A beachside holiday park close to Sydney

Two hours drive from Sydney and half an hour’s drive from the Newcastle CBD in NSW, NRMA Stockton Beach Holiday Park is a pristine beachfront holiday park located in the peaceful seaside suburb of Stockton. The only Newcastle suburb situated on the north side of the Hunter River, Stockton is just a ten-minute ferry ride away from the Newcastle city centre.

We spent ten fun-filled days staying at this beautiful seaside holiday park and found it wasn’t nearly enough time to soak up all the fun, excitement and adventure on offer at such a great location!

Stockton Beach Holiday Park Accommodation Options

NRMA Stockton Beach Holiday Park has several different types of accommodation options. There are various villas and cabins, plus an abundance of caravan and camping sites to choose from – and dog-friendly sites!

Both powered and unpowered sites are available, including luxurious ensuite sites, concrete slab, mesh and grass site options.

Watch the video – take a look around our ensuite site

Stockton Beach

One of the biggest advantages of staying at NRMA Stockton Beach is its direct access to the gorgeous Stockton Beach itself, a stunning white sandy beach which stretches for miles up to the famous Stockton Sand Dunes.

Stockton Beach is a surf and swimming beach, and has patrolled swimming flag areas in the Summer months. It’s also perfect for leisurely seafront walks, shell hunting and exploring.

We found that we spent a lot of our stay at NRMA Stockton Beach either at the beach, or taking walks along the fantastic Stockton Breakwall.

The Stockton Beach Breakwall

Accessing the beautiful Stockton Beach Breakwall is as simple as walking out of the holiday park and onto it! The Stockton Break wall serves as one side of the shipping entrance to Newcastle Harbour Port, and is located opposite the famous Nobbys Lighthouse and Breakwall. This makes it the perfect viewpoint to ship-watch the massive cargo ships and their attendant tug boats cruising back and forth into the Hunter River.

The Stockton Shipwreck Walk

The Breakwall was constructed incorporating historic shipwrecks into its stonework, and plays host to the exciting Shipwreck Walk – a fascinating trail taking in the locations, names and histories of the many shipwrecks used. You can even view an actual protruding shipwreck!

Many recreational fishermen and women can be found situated along its walls too, as can a few cute cat residents who appear to live there quite happily!

No time to read? Watch our NRMA Stockton Beach Holiday Park Youtube video

NRMA Stockton Beach playgrounds & places to play

NRMA Stockton Beach features a large on-site recreation room featuring a pool table, arcade games and a TV lounge area.

There are two on-site playgrounds for the little ones with climbing frames, swings and slide.

Paved, 10kmph speed-limited roads mean kids can ride their bikes and scooters to their heart’s content.

Griffith Park adventure playground & café

For even more fun there’s a huge adventure playground and skate park.

The riverfront Griffith Park is a few minutes walk from the NRMA Stockton Beach Holiday Park and features a nautically themed playground with giant ropes, big slides, a zip line, and the Whispers On The Wharf café.

NRMA Stockton Beach Caravan Park amenities & facilities

Friendly staff, landscaped gardens and high quality maintenance are a big focus of this beautiful holiday park.

Toilets and showers are kept spotlessly clean, as are the separate parent rooms and guest laundries. All have key-coded entry for security.

A huge indoor camp kitchen

A large stainless steel indoor camp kitchen is fitted out with everything needed for all your camp meal preparation needs. Appliances in the camp kitchen include large refrigerators and freezers, stoves and microwaves.

Ample cafe-style seating inside and out is available in and around the camp kitchen and games room building.

A holiday park kiosk

Park Reception also doubles as a convenient kiosk where guests can pick up the essentials, including fishing bait.

Convenient rubbish facilities & dump points

The park also offers multiple rubbish stations, and toilet cassette and porta potti dump points.

A dog friendly caravan park

Dogs are welcome at NRMA Stockton Beach Holiday Park outside of peak holiday periods, so there’s no need to leave your pet at home! The caravan park offers pet-friendly caravanning and camping sites.

