7 of the best Long Weekend Family Holidays in Australia

Don’t let the kids stop you from having a weekend break. Megan Arkinstall finds seven supreme long weekend options to keep everyone in the family entertained.

1. Compete in your own amazing race: Swan Valley, WA

The Swan Valley is a great – and very quick – getaway from the city with a premium food and wine trail featuring excellent wineries, breweries, distilleries and a huge range of eateries. So that’s the adults covered for the weekend, but what about the kids? Get them running around and exerting some energy with The Great Valley Rally, aimed at families with children aged from five to 12 years. The race takes three hours and involves hunting for cryptic clues along a route in the valley. They are rewarded at the end with a certificate and a small prize. The Vines Resort is a good accommodation option for families, offering two- and three-bedroom apartments.

Location: The Vines Resort is 25 minutes from Perth. Verdehlo Drive, The Vines; 08 9297 3000; vines.com.au

Details: Accommodation from $310 per night for a two-bedroom apartment. The Great Valley Rally is free – contact Swan Valley Visitor Information Centre for details; 08 9379 9400; swanvalley.com.au

2. Be a reptile keeper for a day: Central Coast, NSW

A family weekend away where the kids will have a ball and you can have a relaxing day to yourself? Yippee! Head to the Central Coast where The Australian Reptile Park offers a pretty special experience for little and big kids alike. The Kid 2 Keeper program is a fully escorted workshop where kids gain an insight into the life of a keeper, study animal behaviour, learn how to handle the animals and visit some behind-the-scenes areas like the reptile room. Children over six can attend without you – so we recommend treating yourself at the Tea Tree Day Spa at the Crowne Plaza Terrigal while you have some quiet moments.

Location: The Crowne Plaza is 1.5 hours north of Sydney. Pine Tree Lane, Terrigal; crowneplazaterrigal.com.au

Details: A winter ‘Discover More’ package at the Crowne Plaza starts from $159 per night. The Reptile Park is at Somersby, 30 minutes from Terrigal. Kid 2 Keeper experience is $35 for 3-6 years, $70 for 7-12 years, $105 for 13-18 years; reptilepark.com.au

3. Make your own chocolate: Phillip Island, Vic

Phillip Island is famous for its penguins, but for something a little different we think Panny’s Amazing World of Chocolate is an afternoon that all chocolate lovers, young and old, will enjoy. Learn about the story of chocolate, play games of skill to win chocolate, produce your own chocolate bar filled with any flavour, and see the gallery of vintage advertisements for, you guessed it, chocolate. When you’ve had enough Augustus Gloop fun, Silverwater Resort is a fantastic resort for families – a contemporary retreat for adults, with lots of fun for kids. There is a heated indoor pool, tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, billiard and tennis tables, a children’s playground and hours-of-fun bouncing pillows on their lawn.

Location: Silverwater Resort is two hours from Melbourne. 17 Potters Hill Road, San Remo; 03 5671 9300; silverwaterresort.com.au

Details: Silverwater Resort, from $305 per night in a two-bedroom apartment. Phillip Island Chocolate Factory, admission $45 for two adults and two children. phillipislandchocolatefactory.com.au

4. Go on a ZooVenture: Canberra, ACT

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the National Zoo in Canberra. Feed a 110-kilogram Sumatran tiger, let Brown bears lick honey from your fingers and tickle the scaley skin of a python. A ZooVenture will certainly give you a thrill; experience up-and-close encounters with these beautiful creatures. The simple and modern Clifton Suites on Northbourne offer one- and two-bedroom apartments and several packages suitable for families.

Location: Clifton Suites Northbourne is three hours from Sydney. 100 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra; cliftonsuites.com.au

Details: Family Breakfast accommodation package from $274 per night. ZooVenture from $145 per person. nationalzoo.com.au

5. Explore Margaret River by horseback: Margaret River, WA

The scenery of Margaret River during the autumn and winter season is certainly a sight for sore eyes – and what better way to enjoy it than on horseback? Losari Retreat, set within 66 acres of stunning landscape, offers a Horsemanship Package that includes accommodation in their lovely villas, gourmet breakfast and a two-hour horse riding experience through the nearby national park – a great package for a family to get outdoors and explore together.

