Want to be adrift in the daydreamy South Pacific as soon as possible? Read our list of the top 10 resorts for families in the South Pacific to help you decide on your next holiday.
Want to be adrift in the daydreamy South Pacific as soon as possible? Read our list of the top 10 resorts for families in the South Pacific to help you decide on your next holiday.
Shooting up four places this year, Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu has proved itself a prime choice for families, with kid-friendly themed suites and overwater villas, plus a ‘Kids Stay and Eat Free’ program to boot. The resort’s activity program has activities for all ages. Younger guests delight in the kids’ club and pool areas, while older kids enjoy a touch of adventure, sailing, kayaking, playing a round of beach volleyball or trying out windsurfing, leaving parents free to head to the day spa. On-site dining includes The Verandah Restaurant, dishing up three meals a day, and a pool bar with ice-cream and a wood-fired pizza oven for a mid-splash break.
A pristine slice of tranquillity, Warwick Le Lagon unfolds before you with lush gardens and water features, leading to beautiful Erakor Lagoon. There are water sports galore, including snorkelling, canoeing and kayaking, plus a playground, golf course, Oasis Spa, tennis courts and three pools, just oozing aquatic family fun. The kids’ club, free for children aged three to 16, offers great fun like cinemas and cooking classes, and with all this going on for families, we aren’t surprised to see it make the list once again this year.
A memorable cultural getaway awaits you at the Rarotongan. Take part in free daily activities like island drumming and lei making, or maybe go snorkelling to see the underwater beauty of the Cook Islands. Interconnecting rooms and two-bedroom family suites are on offer, and kids up to 16 years stay free if sharing a room with a parent. Complimentary cots, high chairs and baby baths are available on request. Moko’s Kids’ Club can lighten the load when you need a little break, and there’s a dedicated Teen Zone for those who want to try scuba diving or beach touch rugby.
With endless sunshine, friendly locals and aquatic adventures on tap, Samoa is famously family-friendly, and this resort carries on that tradition with pride. A games room is available for the rare rainy day, but we expect you’ll spend more time enjoying the volleyball courts or barbecue and picnic areas instead. For extra-little ones, stroller-accessible rooms are available and babysitting services can be organised. With snorkelling, scuba diving, kayaking and hiking on your doorstep, this is a great tropical getaway for families of all shapes and sizes.
Located close to Port Vila, Iririki Island Resort & Spa offers the perfect balance of seclusion and convenience. Fully renovated in 2015, this resort has its own spa, restaurants and casino. For kids, there’s a kids’ club with arts and craft activities, nature walks and outdoor games, indoor games room plus a four-tier, freshwater swimming pool. Babysitting is also available for children under the age of three. Plenty of daily events and activities are on offer from Bislama language lessons and trivia competitions to Melanesian Feast Buffets and the Beach BBQ & Fire Shows.
A little over two hours by plane will find you here, a blissful bare-foot eco retreat boasting its own private island in the Vanuatu archipelago. Superb organic dining accompanied by all-natural surrounds will ensure your kids are getting an equal balance of holiday fun with wholesome retreat. Go swimming bareback with horses in the lagoon, or if you prefer your transport non-sentient, grab a couple of mountain bikes and explore the island. In the surrounding lagoons, sea turtles and colourful fish abound, sure to delight young animal lovers.
Bordered by tropical rainforest and white sand beaches, this boutique resort offers great cultural experiences and a great supply of family-friendly activities and facilities. The resort’s own nannies offer parents some relaxation time of their own, available from 7.30am to 9pm daily. A walk through the resort sees them dotted all over: jumping with the kids on trampolines or collecting shells with them on the beach. Be thrilled by beachside fire dancing and array of water sports, or relax with a bit of basket-weaving by the pool.
Erakor Island Resort offers families the opportunity to escape from the real world in comfort and style. There is an extraordinary amount of activities on offer at the resort; the Watersports team can help you kayak, paddleboard or canoe around the island, while Kokonut Wireless Activities include sand-drawing and climbing coconut trees. There are regular themed nights such as the weekly Melanesian Feast & Fire Show as well as pizza, karaoke and movie nights. For the more adventurous, the Tour Hut team can organise Mt Yasur Volcano tours or Jungle Zipline tours.
A private beachfront location is just the beginning of a family getaway at Poppy’s. Spacious two- and three-bedroom residences give families the freedom to spread out, and the resort organises heaps of great activities for kids and the young-at-heart both. Take an art class and learn about traditional methods from local artist Jacline, or perhaps take a canoe tour of the lagoon, getting some insight to the rich cultural heritage of the Ni-Vanuatu people. Kids will love the prevailing French influence in Vanuatu’s cuisine, too!
Natural splendour abounds at the Edgewater Resort & Spa, offering vistas of rolling green mountains, white sand beaches and some of the Cook Islands’ finest sunsets. But it’s not all about the views – this resort’s also packing heavy for a fun family getaway with a dedicated kids’ club, sparkling pool, a health spa and heaps of great live entertainment. The Coconut Kids’ Club looks after kids between the ages of four and 12, offering immersive experiences like Rarotongan drumming lessons and costume making.
For a South Pacific getaway with a touch of luxury, Four Seasons Bora Bora is your one-stop shop. Overwater bungalows are guarded by the ancient mountains, from which you can admire the perfectly turquoise waters from your own private plunge pool. If money’s no object, the beachfront villa estate even offers a private barbecue area on the beach and a complimentary guided shark and ray excursion. Don’t worry if a shark expedition isn’t for you, though, as there’s still plenty of colourful marine life to be discovered venturing no further than the lagoon.
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.
In partnership with our friends at
Gleaming sapphire waters, powder-white sand and smiles as wide as the beaches... these are not...
Read More
From volcanoes to underwater menageries, the Philippines offers a plethora of settings just...
Read More
Sunshine, beaches, coconuts and friendly locals... is there anything as relaxing as a family...
Read MoreBrowse our selection of great family accommodation options around the world