Dogs can be walked within the holiday park on a leash, along the Breakwall and are also welcome at Lexie’s On The Beach cafe next door.

A lovely dog-friendly beach can be found at the Breakwall end of the holiday park, and the surrounding area offers even more dog beaches.

There are some pet exclusion times during peak booking periods at Stockton Beach Caravan Park such as school holidays, so you’ll need to book your stay directly with the holiday park by phone.

Things to see in the Stockton Beach area

Stockton Beach makes an excellent Sydney family holiday destination. Although Stockton Beach offers all the charms of a seaside village, it’s just a short hop away from the bustling city of Newcastle. So as well having a wonderful family beachside holiday, there are also lots of fun activities and outings to explore in the local area!

A quick drive or leisurely walk down the road will bring you to the Stockton Ferry Wharf. Here you can hop on one of the frequent commuter ferries for a picturesque ten minute ride over to the feature-packed city of Newcastle.

Home to a huge range of tourist attractions including the historic Fort Scratchley, Newcastle features Nobby’s Lighthouse, surf beaches and swimming baths, the Newcastle Museum, city shops, shopping malls, restaurants and cafes.

Other nearby tourist attractions include various 4WD sand dune companies, Fighterworld Aviation MuseumFighterworld Aviation Museum where you can watch the latest airforce jets flying on weekdays (15 minutes drive) and Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters where you can feed and snorkel with stingrays and sharks (30 minutes drive).

Stockton services

The suburb of Stockton has a local clubs, pubs and a stret shopping centre with small shops, takeaways and an IGL supermarket. There are sports grounds and a public swimming pool.

Lexie’s On The Beach café

Lexie’s On The Beach café adjoins the holiday park and is open 7 days a week, making it the perfect spot to grab a morning coffee or delicious lunch with a lovely beachfront view. The café offers both indoor and outdoor dining and a great menu. There’s a kid’s menu, colouring books and the family dog is welcome too – all with that famous Stockton Beach view!

How to book your NRMA holiday parks holiday

NRMA Stockton Beach Holiday Park has all you need for the perfect family vacation to enjoy together – it’s family holidays made easy!

Find out more or book your accommodation for NRMA Stockton Beach Holiday Park at the official website here.

For more mid-north NSW coast NRMA holiday park reviews, check our NRMA Holiday Parks list

How to get to NRMA Stockton Beach Caravan Park

All information is correct as at June 2021 – please check the above website link for relevant, up to date information and accommodation prices.

The Let’s go Mum family are partnering with NRMA Holiday Parks and other activity providers in this blog, however all opinions remain firmly our own.

Like this blog? Pinterest pin it!

Have you ever visited Stockton Beach? Share your favourite activities in the comments section below!

The post NRMA Stockton Beach Holiday & Caravan Park review appeared first on Let's go Mum.

NRMA Port Macquarie Breakwall Holiday Park is a stunning waterfront park perfectly located in Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia. We spent ten fun-packed days enjoying all the delights this beautiful park has to offer.

When you choose to stay at NRMA Port Macquarie Holiday Park, you’ll find yourself holidaying in the midst of a pristine park, beautifully run by its friendly staff – a warm welcome from Dawn the park manager is waiting for you at reception!

You simply can’t beat the Port Macquarie location of this holiday park. Bordering the park is the Port Macquarie Breakwall – a tourist attraction in its own right. At one end of the Breakwall you’ll find the beautiful Port Macquarie Town Beach. At the other end, the Port Macquarie town centre for shopping and restaurants. This park truly enjoys the best of both worlds!

The Port Macquarie Breakwall

The Port Macquarie Breakwall is situated alongside the picturesque Hastings River, a hub of fun water activities and beautiful wildlife.

Fish jump, sting rays fly and dolphins play in the river alongside the Breakwall. There are all sorts of sea birds to see. The fruit bats flying en-masse across the sunset skies in an astonishing sight.

