and sorting them into categories.
Holidays with Kids was the first travel magazine in Australia to do readers’ choice awards all the way back in 2001, our editors are pretty much certified experts in this field.
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