The 8 best things to do in Geelong and The Bellarine for families

Chloe Cann Chloe Cann
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From fairground rides for little ones to indoor rock climbing for bigger kids, and wildlife encounters fit for all ages, Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula has plenty to offer even the pickiest of family members.

1. Barrabool Maze Estate, Geelong

Get the kids off their devices and into the fresh country air at this Greater Geelong destination. Occupying 1.6 hectares, Barrabool Maze Estate’s principal attraction is, of course, its maze, but there are also gardens full of cacti and succulents to tour, as well as a cafe to relax in with a flat white and a wodge of cake.

Barrabool Maze, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Try to get out of the Barrabool Maze. (Image: Tourism Geelong)

2. Museum of Play and Art (MoPA), Geelong

A museum built solely to encourage play and creativity among the already inquisitive minds of kids aged one to seven, Geelong’s MoPA is unlike much else on offer in Victoria. Featuring immersive exhibits and interactive art experiences, the museum’s aim is to help engage and educate little ones through play-based learning: think glitter-doused millennial pink water play exhibits, soft play ‘mosh pits’ and more.

Museum of Play and Art, Geelong, VIC, Australia
A museum built solely to encourage play and creativity among the already inquisitive minds of kids. (Image: Melissa Lau)

3. Adventure Park Geelong

If you’re looking for a family-friendly outing that can easily chew up the better part of a day while exhausting energetic little ones, make a beeline for Victoria’s biggest water theme park. The crowd-pleasing Adventure Park Geelong gives equal billing to water rides, fairground rides and activities, and the entrance fee provides access to all three.

huge slides at Adventure Park Geelong
During summer, kids can enjoy corkscrew waterslides more than seven storeys high.

Come summer, the kids can enjoy corkscrew waterslides more than seven storeys high, a meandering lazy river, a waterpark replete with dozens of jets, a Ferris wheel, tea cup ride, small-scale spinning roller coaster and two mini golf courses. If you’re making a day of it, consider renting one of the cabanas or sunbed pods, which offer a little retreat from the mayhem.

Family Cabana, Adventure Park, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Rent one of the cabanas, which offer a little retreat from the mayhem.

In winter the venue offers something a little different. With the water park rides shut for the season, visitors can instead explore a winter wonderland with a vast Christmas lights display, activities including UV face painting, fire twirling and ice sculpting shows, and a snow play zone. Even the food and drink offering is winter themed: think roasted marshmallows and hot chocolate for the kids, and spiced cider or mulled wine for the grown-ups.

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4. The Carousel, Geelong

Enjoy a dose of good old-fashioned childhood nostalgia at The Carousel . Housed within a glass pavilion on the city’s waterfront, this sensitively restored hand-carved wooden carousel dates all the way back to the 1890s, and is one of only 200 in operation globally. The fairground ride features two chariots and 36 horses, 24 of which are original. There’s also a mobility lift, enabling wheelchair users to enjoy the vintage fairground ride too.

The Carousel, Geelong Waterfront, VIC, Australia
Housed within a glass pavilion on the city’s waterfront, this sensitively restored hand-carved wooden carousel dates all the way back to the 1890s. (Image: Visit Victoria)

While the carousel now runs on electric power, the original twin-cylinder steam engine that used to power it stands proudly on display and is operated on a regular basis. An attraction in itself, it’s believed to be the only one of its kind in Australia, and possibly one of only five in the world.

The Carousel - Geelong Waterfront, VIC, Australia
You’re sure to enjoy a dose of good old-fashioned childhood nostalgia. (Image: Visit Victoria)

5. Fairy Park, Anakie

Little ones with a penchant for fairy tales will enjoy this self-described ‘medieval wonderland’, home to fairies, elves, hippogriffs and dragons. Set amid the rolling green landscapes of Anakie, a 30-minute drive north-west of Geelong, Fairy Park affords visitors 360-degree views of the local countryside, all the way out to the Corio Bay, from its summit. There are 22 animated fairy tales to explore, as well as an adventure playground, model train set and train museum. Set aside at least 90 minutes to see it all.

Castle, Fairy Park, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Little ones with a penchant for fairy tales will enjoy this ‘medieval wonderland’.

6. The Rock Adventure Centre, Geelong

indoor rock climbing at The Rock Adventure Centre, Geelong
Take your sporty kids to the vertical playground at The Rock Adventure Centre.

The perfect training ground for rambunctious or sporty kids aged five and up, The Rock Adventure Centre in Geelong is a vertical playground that will wear out minds as well as bodies. Here you’ll find more than 100 climbs across 25 walls, some up to 12 metres high, ensuring that novices, experts and everyone in between will feel appropriately challenged. Watch on as the kids tackle one of the two auto belays or bond while belaying them yourself. It also houses a huge bouldering cave (with a fully padded floor) that features more than 500m² of problems to solve and physical limits to test.

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7. The Range at Curlewis, Geelong

Carve out some time for a pitstop at this Geelong driving range where you can thwack a few balls with the family while chewing the fat – no golfing experience necessary. Even teens and tweens who would rather have their noses in phones can be lured into teeing off here, with the bays boasting Toptracer Range screens that allow for a real-time deep dive into your shots.

The Range at Curlewis, Geelong, VIC, Australia
No golfing experience necessary when you visit The Range at Curlewis.