Tourist boats cruise about, taking in the views. A sea plane taking off and coming in to land is a common sight on weekends. Jet-skiers occasionally race alongside the Breakwall too.

The Breakwall is probably most famous for its decoratively painted rocks – it’s a lot of fun to wander along the Port Macquarie Breakwall and read them all!

You’ll find people walking, fishing and sightseeing. This is a popular place to be for good reason – it’s an absolutely stunning location – and it’s all only steps away from your caravan, cabin or tent!

A beautiful surf beach next door

Follow the Breakwall walk to the Port Macquarie Town Beach, a beautiful sandy beach fringed with even more places to stroll, a cafe, skate park and an exciting new adventure playground under construction.

Stroll to the Port Macquarie shops and restaurants

Walk out of the holiday park on the town side and you’ll find yourself passing the on-site Little Shack cafe – the perfect spot to take in the waterfront views anytime.

Continue on and you’ll find yourself walking (or scooting, or skate boarding) on a wide, modern concrete boardwalk alongside the Hastings River. This will lead you to the Port Macquarie town centre, with its elegant shopping centres, shops and a plethora of fabulous cafes and restaurants.

There are just so many lovely ways to pass your holiday days at NRMA Port Macquarie Holiday Park!

Activities and school holidays entertainment

From a sparkling blue swimming pool, to a school holidays activity program and fun children’s playground, NRMA Port Macquarie Breakwall will keep both kids and their parents happy with its great range of family fun!

A beautiful swimming pool

A beautiful blue swimming pool and its smaller mini-pool is an entertaining park feature, magically blue-lit at night. The pool is surrounded with umbrellas and comfortable lounges.

It’s perfectly set up for guests to settle down, socialise with friends, take a swim or read a book. This is a great place to spend some relaxing holiday time.

Playgrounds & places to play

There no shortage of fun for the kids at Port Macquarie Breakwall!

Along the Breakwall and also within the holiday park, paved roads mean kids (wearing the appropriate helmets of course) can ride their skateboards, scooters and bicycles to their heart’s content. The park’s tarred roads have a reassuringly low speed limit and, as always, parental supervision is required.

As mentioned, down the Breakwall path, at the other end of the caravan park at the beach you’ll find a brand new Council adventure playground under construction, and also a large skate park.

There’s a fun children’s playground located in the centre of the holiday park with swings and dual slippery dips. There’s also a cute little tarred matchbox car track!

A school holidays kids club

Located next to the camp kitchen and park swimming pool you’ll find the kid’s activities room. The kid’s activities room operates during school holidays with fun to keep the children entertained.

No time to read? Watch our NRMA Port Macquarie Holiday Park Youtube video

A pet friendly caravan park

Dogs are welcome at NRMA Port Maquarie Park outside of peak holiday periods, so there’s no need to leave your pets at home! The park offers pet-friendly cabins, tent sites and caravan sites. We saw a couple of Great Danes at one waterfront cabin!

Dogs can be walked within the holiday park on a leash, along the Breakwall and at several dog-friendly beaches in the area. Many local cafes with outdoor dining are dog-friendly too, such as the on-site Little Shack cafe.

Our favourite Port Maquarie dog beach (and there are several!) was Nobbys Beach, a beautiful sandy beach with rocky outcrops along it, just five minute drive along the coast road from the caravan park.

There are some pet exclusion times during peak booking periods at Port Maquarie Breakwall, such as school holidays, so you’ll need to book your stay directly with the holiday park by phone directly.

The Little Shack waterfront café

The Little Shack is a waterfront outdoor café restaurant and bar located at the NRMA Port Macquarie caravan park. In the mornings this is the place to get your much-needed barista coffee, and in the evenings on the weekend it’s the home of delicious meals eaten al-fresco style at the outdoor tables.

