Traveller Awards: The top spots for those who just want to have fun

Traveller Awards: Fun times

Whether you’re appointed official Holiday Chief Entertainment Officer to your brood, or just craving a touch of whimsy, we tasked the Traveller brain trust to recommend places and experiences specifically for those travellers who just want to have fun. And boy did they deliver. Read on for our Traveller Awards 2024 winners in the Fun Times category.

Turkish Airlines’ Flying Chefs

Bringing glamour back to the pointy end of the plane with Turkish Airlines’ Flying Chefs.

It’s a sight that thrills even the most blasé of frequent flyers. Imagine seeing a toque-topped chef trundling a goodie-laden trolley down the aisle of your business-class cabin. Passengers can eye off the mezze and dessert choices before making selections (main dishes are brought directly to your seat). Turkish Airlines, which launched flights to and from Melbourne in March, is bringing glamour back to the pointy end of the plane with its Flying Chefs, who are aboard flights of eight hours’ duration or longer. The airline continues its heightened focus on food at its Istanbul airport business lounges. See turkishairlines.com

Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, Fiji

One full-time childminder assigned to each of your offspring at Jean Michel Cousteau Fiji.Credit: Chris McLennan

For parents of young children, we have four words for you: “one nanny per child”. That’s what you get at Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort. That’s what everyone gets. One nanny per child, one full-time childminder assigned to each of your offspring, from 8am to 9pm every day. That means everyone is having a ball. The kids are living the dream, because they’re off with their new Fijian buddy catching hermit crabs and collecting coconuts and going on the waterslide. The parents are having a blast because they’re going scuba-diving or drinking cocktails by the pool. And whenever you all want to hang out together and enjoy the experience as a family, you do. See fijiresort.com

Disney Cruises

Disney Wonder will return to Australia for a second season in late 2024.

It’s been more than 25 years since Disney launched a cruise line, but none of its ships had made it to Australia until last summer with the arrival of Disney Wonder. On board it’s a family-friendly affair of non-stop entertainment with Broadway-standard theatre shows, costumed characters wandering the decks, dance parties and a kids club. But the big surprise is how many spaces are dedicated to adults including bars, cafes and a pool, for those parents who are having a break while their kids are safely occupied elsewhere. Disney Wonder returns this summer for its second season Down Under. See disneycruise.disney.go.com

Club Med Kiroro Grand, Japan

Club Med Kororo Grand is heaven for young families.

Hot tip: don’t go to Club Med Kiroro Grand without your kids. You will feel terrible. You will know that everyone is missing out. Because this new resort in Hokkaido, in the heart of Japan’s premier ski country, is custom-designed for family good times. There are buffet meals three times a day, with cuisine that will impress everyone, from food-loving adults to picky kids. There’s live entertainment at night featuring magicians and bands and other performers. There are free ski lessons. There are perky, smiley staff members everywhere you go. And pricing is all-inclusive, so you know exactly how much you’ll spend. See clubmed.com.au

Spellbound by Magic Castle, Sun Princess

Enough vaporous cocktails to keep Houdini happy at Spellbound.Credit: Princess Cruises

Is it a speakeasy, an escape room or a Victorian mansion? Hidden behind a discreet black door on cruise ship Sun Princess is Spellbound, a seductive space of red velvet lounges, cabinets of curios and a beverage menu with enough vaporous cocktails to keep Houdini happy. In collaboration with LA’s Magic Castle, the dinner and show experience (at an additional charge) blends the art of fine food and mixology to create an event that is truly mind-bending. After dinner and drinks in a private section of Horizons dining room, guests are led to the Spellbound bar (expect sleight of hand and sliding walls) where the magic begins. To say any more would be to break the magician’s code. See princess.com

The Republic, Forgotten World Adventures

Through an old railway tunnel in a converted golf buggy with Forgotten World Adventures.

There are two surprising things about driving a golf buggy through New Zealand’s “forgotten World”, apart from the fact that there’s not a putting green within sight. Firstly, the steering wheel doesn’t work and secondly, the final destination is a town that doesn’t exist. The Republic is an adventure that takes guests for an 82-kilometre ride on a repurposed golf buggy or “rail cart” along the tracks of the abandoned Stratford-Okahukura line. The route passes through 24 hand-cut tunnels and over 94 bridges concluding with an overnight stay at the iconic Whangamomona Hotel in the self-proclaimed Republic of Whangamomona. Remote and ethereal landscapes, rail-side picnics and pioneering history make this a winner. See forgottenworldadventures.co.nz

TeamLab, Japan

Visitors walk barefoot through a technicolour world of gardens and streams at teamLab.Credit: TeamLab

TeamLab is a Japanese-based collective of rich creative minds that combine art, science, technology and natural elements to present a series of incredible and often interactive exhibits. While some of those exhibits tour internationally, the true home of teamLab is Tokyo, where you’ll find teamLab Planets, where visitors walk barefoot through a technicolour world of gardens and streams, and teamLab Borderless, where light-based artworks move and interact through a series of rooms. Look out for the new teamLab Museum Kyoto, scheduled to open soon. See teamlab.art

All Seasons Houseboats, Victoria

Swish six-bedroom houseboat, Elevate Luxury.

Houseboating is an awesome and wholesome way to holiday, affording good times for all ages. All Seasons runs impeccably kept, beautifully designed houseboats featuring hot tubs, barbecues, sun decks, en suite bedrooms and well-appointed kitchens to ensure you need only leave to top up supplies. Running a section of the Murray River out of Mildura, the family business has just added Elevate Luxury to the fleet. The six-bedroom, six-bathroom boat has an internal lift that allows wheelchair, mobility-impaired and other guests an easier way to enjoy the houseboat experience. See allseasonshouseboats.com.au

Alma Resort, Vietnam

The Beachfront Pool Pavilion at Alma Resort.

It’s got 12 sizeable swimming pools – not counting those in the property’s water park, nor the plunge pools attached to private villas. And that’s not all Alma Resort offers to families and funsters who like their resorts super-sized. This 30-hectare behemoth has kids’ clubs, a cinema, a lavish spa,14 restaurants and bars, plus an enormous amount of sports options. Across more than 500 rooms, choose from high-rise apartments, some with three bedrooms, or oceanfront villas. All of this, and a short drive to Cam Ranh Airport makes Alma Resort, on the Cam Ranh Peninsula south of Nha Trang, a winner in the fun stakes. See alma-resort.com

Hobbiton, New Zealand

Still one of the most magical places you can visit … Hobbiton.

Whether you’re a Lord of the Rings tragic or Middle Earth mania has completely passed you by, Hobbiton is still one of the most magical places you can visit. On a farm in the middle of New Zealand’s North Island, it’s an absolute jewel of a place: all rolling hills so green that they glow, heart-wrenchingly cute Hobbit holes cut into the banks with miniature everything inside; and a fabulous network of paths to skip along. It’s a busy place but tours are well-organised and this peek into a fabulous literary and movie world is breathtaking. See hobbitontours.com

Traveller Awards contributors: Kate Armstrong, John Borthwick, Jim Darby, Anthony Dennis, Ben Groundwater, Julietta Jameson, Trudi Jenkins, Brian Johnston, Ute Junker, Katrina Lobley, Catherine Marshall, Rob McFarland, Justin Meneguzzi, Craig Platt, Jane Reddy, Jane Richards, Tim Richards, Craig Tansley, Lee Tulloch, Kerry van der Jagt, Penny Watson, Sue Williams