Location: Losari Retreat is 3.5 hours from Perth. 498 Osmington Road, Margaret River; losariretreat.com.au

Details: From $1665 for a Horsemanship Package for four people.

6. Run away with the circus: Sunshine Coast, Qld

Ever wanted to experience the whimsical world of the circus? (Well, the kids probably have…) As well as offering a fantastic kid’s club with craft and cooking lessons, movie nights, discos, face painting and an outdoor play centre, the Novotel Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast also has circus classes. Kids can learn juggling and balancing acts, the flying trapeze, the bungee trampoline and aerial tricks. But if you are happy to leave the circus tricks up to the children, head into Maroochydore for a long lazy lunch on the waterfront.

Location: Novotel Twin Waters is located 1.5 hours from Brisbane. Ocean Drive, Twin Waters, Sunshine Coast; 07 5448 8000; twinwatersresort.com.au

Details: Novotel Family Package including breakfast and two kid’s club sessions from $229 per night. Circus Encounter package runs for 2.5 hours for an additional $95 per person; cirqueespace.com

7. Play farmer for the weekend: Robertson, NSW

A tasteful farmstay both the parents and kids will enjoy – who’d’ve thought? Accommodating up to 16 people across three dwellings, this farmstay combines nature, activity and elegance well. The farmhouse is full of character with an open brick fire place, large church doors and windows, spacious kitchen and luxury bed linen. Kids will enjoy the large trampoline, collecting eggs, interacting with the alpacas, canoe rides and roasting marshmallows on the open fire-pit. Parents will love relaxing on the sun-drenched verandah, soaking in the bath, a picnic on the property or a glass of wine by the fire.

Location: Royalla Farmstay is just over one hour from Sydney. 375 Pearsons Lane, Robertson; 0409 294 929.

Details: Farmhouse from $1700 for the weekend, sleeps up to 10; $600 for the Om Barn, sleeps two (or four with extra bedding); $500 for the Loveshack, sleeps two

Slow down and find your rhythm on a Murray River journey through time and place.

Trust is a funny thing. It seems not that long ago that my mother was insisting on pouring the milk into my cereal bowl, because she didn’t trust me not to slosh it over the table, and yet here I am on the Murray River at Mildura in far north-west Victoria, being handed the keys to a very new and very expensive luxury houseboat.

After a crash course in how not to crash, I’m at the wheel of the good ship Elevate – pride of the All Seasons fleet – guiding her upstream past red-ochre cliffs as pelicans glide above the rippled river and kookaburras call from reedy banks. There’s a brief moment of breath-holding while I negotiate a hairpin turn around a jagged reef of skeletal, submerged gum trees, before a cheer rings out and calm descends as the timeless river unfurls in front of us.

The Murray River winding through Yarrawonga. (Image: Rob Blackburn)

Setting sail from Mildura

Murray River birds — Home to a large number of bird species, including pelicans. (Image: The Precint Studios)

A journey along the Murray River is never less than magical, and launching from Mildura makes perfect sense. Up here the river is wide and largely empty, giving novice skippers like myself the confidence to nudge the 60-tonne houseboat up to the riverbank where we tie up for the night, without fear of shattering the glass elevator (the boat is fully wheelchair accessible) or spilling our Champagne.

My friends and I spend three days on the water, swimming and fishing, sitting around campfires onshore at night, and basking in air so warm you’d swear you were in the tropics. The simplicity of river life reveals an interesting dichotomy: we feel disconnected from the world but at the same time connected to Country, privileged to be part of something so ancient and special.

Stop one: Echuca

19th-century paddlesteamers — A historic 19th-century paddlesteamer cruises along the Murray River. (Image: Visit Victoria)

The six-hour drive from Melbourne to Mildura (or four hours and 20 minutes from Adelaide) is more than worth it, but you don’t have to travel that far to find fun on the river. Once Australia’s largest inland port, Echuca is the closest point on the Murray to Melbourne (two hours 45 minutes), and you’ll still find a plethora of paddlesteamers tethered to the historic timber wharf, a throwback to the thriving river trade days of the 19th century. The PS Adelaide, built in 1866 and the oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer operating in the world, departs daily for one-hour cruises, while a brand-new paddlesteamer, the PS Australian Star , is launching luxury seven-night voyages in December through APT Touring.