We loved watching the fabulous orange sunsets and the amazing spectacle of thousands of flying fruit bats leaving their sanctuary in the twilight whilst we enjoyed our meal.

You can even take your dog with you to the café, as it’s dog-friendly!

There are many more excellent restaurants and cafes all just a short stroll down the waterfront boardwalk from NRMA Port Macquarie.

Other Accommodation Options

NRMA Port Macquarie Breakwall Holiday Park has many accommodation choices, including hillside elevated cabins and water front cabins, in addition to an abundance of caravanning and camping site options.

Powered and unpowered sites, concrete slab and grass sites are all available for your caravan, motorhome or tent for you to book your next holiday.

NRMA Port Macquarie amenities & facilities

This holiday park prides itself on perfection – attentive staff, landscaped gardens and faultless maintenance.

This theme carries over to the toilets and showers which are kept spotlessly clean, as are the separate parent rooms and holiday park laundries. All have key-coded entry for security.

A large indoor camp kitchen

There are several barbeques within the park, and an elegant indoor camp kitchen fitted out for all your camp meal preparation needs. Appliances in the camp kitchen include a large refrigerator, cooker and microwave.

Ample seating both inside and out is available in and around the camp kitchen area.

Convenient rubbish facilities & dump points

The park also offers multiple rubbish stations, and convenient toilet cassette and porta potty dump points.

The perfect Port Macquarie base

Located on NSW Mid North Coast, NRMA Port Macquarie Holiday Resort makes an excellent Brisbane and Sydney family holiday destination.

Things to see in the Port Maquarie area

The town of Port Maquarie is famous for its natural beauty, and offers miles of beautiful scenic drives featuring secluded cove beaches, quaint small towns and picturesque coastal walks. Fishing and watersports are popular pursuits along the Hastings River and surrounding waterways.

Nearby tourist attractions include local parks, surf beaches and a light house.

Town services

The town of Port Macquarie is modern and clean, with a large marina and paved riverfront areas. It is a major regional service centre, with numerous shopping malls, major supermarkets, medical services, petrol stations, takeaway food, chain fast food outlets and all classes of restaurants. There are large commercial outlets including hardware. caravan and camping stores, auto parts stores and mechanics.

How to book your NRMA holiday parks holiday

NRMA Port Macquarie Breakwall Holiday Park has all you need for the perfect family vacation to enjoy together – it’s family holidays made easy!

Find out more or book your accommodation for NRMA Port Macquarie Breakwall Holiday Park at the official website here.

For more mid-north NSW coast NRMA holiday park reviews, check our NRMA Holiday Parks list

How to get to Port Macquarie Breakwall Holiday & Caravan Park

All information is correct as at May 2021 – please check the above website link for relevant, up to date information and accommodation prices.

The Let’s go Mum family are partnering with NRMA Holiday Parks, however all opinions remain firmly our own.

Like this blog? Pinterest pin it!

Have you ever visited Port Macquarie? Share your favourite things to do in the comments section below!

The post NRMA Port Macquarie Breakwall Holiday & Caravan Park review appeared first on Let's go Mum.

NRMA South West Rocks Holiday Resort is a family-friendly holiday park with its own spectacular pirate ship waterpark located in South West Rocks, NSW, Australia. We spent ten fun-packed days at this holiday park enjoying all the family activities it had to offer.

When you choose to stay at NRMA South West Rocks Holiday Resort, you’ll find yourself holidaying in the midst of a beautiful, natural bush park land setting bursting with local wildlife.

Situated alongside a natural lagoon and Hat Head National Park, don’t be too surprised if you wake up to a kangaroo or two lazing outside of your door in the mornings! By the end of our stay we had become regular observers of our neighbourhood kangaroos, kookaburras and a pair of goannas!

