Australia with toddlers

Am planning a 3 week trip in Australia in August with my LOs (2.5 yrs and 16 mths). We'll go to Sydney for a week, and then I would like to find a few other places within 4 hours drive from Sydney where we can stay for several nights and see plenty of nature and animals. Ideally one week by the sea, another maybe more in the bush. Anyone has any suggestion ?

Am also considering staying in a farmstay, that would be great for the babies, anyone has some experience to share on this ?


I'd really appreciate some advice from the Ossies and anyone who has already travelled there, we want to discover a bit of Australia, but really want to make this a comfortable experience for the babies.

We took our then 2 year old son to Sydney and he loved it. We found that the laid back Aussie culture was perfect for little ones and families who want to explore but not be on a "hurried pace". My son loved Bondi Beach, Taronga Zoo and Blue Mountain. We did not go elsewhere but plan to do so in the next trip.

The Blue Mountain are beautiful and abundant in wildlife with a variety of places to stay in. Megalong Valley (in the Blue Mountains) have a couple of farmstay places mainly focusing on horseriding. It is a stunningly beautiful place and my kids love riding there and often come across all sorts of wildlife.

For seaside adventures we go up to Nelsons Bay/Port Stephens which is renowed for its dolphins and you can cruise out to see them and ride in the boom nets alongside them. Sometimes they come very close to the shore to play - we have never been dissapointed yet! There is also a place nearby called Lemon Tree Passage where we stayed overnight to see the koalas in the trees.

Mmom is correct - Taronga Zoo is superb, Sydney Aquarium is amazing and Manly Aquarium (smaller) is also very good for hands on experiences!

Thanks, I've seen Nelson Bay/port Stephens in the LP, seem like good places to stay.

I've been told about Jervis Bay as well.

Maybe 1 week in Sydney, 1 week in Nelson Bay and 1 week in the Blue mountains would be good.

I'll look into that !

Hi, some of the best places to visit around Sydney/New South Wales:-

- Blue Mountains (Jenolan Caves is a must to see and Megalong Valley for the animals)

- Hunter Valley (it's along the way to the Blue Mountains where you can go horse riding/visit vineyards - they are very nice and peaceful and kids, while they can't drink the wine, will enjoy the scenery)

- Western Plain Zoo (Open setting of animals)

- Taronga Zoo (most definitely for the kids)

- Koala Park (lots of koalas, kangaroos and birds)

- Barrington Tops (the sceneries are wonderful and lots of activities nearby - canoeing, horse riding etc)

- Port Stephens (for a beach holiday)

- North Head (for beautiful views of the sea and cliffs - you can do this as part of your Sydney stay)

- Colloroy beach where you can see a lot more beaches (that are not too crowded). They even have rock pools to walk on and little fishes swimming in them) - also within Sydney

- Gosford? Oh dear, I cannot remember, but there's a place you can hire a boat, drive it yourself and go fishing on the boat. We caught nothing so it was just good to play with the kids on the boat and drive anywhere we wanted


Apart from Sydney, you could also consider Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. It's 3 hours plane ride from Sydney but everything there is fantastic. You can go on the night safari to see nocturnal animals and you can go to the barrier reef to see beautiful corals and fishes. You could go to the daintree rainforest and the kuranda rainforest to see all the wildlife, flora and fauna there. The kids get to go on a scenic train ride and even boat trips to see baby crocs etc. Then there are performances by the local tribes there (the aboriginal dances etc).

The Central Coast (Gosford, The Entrance, Terrigal etc) is also a nice little trip away. About hour & half up north. You've got beaches, horseriding, pelican feeding at the Entrance, Australian Reptile Park (if your kids are into that sort of thing), shopping centres for those rainy/too cold for the beach days.....


Just a thought. Could definitely fill a few days there.


Have a good trip!

We took our daughter when she was 18 months to Gold Coast for 5 days, awesome time on the beach, and the amusement parks...., then we flew to Sydney and stayed at Shangri-la. Very nice, breather from HK..... I didn't consider Great Barrier Reef b/c she was too young to do anything.


But we regret not renting a car to see the city. It was quite difficult to take taxis, and expensive!

No doubt you'll love it down there. Remember though, August is the middle of winter in Sydney so it won't really be beach weather - you may want to focus more on the farmstay thing and seeing the sights of Sydney that everyone has mentioned. But, both Port Stephens and Jervis Bay are particularly beautiful and great for winter beach play if not swimming/sunbaking. And remember, Bondi is probably Sydney's worst beach! Get away from the drunk backpackers and head north instead. Manly is very easy to get to and more child-friendly - and head north from there if you have a car, up the northern beaches as they are gorgeous (can you tell I'm biased!!??). In the city, the aquarium and zoo are a must and the botanical gardens lovely for a picnic lunch. Hope you have a lovely holiday.