Keep the fam bam up to their eyeballs in outdoor activity by escaping to the best caravan parks on the Gold Coast.

Trips to Disneyland might top bucket lists but true-blue family holiday memories are more often freckled with days spent lounging about caravan parks. Australia’s Sunshine State is home to some of the greatest, allowing for easy access to epic, go-all-day, kid-friendly activities, affordable accommodation in some of the country’s most exciting coastal neighbourhoods, and so much more. We’ve rounded up the most value-for-money caravan parks on the Gold Coast to help you plan your next adventure.

Central Gold Coast

1. Main Beach Tourist Park

Where: Main Beach
Pet friendly? No

Offering some of the most budget-friendly accommodations right in the thick of the action, Main Beach Tourist Park is a winner for travellers who want activity layered upon activity. One of the most popular caravan parks on the Gold Coast, it’s fitted with both grass-covered and concreted powered sites that can cater for campervans, trailers, caravans, and tents, in addition to 24 ‘Ensuite Powered’ sites that come with a private bathroom and concrete slab. Studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom air-conditioned cabins are also available.

To keep you busy between trips out on the coast experiencing a wide range of fun-filled things to do, there’s a partially shaded lagoon-style pool, barbecue facilities, a games room with a pool table, an enclosed camp kitchen, a fully patrolled section of the beach within walking distance and a playground. Plus, you’ll find a dump point, laundry, and kiosk on site.

2. Broadwater Tourist Park

Where: Broadwater
Pet friendly? No

Situated in the sleepier Southport area, right off Broadwater’s calming waters, Broadwater Tourist Park offers another slice of prime real estate for you to set up shop while exploring the city.

Featuring six styles of powered sites with varied proximities to the water, plus your choice between concrete or grassed digs and shared bathroom facilities or your own private ensuite, this caravan park on the Gold Coast is just a 15-minute walk from a ferry service that travels to hot spots like Sea World and Surfers Paradise.

One, two and three-bedroom, self-contained cabins are also available. Two swimming pools, a tennis court, a playground, a recreation room, a giant bouncing pillow, barbecue facilities, a small store, laundry, and a camp kitchen are also on-site, plus there’s a boat ramp and dump point for further convenience.

Southern Gold Coast

3. Kirra Beach Tourist Park

Where: Kirra
Pet friendly? Yes

Craving sun-soaked downtime away from the hustle and bustle of Surfers and the equally action-packed Broadbeach? Kirra Beach Tourist Park is an easy, breezy caravan park on the Gold Coast that you’ll struggle to say goodbye to. It offers both unpowered and powered grassed sites for tents, plus powered dog-friendly sites for vans and trailers. There are also rooms with single beds and queen beds, and you can bring your doggo along to a selection of two-bedroom cabins, too. There’s even a dog wash to keep your pup pampered while on tour.

Activity-wise, there’s a swimming pool, shaded playground, bouncing pillow, barbecues, and a games room, plus you’ll be sorted for an extended stay thanks to a camp kitchen, laundry, and dump point.

4. Tallebudgera Creek Tourist Park

Where: Tallebudgera
Pet friendly? No

The Gold Coast’s worst-kept secret, Tallebudgera Creek Tourist Park, was once a relaxed haven for holidaymakers taking full advantage of the southern region’s most spectacular family-friendly swimming spot. But crowds now flock to this Gold Coast caravan park, well beyond school holidays, to soak up Talle’s picture-perfect surf set just beyond a dramatic mountain face, shallow, toddler-tailored splash spots along the creek and year-round good vibes.

The park offers unpowered and powered sites, some with ensuite bathrooms, plus rooms that cater for both couples and up to six-person families. There are also two and three-bedroom cabins. Outside of the creek’s endless swimming opportunities, there’s a kids’ splash zone and swimming pool fitted with waterslides, a food truck, tennis court, playground, and barbecue facilities on site, plus a kiosk, nearby boat ramp, dump point, laundry, and camp kitchen to keep the party rolling.

Burleigh Heads and surrounds

5. Burleigh Beach Tourist Park

Where: Burleigh Heads
Pet friendly? No

Situated just a short stroll away from the eclectic cafe, bar and boutique mecca of Burleigh Heads, Burleigh Beach Tourist Park is also just 200 metres from Burleigh Point which offers some of the dreamiest views right across the Gold Coast’s shimmering shores.

The much-loved space features powered sites for campervans, trailers and tents, plus a quirky take on glamping on the Gold Coast with its adorable two-person vintage van. There’s also a range of self-contained two-bedroom cabins, plus barbecues, a communal kitchen, a laundry, a games room, an on-site kiosk, and a dump point.