A beautiful surf beach across the road

As if the amazing wildlife isn’t enough, you get a beach holiday too! Just across the road from NRMA South West Rocks you’ll find the beautiful, dog-friendly Trial Bay Beach which stretches from Trial Bay Gaol all the way around to the sleepy coastal township of South West Rocks. Swimming at the beach is a lot of fun, but one of the most exciting swimming options in the area is within the South West Rocks Holiday Resort itself – the pirate ship pool and waterpark, Shipwreck Island!

Resort fun activities and entertainment

From an amazing water play area, to a kids club, bouncing pillow and games arcade, NRMA South West Rocks will keep both kids and their parents happy with it’s great range of family fun!

Shipwreck Island Waterpark

Ahoy, me hearties! This fantastic resort swimming pool and waterpark is one of the main features of the holiday park. As far as holiday swimming pool areas go, this one is awfully hard to beat – because it has a full-sized pirate ship presiding over it!

Climb up to the skull waterfall cave, zoom down one of the three exciting water slides branching off of the ship’s full-size deck, swim in the large, waterfall surrounded resort swimming pool or dodge the massive dunking bucket downpour from it’s crows nest vantage point at the top of the pirate ship mast – your kids are never, ever going to want to leave Shipwreck Island!

There’s rigging to climb up the side of the boat if you don’t feel like walking up to the main deck, then choose your slide! A covered blue slide hurtles you down super-fast. Take the green slide for a more leisurely trip down, or you’ll need to be daring enough to walk the plank to ride the twisting sea-serpent slide down!

There’s fun for even the littlest first-mates on this pirate island, with a tiny slide for the little ones in its own pool area, in addition to the bigger ship slides. The fun is quite simply non-stop on Shipwreck Island!

No time to read? Watch our NRMA South West Rocks Holiday Resort Youtube video

The swimming pool and waterpark area is incredible, but there’s even more to do at this fun holiday park.

There’s a big jumping pillow and a children’s playground, both fully covered for the ultimate sunny or rainy day fun.

Next door you’ll find a mini golf course which you enter through a giant steel shark’s jaws!

A fun kid’s club operates on holidays and other allocated days with lots of fun organised activities.

Another popular activity in the park is the games arcade with several arcade games, a ping pong table, pool table, movie theatre and air hockey.

The roof-top half-court tennis court is another fun sport to play at NRMA South West Rocks – plus you get a great view of the park while you have a match! There’s also a volley ball net.

Don’t forget to take a turn around the park in a fun go cart! You can hire them from reception.

Oh, and don’t miss the gorgeous fairy garden that will have any little girl or boy swooning with delight, and makes for the cutest photos!

A dog friendly caravan park

Dogs are welcome at NRMA South West Rocks, so there’s no need to leave your best friend behind! There are pet-friendly cabins, tent sites, caravan sites and also dog-friendly ensuite sites! Dogs can be walked in the holiday park on a leash, and most of the beaches in the area – outside of the National Park – are dog-friendly, so you and your pooch will have a wonderful time together!

There are some pet exclusion times during peak booking periods such as school holidays, so you’ll need to book your stay directly with the holiday park by phone, rather than online.

A Holiday Park restaurant

The Full Circle eatery is an on site restaurant offering home cooked meals. It offers fare including some of the best fish and chips – plus burgers – in town! You’ll also find coffee, pastries and cake at this handy holiday park cafe – what more do you need on your next family holiday? The best part is no cooking – or washing up!

South West Rocks Caravan Park & Other Accommodation Options

With so many different accommodation options, your biggest problem may be choosing how to stay at NRMA South West Rocks Holiday Park!

All kinds of private villas, glamping safari tents, powered and unpowered sites for your caravan, motorhome or tent are all available for you to book for your holiday. Plus there are numerous ensuite sites available too.

NRMA South West Rocks Holiday Park facilities

This holiday park is serious about your entertainment and comfort no matter where you are in the park – even the ladies amenities plays relaxing music to you! The toilets and showers in the two main amenities blocks are spotlessly clean, as are the laundries.

There are several camp kitchens for all your camp meal preparation needs.

The park also offers multiple rubbish stations and a dump point to empty your porta pottie or toilet cassettes.

