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.
Having jumped up a few places this year, this is the kind of holiday park where you’ll never have to go far to enjoy your holiday. The CoutaKidz Clubhouse runs 364 days a year with supervised activities that include everything from cooking lessons to yoga classes. And while the kids are busy, parents can relax at Mud Day Spa, which offers a full range of body and beauty treatments including facials, massages and wraps, and is open seven days a week. If you do decide to leave the confines of the resort, you’re only a short walk away from the beach and the Point Lonsdale Market.
In January of 2009 this park was just a paddock – within nine months it had been turned into a fantastic family-friendly accommodation offering. You’ll find an indoor water complex, BMX track, flying fox, cinema room, adventure playground and so much more. For something unique, stay in one of the park’s Safari Tents, which feature split-system heating and cooling, an ensuite and a private barbecue. Alternatively, you can choose between an array of sleeping options, from a standalone three-bedroom unit to a grassy powered site.
A 90-minute drive from Melbourne, BIG4 Inverloch Holiday Park is the perfect base camp for exploring Wilsons Promontory and penguin-packed Phillip Island. With a heated indoor pool with a shallow end just for toddlers, full-size tennis courts and a TV room with air hockey, there’s plenty to do once you return from your day of adventure. Stay in one of the park’s spacious cabins and villas, or set up shop on a powered or ensuite site … the choice is yours.
You’ve well and truly struck gold with the discovery of BIG4 Ballarat Goldfields Holiday Park. Among the many treasures there is a solar heated swimming pool, jumping pillow, giant checkers, go karts, kids’ club, indoor heated spa, games room, adventure playground and a tiny tots indoor playground to top it all off. One-, two- and three-bedroom accommodation options as well as caravan and camping sites make for a perfect home base for your gold-fuelled escapades.
Flanked by bush and beach, BIG4 Wye River Holiday Park is the best of both worlds sprawled across 10 hectares on the Great Ocean Road. The luxury beach house is a great option for an extended family vacation sleeping up to 12 people, while two-bedroom family units and both powered and unpowered camping sites provide a serene location for a post-sun slumber. Explore the park on pedal go karts or hop aboard a canoe for a different view. Regardless, you’re sure to spot some native wildlife where the eucalyptus meets the waves.
Just nine kilometres from Melbourne CBD, BIG4 Melbourne Holiday Park offers the perfect family retreat without compromising location. It’s central location means a day spent exploring the shops, museums and cafes of Melbourne before squeezing in a footy game is easy breezy. Alternatively, the park itself also rivals the city’s kid-friendly attractions with an adventure playground, indoor playland, movie room, heated swimma-spa pool and arcade games, just to name a few.
The Great Ocean Road on your doorstep, enough activities to keep the kids entertained for hours, spacious accommodation options and barista-made coffee available onsite … it’s all in a day’s work at BIG4 Anglesea Holiday Park. Choose from unique stays in the Safari Tent sleeping six or the Bell Tent sleeping four, or choose from one of the other units or suites all offering modern amenities and within walking distance to the main beach.
Foodie families will be in culinary heaven with a stay at RACV Cobram Resort in a region renowned for their fine fare and wine. A range of accommodation options including Lakeview Cabins and caravan and camping sites await, and are all just a stone’s throw from the Murray River. If you can drag yourself away from the surrounding culinary offerings, hop aboard a bike and enjoy a pedal along the tranquil river.
Nestled beside Anglesea River and Surf Beach, the Anglesea Family Caravan Park has entertainment for kids (and kids at heart) in spades. Splash into the heated swimming pool, zip around the children’s playground and channel your inner golfing champ at the on-site mini-golf course. Your four-legged friend can also join in on the fun with dog-friendly cabins and sites available.
Share your sojourn with some smaller, more sea-equipped companions at BIG4 Phillip Island Caravan Park, located just a short drive to the famous penguin parade. The beach sits at your doorstep and local restaurants, cafes and shops are just 500 metres away, making this park the perfect home base for exploring the stunning surrounds. Spacious accommodation options sleeping up to seven are available alongside both powered and unpowered camping sites.
Getting back to nature at the foot of the Grampians has never looked so good. Halls Gap Lakeside Tourist Park offers glamping, camping and cabin stays all spaciously set among nature – here it isn’t out of the ordinary to see the occasional kangaroo or emu passing by your tent. After a day of hiking, relax in the heated pool or grab some marshmallows and set up next to one of the park’s campfires.
Yarrawonga Holiday Park is a water-lover’s dream owing not only to it’s riverside location and proximity to Yarrawonga Weir, but also to the on-site splash park and playground with four water slides, tipping bucket and 28 water play activities. Camp riverside or bring along the whole family in superior three-bedroom villas that sleep nine.
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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