6. Nobby Beach Holiday Village

Where: Miami
Pet friendly? No

You’ll spot the waterslide before you get into Nobby Beach Holiday Village, a family-friendly hot spot right on the Gold Coast Highway that also offers walkable access to Miami’s thriving foodie and bar scene. This action-packed caravan park on the Gold Coast also provides easy transport to the city’s best theme parks, with a bus stop right out the front of the property.

Inside, the waterslide is unsurprisingly a kid magnet but so are the ninja and junior playgrounds, two heated pools and a recreation room fitted with video games and a lounge area. Grassed powered sites, studio rooms, two-bedroom villas and three to four-bedroom houses offer unique homes away from home, plus there’s a lovely camp kitchen featuring stone benchtops, a mini-mart, separate men’s and women’s shower blocks, a dump point and a laundry. Spoil yourself with in-room massages during business hours, too.

7. Jandarra Farm

Where: Tallebudgera Valley
Pet friendly? No

If you really want to get off the beaten track, Jandarra Farm’s country camping experience on a working farm should be top of your list. With just three sites (for either a tent, camper trailer, or 4WD caravan), it really lives up to its name: Jandarra means ‘place of peace’.

While you’re there, learn about the farm’s use of regenerative agriculture, visit onsite rockpools, take a self-guided walk through the rainforest and even enjoy a sauna. Join other campers around a communal campfire.

Gold Coast hinterland

8. Thunderbird Park

Where: Tamborine Mountain
Pet friendly? Yes

A pooch-friendly escape amid lush tropical rainforest offers a totally unique holiday experience thanks to Thunderbird Park’s awesome caravanning grounds. Thunderbird Park, a popular outdoor activity hub built across 112 hectares of stunning hinterland, plays home to a collection of unpowered and powered bush sites suitable for both caravans and tents, and best of all, you can bring your four-legged friend along with you.

There are also two-bedroom, self-contained bush lodges and glamping tents on-site. The Gold Coast caravan park features a camp kitchen with barbecues, a laundry, fire pits at each site, several dump points and two eateries; The Terrace Kiosk dishing up pizzas and snacks, as well as the Rainforest Restaurant & Lounge Bar that’s more formal and fitted with a pool table, TV, and fireplace.

Gold Coast suburbs

9. Ashmore Palms Holiday Village

Where: Ashmore
Pet friendly? No

In the mood for a resort-style ritz on the Gold Coast but struggling to splurge on the cost? Ashmore Palms Holiday Village is a 15-acre Gold Coast holiday park that houses a bunch of apartments and villas, plus powered caravan sites.

Just a 10-minute drive from Surfers Paradise, two lagoon-style swimming pools with one featuring a baby-friendly splash zone, two playgrounds, three laundries, barbecue areas, a tennis court, a general store, an activity centre that stages regular programs of kids’ games and arts and crafts, plus exotic bird aviaries, provide bucketloads of one-stop-shop fun for the whole family.

10. Big4 Gold Coast Holiday Park

Where: Helensvale
Pet friendly? Yes

Offering some of the most convenient theme park accommodation on the Gold Coast, Big4 Gold Coast Holiday Park is the ultimate children’s playground in itself. The Gold Coast caravan park, located right between the two heavy clusters of theme parks along the Pacific motorway so it’s undoubtedly some of the region’s best family accommodation, caters for clans of all shapes and sizes, including the furry variety.

Here you’ll find unpowered and powered sites for campervans, trailers, caravans, and tents, plus one, two and three-bedroom cabins. You’ll find a sprawling waterpark on site plus plenty of kids’ activities, a resort-inspired pool and spa area fitted with luxurious cabanas, a leash-free dog park, doggy wash and even a dog-sitting service, licenced cafe and so much more. Further comfort is ensured via a laundry, camp kitchen and barbecue facilities, plus there’s a sewage dump point.

11. Treasure Island Holiday Resort

Where: Biggera Waters
Pet friendly? Yes

Another high-energy Gold Coast caravan park, Treasure Island Holiday Resort offers a wide range of powered sites that also cater for dogs if you’re holidaying outside the school holiday periods. A mix of caravan, motorhome, camper trailer, and tent-friendly sites are available for guests to set their digs up and dump their belongings before getting stuck into the park’s impressive range of facilities and activities.

A pirate-themed waterpark, four swimming pools including one with a waterslide, go-kart hire, a kids’ club, mini golf and bouncing pillow will keep little ones entertained while barbecue facilities, a cinema, Galleons Bistro’s a la carte dining, a gym and camp kitchen should help grownups settle in quickly. There’s also a boat ramp, laundry, and dump point on hand.

Looking for kid-friendly activities on the Gold Coast? Feel your heart racing at the top Gold Coast theme parks here.