The perfect South West Rocks base

Located on NSW Mid North Coast, NRMA South West Rocks Holiday Resort makes both an excellent Brisbane and Sydney family holiday destination, at around five hours drive from both cities.

The town of South West Rocks is a charming coastal town with beach front walking paths, side creeks with bridges and town beaches. South West Rocks is well serviced with Coles and IGL supermarkets, a petrol station and local boutiques, takeaways and restaurants. The closest large service town is the inland town of Kempsey, 38kms away.

Things to see in the South West Rocks area

NRMA South West Rocks makes the perfect base to explore the many tourist attractions of the area. Local attractions include the historic Trial Bay Gaol which is located only five minutes up the road at Arakoon. There are several beautiful picnic areas dotted around the jail too, including little bay where you will find mobs of kangaroos just passing the time of day!

If you enjoy bushwalking, we hiked the beautiful Monument Walk loop which starts near the Trial Bay Gaol. Only 3 kms long, it does include some steep inclines and narrow, windy paths – but also takes in some incredible coastal views along the way plus some interesting historic features.

Ten minutes drive away is the remarkable Smoky Cape Lighthouse. This lighthouse is situated at the top of a hill with a steep walk up to it, however because of its commanding position it also offers some of the best views in the region. If you’re not able to make the climb there is still the spectacular Captain Cook lookout at its base to enjoy with its own picnic area.

Way down on the beaches below the lighthouse you’ll find the Smoky Cape Beach, a 4WD access beach that hosts sea bird and sea turtle rookeries.

The small town of Hat Head is a 25 minute drive away with more beautiful beaches and coastal walks.

How to book your NRMA holiday parks holiday

NRMA South West Rocks Holiday Resort has all you need for the perfect family vacation to enjoy together – it’s family holidays made easy!

For more of our NRMA holiday park reviews, check our NRMA Holiday Parks list

Find out more or book your accommodation for NRMA South West Rocks Holiday Resort at the official website here.

How to get there

All information is correct as at March 2021 – please check the above website link for relevant, up to date information and accommodation prices.

The Let’s go Mum family are partnering with NRMA Holiday Parks, however all opinions remain firmly our own.

Like this blog? Pinterest pin it!

Have you ever visited South West Rocks? Tell us your activity ideas for families in the comments section below!

The post NRMA South West Rocks Holiday Park review appeared first on Let's go Mum.

NRMA Darlington Beach Holiday Resort is a beautiful holiday park located half an hour from Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia.

We spent 10 wonderful days at Darlington Beach, a stunning eucalypt-studded holiday park bursting with wildlife, and fringed with a gorgeous sandy beach stretching for miles in either direction. Plus there’s more holiday fun, adventure and activities at this Coffs Harbour caravan park than you can poke a stick at!

A beautiful surf beach just down the path

The Arrawarra-Corindi Beach offers everything you could want from a coastal holiday. Swimming, surfing and fishing – even the family dog is allowed off-leash on the beach! In just a couple of minutes stroll you’re on the gorgeous white sandy beach and in holiday-relax mode whilst the children are shell-collecting and sand-castle building to their hearts content.

Kangaroos live at this holiday park

A big feature of Darling Beach holiday park is its local inhabitants – Kangaroos roam the park at will, peacefully co-existing with the park guests. It’s not unusual to wake up to a kangaroo gently nosing around under your caravan awning, or a mother with her joey still in the pouch grazing just outside. Kangaroos eat, sleep and play amongst the caravans and tents – watching them became our new favourite hobby! It’s like living in a wonderful wildlife documentary. (Check out our Let’s Go Mum Youtube Darlington Beach review video to see just how cute these new neighbours can be on your next family holiday!)