The town is also a hot food and wine destination. St Anne’s Winery at the historic Port of Echuca precinct has an incredibly photogenic cellar door, set inside an old carriage builders’ workshop on the wharf and filled with huge, 3000-litre port barrels. The Mill, meanwhile, is a cosy winter spot to sample regional produce as an open fire warms the red-brick walls of this former flour mill.

Stop two: Barmah National Park

Just half-an-hour upstream, Barmah National Park is flourishing, its river red gum landscape (the largest in the world) rebounding magnificently after the recent removal of more than 700 feral horses. The internationally significant Ramsar-listed wetland sits in the heart of Yorta Yorta Country, with Traditional Owners managing the environment in close partnership with Parks Victoria. Walkways weave through the forest, crossing creeks lined with rare or threatened plants, passing remnants of Yorta Yorta oven mounds and numerous scar trees, where the bark was removed to build canoes, containers or shields.

The Dharnya Centre (open weekdays until 3pm) is the cultural hub for the Yorta Yorta. Visitors can learn about the ecological significance of the Barmah Lakes on a 90-minute river cruise, led by a First Nations guide, or take a one-hour, guided cultural walking tour along the Yamyabuc Trail.

Stop three: Cobram

Continue east to Cobram to find the southern hemisphere’s largest inland beach. Swarming with sun-seekers in summer, the white sand of Thompson’s Beach is shaded by majestic river red gums and dotted with hundreds of beach umbrellas, as beachgoers launch all manner of water craft and set up stumps for beach cricket. But the beach is at its most captivating at sunset, when the crowds thin out, the glassy river mirrors the purple sky, and the canopies of the gum trees glow fiery orange.

The region is also home to some fine resorts and indulgent retreats. Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort has two riverside championship golf courses, luxury apartments and self-contained villas. While not strictly on the Murray, the historic wine town of Rutherglen is rife with boutique (and unique) accommodation, including an exquisitely renovated red-brick tower in a French provincial-style castle at Mount Ophir Estate. Fans of fortified wines can unravel the mystery of Rutherglen’s ‘Muscat Mile’, meeting the vignerons and master-blenders whose artistry has put the town on the global map for this rich and complex wine style.

Stop four: Albury-Wodonga

First Nations YindyamarraSculpture Walk — First Nations Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk is part of the Wagirra Trail. (Image: Carmen Zammit)

Follow the river far enough upstream and you’ll arrive at the twin border cities of Albury-Wodonga. The Hume Highway thunders through, but serenity can be found along the five-kilometre Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk – part of the Wagirra Trail that meanders through river wetlands just west of Albury in Wiradjuri country. Fifteen sculptures by local First Nations artists line the trail, conveying stories of reconciliation, enduring connection to culture, local Milawa lore and traditional practices. It feels a long way from Mildura, and it is, but the pelicans and kookaburras remind us that it’s the same river, the great conduit that connects our country.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

New Mildura motel Kar-rama. (Image: Iain Bond Photo)

Kar-Rama is a brand-new boutique, retro-styled motel in Mildura, with a butterfly-shaped pool and a tropical, Palm Springs vibe. Echuca Holiday Homes has a range of high-end accommodation options, both on the riverfront and in town.

Playing there

BruceMunro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura — Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura. (Image: Imogen Eveson)

Artist Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights installation, comprising more than 12,000 illuminated ‘fireflies’, is currently lighting up Mildura’s Lock Island in the middle of the Murray. Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) is a hub for contemporary art, with a rotating roster of exhibitions, and is a major outlet for young and First Nations artists.

Eating there

Mildura’s diverse demographic means it’s a fantastic place to eat. Andy’s Kitchen is a local favourite, serving up delicious pan-Asian dishes and creative cocktails in a Balinese-style garden setting. Call in to Spoons Riverside in Swan Hill to enjoy locally sourced, seasonal produce in a tranquil setting overlooking the river.