Toddler friendly holiday ideas please!

[amberj]

We're planning a holiday for later this year- probably around June and probably for about a week.

I can think of a million places I would love to go with my husband, but add in the (then) 2 year old and I am suddenly very unsure about where to go. Does anyone have any good ideas?

[christy]

Is there a cost issue??

If so, you need to decide what your $$ will premit. I have thought about going to those hotels before for a long weekend which have child care centres, but then again have decided I want the children to have a holiday as well as me. I've tried for places such as the beach... so we stay in the Big 4 carivan parks where they have heaps of kids activities as well as beaches and good cabins to stay in for me. HTH!

[Olive]

were planning on a weekend away down the coast,i found a resort/park that have cottages etc.. they have indoor playgrounds for the kids etc.. is that what your after??
or lots of places in QLD are very family friendly with kids clubs etc..

[ezymay]

I'll be watching this thread with interest. We spent a few days in the Barrossa recently and it wasn't a lot of fun for DD

[Rosie's Mum]

Might sound mad but for Christmas we had a "staycation" in Melbourne city. It was so much cheaper without the flights and taxis and I hate the hassle of flying with a baby. We stayed at a gorgeous serviced apartment, we did all that stuff like the aquaruim, southbank, docklands, there's the Monkey Mania play centre, acmi etc. We organised a babysitter through the hotel and just went out like adults! It was so relaxing even though we only lived 20 minutes away, we didn't have to cook or clean or deal with everything you have to deal with at home.

Or Thailand?

[fionas]

LOVE the "staycation" idea Rosie's Mum!

My criteria for a toddler-friendly holiday is, well ... swimming pool.

We've stayed at the Big4 holiday park in Queenscliff (indoor heated swimming pool) which was great though it depends on how close you want to be from the town centre.

We've also stayed at the big place in Lorne that used to be pink but isn't any more. Also very good as was the pub across the road for meals.

Next weekend we're going to The Esplanade in Lakes Entrance - has two pools and a spa. Hoping to fit in a pedicure.

[feeb]

Ohhh good topic I would love a holiday!

[aussienic]

There are so many choices.. A holiday by the beach.. Except in June you can't go swimming

Holiday out in the country somewhere. I am not sure what is down your way.. We have taken our 2 yr olds to museums and huge city walks..

Camping.. Although might be cold down there.

[Indadhanu]

GREAT topic, we're also looking at going on a toddler holiday in July/August.

We were going to do NZ but decided against it in winter, at least until she's older.

LOVE the 'staycation' idea. Theres heaps of things we want to do around Brisbane and the Gold Coast!

Might start an 'overseas holiday' thread, since I'm not sure what direction you want this thread to go in!

[alicia]

We went to Uluru, Kings Canyon, Alice Springs in the middle of last year (not camping, we stayed at the resort). It was a great holiday for DD, who was then 18 months old. It wasn't very crowded (we didn't go in school holidays) and DD could run along all the paths, do most of the walks with us and loved having picnics everywhere! I wasn't expecting to enjoy the holiday nearly as much as I did, but it was just so relaxing being outside all the time, in the quiet, where DD could run around and collect rocks to her hearts content. The red sand was also a major winner with a toddler

[shellbell3]

Ooh good thread, I'll be watching this.

But also love the staycation idea. I hate flying myself! And you actually get to explore the city you live in.

[Olive]

another thing we are going to do in the coming years is a Farm stay!!

[~breeze~]

another thing we are going to do in the coming years is a Farm stay!!

We did a farmstay for NYE 08/09. DD was 3.5yrs & DS was 4 months. DD loved it, got to feed the animals, collect eggs (then eat them!!) & milk the cows! It was a great family holiday

I took DD to the Gold Coast when she was 2yrs old, we did dreamworld & whitewater world & she loved it, there are heaps of rides for the littlies (wiggle world) & they love meeting characters from kids tv shows!!!! Just make sure you take a packed lunch as its very expensive to buy food there!!

[~me~]

Fiji have some great deals going at the moment. Resort style holiday and the Fijian's are wonderful with kids. Can even get a nanny at night so you can go out for dinner.
Alot of the deals include everything such as meals, drinks and so on.
Have a look at this site..holidayswithkids dot com dot au.

[Erin_25]

We are going on a holiday in April & just got a great deal from the deals they have at the end of Getaway. We are getting 5 nights at a family friendly holiday park on the Gold Coast...awesome.

We've been on a few holidays with DS & for me atm it's about getting away as we live remote & DS just having fun & passing the time without too many $$$$ as he's too young to remember most things & sometimes he acts up like when we went to the Adelaide Zoo. So I don't want to waste $$$ on something he may not be interested in yet.

I agree QLD has some great places & the Big 4 caravan parks are the best. With mini golf, huge playgrounds, kids club, bird feeding, & cafe's on site you can just spend a day there LOL! The beach is always a winner too, but will be too cold then.

We went to Lithgow in either June or July last year with DS just after he was 2. That was great, so many walking trails (didn't cost anything) & DS could just get out & have fun & then would sleep in the car & we took him to see Thomas (reason we went there). This was a great holiday, but next time I would stay somewhere other than Lithgow, some better towns close by with more to offer.

[Ginger]

I think Phillip Island is an awesome spot for a toddler/family holiday. There's lots of adventure parks, wildlife parks- you can go and see koalas and then go and see the penguin parade at night. There's a big indoor play centre there and nice quiet beaches to go walking along.

[~Kim~]

Big 4 Parks are always great for both good quality reasonably priced accommodation and child friendly areas.

So far I have travelled to;

Tassie for a driving holiday - good if your bub is good in the car. Lots of stuff for little people to get involved with. Would be cold in June though.

Lindeman Island - great for toddlers. Kids club is FANTASTIC! Food is appropriate as is the accommodation.

Melbourne - plenty of stuff for little people as are most capital cities

Alice Springs - not so hot for toddlers (or anybody really).

Batemans Bay - lots of great activites for toddlers

all with my babies/toddlers.