8. Sea All Dolphin Swims, Queenscliff

Frolic with wild Burrunan dolphins and Australian fur seals to create some core family memories on a half-day tour with Sea All Dolphin Swims .

Sea All Dolphin Swims, Queenscliff, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Create some core family memories on a half-day tour with Sea All Dolphin Swims. (Image: Visit Victoria)

On the Dolphin & Seal Swim, you’ll spend close to four hours on the sheltered aquamarine waters of Port Phillip Bay; keep an eye peeled for bird and marine life and plunge in to get a closer look. There’s no minimum age, and thanks to the buoyancy of the operator’s thick wetsuits you don’t even need to be able to swim to have a crack. Best of all, you’re in the safe hands of a friendly, patient and experienced crew.

Dolphin & Seal Swim, Port Philip Bay, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Plunge in to get a closer look at the seals. (Image: Visit Victoria)

If your little ones get nervous at the prospect of diving into open water, try the shorter 90-minute Wildlife Sightseeing Tour instead. You’ll eye all kinds of creatures without even getting your feet wet.

Chloe Cann
Chloe Cann is an award-winning freelance travel and food writer, born in England, based in Melbourne and Roman by adoption. Since honing her skills at City St George's, University of London with a master's degree in journalism, she's been writing almost exclusively about travel for more than a decade, and has worked in-house at newspapers and travel magazines in London, Phnom Penh, Sydney and Melbourne. Through a mixture of work and pleasure, she's been fortunate enough to visit 80 countries to date, though there are many more that she is itching to reach. While the strength of a region's food scene tends to dictate the location of her next trip, she can be equally swayed by the promise of interesting landscapes and offbeat experiences. And with a small person now in tow, travel looks a little different these days, but it remains at the front of her mind.
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The iconic Victorian beach where true Aussie surf culture was born

    Craig Tansley Craig Tansley
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    Torquay’s Bells Beach is considered one of the best surf beaches in the world.

    It’d be easy to think Australian surf culture was born around the right-hand point breaks of the Gold Coast and Byron Bay. These regions seem the epitome of how the world views Aussie surfers – bronzed (or burnt), languishing in warm water and sunshine. The reality is a lot different.

    The rise of surf culture along Victoria’s coastline

    surfers at Bells Beach in Australia
    Surfers stand on the shore at Bells Beach, where the country’s biggest surfing competition is held each year. (Image: Getty/Filed Image)

    True Aussie surf culture was born on the chilly waves of Victoria’s winters, when huge swells from the Great Southern Ocean hit cliff-lined beaches along the Great Ocean Road . These beaches were the ultimate proving ground – surfers from all over Australia arrived in panel vans and VWs to do battle with the biggest waves they could find.

    huge swells from the Great Southern Ocean at Bells Beach
    Surfers take advantage of the huge swells from the Great Southern Ocean at Bells Beach. (Image: Tourism Australia/Cameron Murray)

    There are surf breaks all along this very picturesque coast – but those around Torquay were most revered. The ultimate test of a surfer’s ability – and durability – however, was Bells Beach: Australia’s answer to Hawai‘i’s Pipeline. Just beyond, the breaks at Jan Juc and Winkipop beckoned.

    an aerial view of surfers at Bells Beach
    Hit the waves along the picturesque coast. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Torquay became surfing’s Silicon Valley: HQ for the entire Australian surf culture revolution. Four young locals worked out of their backyards in Torquay to create two of the world’s biggest surf labels – Rip Curl and Quiksilver , which soon became the region’s biggest employers.

    surfers out at Bells Beach
    Surfers out at Bells Beach, Victoria’s most famous beach. (Image: Tourism Australia/Cameron Murray)

    Rip Curl started sponsoring the Bells Beach Pro in 1973 – and have done ever since. It’s been going since 1962 – making it the world’s longest continually run surfing contest. Held every Easter, it’s part of the world surfing tour. Spectators line its 30-metre-high cliffs to watch the world’s best take on enormous waves – it’s the ultimate coliseum for the sport and has inspired generations of Aussie surfers to join the list of heroes whose names are on its iconic bell.

    Follow the waves through Victoria’s surfing heartland

    Australian National Surfing Museum, Torquay
    The Australian National Surfing Museum in Torquay. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Just behind Torquay’s main drag, you can see all that history on display at the world’s best surf museum – the Australian National Surfing Museum . Here you can take your time absorbing the 100-year-or-so history of Australian surfing and check out the 150-strong surfboard collection.

    surfboards on display at Australian National Surfing Museum
    The museum holds surfing memorabilia, including a room dedicated to the history of boards. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    But classic Aussie surf culture can be observed in everyday life all over the Great Ocean Road and Torquay. Surfing dictates life here; no work is done until the big swells have come and gone. Just being here provides a window into 60-odd years of rebellion against convention; for no-one likes nine-to-five living on the Great Ocean Road.

    surfing memorabilia at Australian National Surfing Museum
    The varied displays celebrate the Bells Beach competition, surfing legends and Aussie surf culture. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    There’s less panel vans and VW Beetles these days, but surf culture still rules life. Surfers run this coast; you’re better off keeping out of their way when they’re running down past you to face the biggest swells – then hear them swap stories at cafes, restaurants and bars all around you.

    surfing at Bells Beach
    The beach near Torquay is Australia’s answer to Hawai‘i’s Pipeline. (Image: Visit Victoria/William Watt)