No time to read? Watch our NRMA Darlington Beach Holiday Resort Youtube video

NRMA Darlington Beach features and activities

Resort fun activities and entertainment

There are all kinds of holiday entertainments, activities and attractions to keep the family happy at Darlington Beach Holiday Park. From the most energetic kids and adults, to parents who may just prefer to relax and laze the days away – there’s something to keep everyone happy at Darlington Beach!

The central hub of Darlington Beach is a complex of food, fun and entertainment.

Two resort swimming pools

The swimming pools and water park at Darlington Beach are located next to each other, however a pool fence separates the two. This means parents can know that whilst watching their little ones playing in the water park, they aren’t going to suddenly run off towards the swimming pool area!

The best thing about having two large water play and swim areas in close proximity is that the big kids can play all day between the two areas and never get bored!

The two stunning resort swimming pools are separated by a bridge crossing, and feature twin waterslides in one large pool and a warm baby pool branching off the other. There is also a separate hot spa close by.

An exciting new waterpark

Darlington Beach already has so much for families to do together, but now you can add to it a brand new water park with two huge water slides, water-play fountains and a big tipping bucket!

There are lots of picnic tables surrounding the water park area, so families can settle down for lunch, a coffee from the café – or even for the day if they want to!

Other activities you’ll find in this central park area are the big jumping pillows, a children’s playground, a kids club and activity room to keep those busy crafters happy, plus a games room featuring arcade games and a ping pong table.

A holiday park with its own golf course!

Darlington Beach offers sports galore! Swimming, surfing and body surfing are just a stroll down the path at the beach. This park also boasts a full size lawn bowls green. If you love golfing holidays, this is the place to be – because there’s a complete 9 hole golf course at the other end of the park!

Then there’s a sports field, a tennis court, and even an archery range! You get the idea – you have options, and lots of them. Your holiday can be as relaxing or active as you like at Darlington Beach!

Pump Track and BMX track

One thing is for sure – kids love to bike and scoot in holiday parks, and with the 10km speed limit parents can relax a little more knowing the traffic is slow. But there’s also a dedicated area that keeps them off the roads and having fun! Darlington Park has a moulded plastic pump track for scooters and bikes, plus a dirt BMX track too.

Don’t worry if you forgot to put the kid’s scooters in the boot, or couldn’t bring your own bicycles – because go carts and bikes are available for hire from reception. You’re all set!

The Pet friendly holiday park that feels like a National Park!

Even though NRMA Darlington Beach Holiday Resort is chock-full of Australian native wildlife, dogs are allowed at this holiday park. You can still bring your pet along as long as you keep them on a leash when you’re walking around the park. There’s no need to rough it either – there are pet-friendly cabins, tent sites, caravan sites and even pet-friendly en-suite sites!

A dog friendly Coffs Harbour Coast beach

Best of all, this may be the happiest holiday park for dogs in Australia, as in addition to being allowed to be walked around the park on a lead itself, the beautiful Arrawarra Beach (accessed directly from the holiday park) is a dog-friendly off-leash beach! Our dog Sweetums thought she was in seventh-heaven with all the wonderful walks she took with us at Darlington Beach. (You can see all the fun she had at the beach in our Darlington Beach review video)

There are some pet exclusion times during peak booking periods such as school holidays, so you’ll need to book your holiday with dogs stay at Darlington Beach by phone.

A resort restaurant

The Flamingo Cafe/Restaurant offers all kinds of tasty treats from breakfast to dinner, with boards full of yummy meals. There are many indoor and outdoor seating options, including a large indoor space with a TV, and seating by the water park and toddler playground (yes parents of little ones – you may actually get to finish your meal or have that coffee from the cafe, undisturbed!). If the bigger kids finish dinner early, they only have to walk a few steps to be at the pool or water park too! A parent dinner in peace – ah!

Also located at the restaurant area you’ll find the resort gift shop and kiosk – I dare you to leave here without buying at least one of their gorgeous souvenirs on offer, which includes holiday clothes and all kinds of beautiful, shiny things! Plus if you’ve run out of any essentials, here is where you’ll find those too (I was very thankful to find an extra packet of pegs!).

