Best family holidays Australia and New Zealand: Eight great destinations for a trip with the kids

Uluru at sunset.Credit: Stocksy

When you live in a country as glorious as Australia, the challenge is rarely finding a top holiday destination the whole family will enjoy. Rather, the difficulty lies with narrowing down the wealth of options.

Happily, whether you're chasing the sun, embracing the cold or looking to escape the crowds, there's an option for you (and the little ones) in every corner of our great wide land. You might even find a couple of spots across the Tasman.

Go snorkelling in far North Queensland

Tourism and Events Queensland.Credit: Biopixel

Pack the swimmers and plan a trip up north to Cairns and beyond, where winter temperatures hover around the mid-20s. Cairns, with its family-friendly properties (try Crystalbrook Collection's Bailey residences for extra space in a central location) and popular day trips out to the nearby Great Barrier Reef islands, is a great base for little ones, but consider driving north after a few days to road test the region's "best of". At Port Douglas, Back Country Bliss Adventures offers River Drift Snorkelling in the Mossman River (check out the Sheraton Mirage as a place to hang your hat), while Ocean Safari, just off the Daintree Coast at Cape Tribulation, undertakes half-day snorkelling adventures at the spectacular Mackay and Undine reefs. Lock in a stay at Ferntree Rainforest Lodge (as well as a few lush rainforest walks). tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au

Enjoy a Blue Mountains farm stay

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Embrace the cooler weather and give young urbanites the gift of country living (for a few days anyway), with a stay at Bilpin Country Lodge, a four hectare property located just 90 minutes from Sydney's CBD and moments from the Blue Mountains' main attractions. At Bilpin, kids can play with – or help look after – the property's resident animals, enjoy kayaking, bushwalking or catching yabbies, or they can opt to go horse riding or fruit picking nearby. You can even bring your fur babies along for the fun as the pet-friendly property has heated kennels. Other family farm-stay options around the country include Animal Land in Victoria's Macedon Ranges and Paradise Country on Queensland's Gold Coast. bilpinlodge.com.au

Otago Peninsula's wonderful wildlife

Make the most of the trans-Tasman bubble (and those matching super-low airfares) by booking a flight to Dunedin, New Zealand. Considered the eco-capital of the country, Dunedin – itself a fun, family town with a plethora of social media-friendly eateries, museums and street art – is the gateway to the Otago Peninsula, where all manner of wildlife waits to make your acquaintance. At the top of the list? Book in for a Little Blue Penguin tour, visit the Royal Albatross Centre, take a sea adventure with Monarch Wildlife Cruises to spot the region's fur seals, whales and penguins, or book a four-wheel-drive or walking tour with Nature's Wonders. otago-peninsula.co.nz

Create an outback road trip to Broken Hill

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Rip out your vehicle's airconditioning and install a cassette player; it's time to re-create the holidays of your youth with an old-school family road trip to Broken Hill and Silverton. Admittedly the journey is long from any capital city, so it's best broken up with overnight stays along the way, such as in Dubbo, Orange, Cobar and Nyngan if you're travelling from Sydney. Broken Hill itself has plenty to offer young families, but it's nearby Silverton with its Mad Max Museum, Silverton Outback Camel tours and Silverton Gaol that will get people talking. Can you handle driving for an extra 2½ hours? Then be sure to tack on a side trip to White Cliffs, where a stay at White Cliffs Underground Motel and an opal mining tour with Red Earth Opal are considered essential experiences. visitnsw.com

Take on a campervan tour of Tasmania

Credit: Tourism Tasmania

Admittedly, vehicle hire in the Apple Isle is something of an issue at the moment, so you'll need to reserve your campervan as soon as possible through sites such as Camper Champ, Apollo Campers or Camplify. Once you've got your wheels, however, Tasmania is yours to explore freely. Launceston in particular has plenty of child-friendly attractions and activities, while the Cradle Mountain region has many trails (long and short) as well as Tasmazia and The Village of Lower Crackpot (this will be hugely popular with every member of the family). Hobart and Port Arthur shouldn't be missed (the latter has excellent lantern-lit ghost tours for older kids) and, if you can, try to slot in a day trip to Maria Island. discovertasmania.com.au

Ski New Zealand's South Island

Credit: Cardrona Alpine Resort

Had your fill of Australia's snowfields? Then take your love of powder across the Tasman and book a stay in either Wanaka or Queenstown. The former gives you quick access to Cardrona Alpine Resort, much loved by young families for its extensive children's programs and activities, as well as Snow Farm, which offers sledding and tubing adventures for the young and not-as-young. Meanwhile, a Queenstown base offers easy access to Coronet Peak (it's got everything from the hugely popular Skiwiland crèche to beginners' slopes with handle tow), as well as The Remarkables, where kids aged seven and under ski for free. Platinum Queenstown and Blue Peaks Lodge and Apartments have two- to four-bedroom apartments, or try Criffel Station, a working deer farm, in Wanaka. newzealand.com

Enjoy a Melbourne city-centre staycation

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You've probably seen enough tourism ads to realise that Australian cities, which have long been reliant on international tourism, are struggling. Help out our CBD-based mates by checking into a hotel and treating the family to all the child-friendly attractions in town. In Melbourne you can choose between spacious, self-serviced apartments and hotels such as Mantra and Rydges, five-star hotels such as The Langham (which has some fantastic glamping packages for little ones) and everything in between. Then it's a matter of checking off all of the city's top spots: Melbourne Star Observation Wheel, Luna Park, National Gallery of Victoria, National Sports Museum and Old Melbourne Gaol. Finally, don't forget to take in the city's highlights via a City Circle tram ride. visitvictoria.com

See Darwin's Bare Sand Island turtles

Credit: Untamed Outback Images

As Darwin is closer to Asia than it is to Sydney, holidaying in the city is as close to an Indonesian holiday as you can get at the moment. The balmy weather makes every visit here feel like an endless summer, but what usually gets families talking is how suitable it is for little ones. Check out Crocosaurus Cove, take a half-day tour with Pudakul Aboriginal Culture Tours and spend long, lazy days in the Wave Lagoon on the city's Waterfront Precinct. The cherry on top? A sunset Turtle Tracks Tour to Bare Sand Island with Sea Darwin, which includes a boat transfer, dinner and the chance to see turtle hatchlings making their journey to the sea. The perfect childhood memory. seadarwin.com

This article appears in Sunday Life magazine within the Sun-Herald and the Sunday Age on sale May 23. To read more from Sunday Life, visit The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.