Darlington Beach Caravan Park & Other Accommodation Options

From dog friendly cabins to private villas, glamping safari tents, powered and unpowered motorhome, bus and tent camping sites, to ensuite caravan sites and tent sites – NRMA Darlington Beach Holiday Resort has it all! The sites are spacious – really spacious. The feeling is a natural bush setting teaming with wildlife. Beautiful birdsong, grazing kangaroos – it’s a lovely place to stay.

We holidayed on one of Darlington Beach holiday park’s pet-friendly powered caravan sites, as we travel with our dog Sweetums. It’s the perfect way to take your pets on holiday and still have a great family holiday together.

NRMA Darlington Beach holiday park facilities

Darlington Beach facilities are modern, spotlessly clean – and there’s plenty of them for guests to use without feeling crowded.

From BBQs and a camp kitchen for all your camping needs, to multiple guest laundries and large amenities blocks with hot, strong showers. The focus is on easy, convenient options that minimise your time doing the essentials so that you can spend more time doing what you’re there for – relaxation and fun!

The park also offers multiple rubbish stations, plus dump points to empty your porta pottie or toilet cassettes.

Beach wheel chair accessibility

Beach accessibility can sometimes be an issue for disabled members of the family. Accessibility to the beach can be supported more easily at Darlington Beach with a special beach wheel chair available for hire from park reception. So now everyone can share the beach fun more easily!

The perfect Coffs Coast holiday park

Located on NSW North Coast, Darlington Beach is located only half and hour from Coffs Harbour holiday fun and attractions. Think the famous Big Banana, Dolphin Marine Conservation Park, the Coffs Harbour Jetty, shopping malls, even more great beaches…the local area is stunning.

Darlington Beach makes a great Queensland family holiday as it’s only three and a half hours drive from Brisbane. It also makes the perfect Sydney family holiday getaway, six hours drive up the Pacific Motorway.

How to book your NRMA holiday parks holiday

NRMA Darlington Beach Holiday Resort has your next Coffs Coast family holiday covered. A great location, surf beach front, local wildlife, modern facilities, pet friendly options, and lots of activities for both kids and adults. There’s everything you need to allow you to relax and unwind – or have an adventurous, high-energy family holiday so that you all have a great time together – it’s family holidays made easy!

For more of our NRMA holiday park reviews, check our NRMA Holiday Parks list

Find out more or book your accommodation for NRMA Darlington Beach Holiday Resort at the official website here.

How to get there

All information is correct as at February 2021 – please check the above website link for relevant, up to date information and accommodation prices.

The Let’s go Mum family are partnering with NRMA Holiday Parks, however all opinions remain firmly our own.

Like this blog? Pinterest pin it!

Have you ever visited the Coffs Coast? Tell us your activity ideas for families in the comments section below!

The post NRMA Darlington Beach Holiday Park review – near Coffs Harbour, NSW appeared first on Let's go Mum.

NRMA Treasure Island Holiday Resort is a beautiful holiday park in the heart of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

Perfectly located close to both Surfers Paradise and the big Gold Coast theme parks, Treasure Island is designed especially so that your family has a great stay. Whilst the nearby attractions are fabulous, this stunning holiday park has such a wide range of entertainment options on-site that it will have you wondering why you would even need to venture outside of it!

Arr – welcome, Pirates all!

No time to read? Watch our NRMA Treasure Island Holiday Resort Youtube video

From the moment you pull up at the entrance of NRMA Treasure Island, it’s clear you’re in for a hearty good time! A shipwreck complete with parrot hanging from its crows nest embellish the Reception building. Pirate warnings and a skull in a treasure chest sitting atop the boom gate have the kids squealing from the get-go. This is no ordinary holiday park!

This super-fun pirate theme is brilliantly incorporated right across the holiday park. From the main swimming pool with it’s ship and water cannons, to skulls and crossbones at the spas and waterparks  -and life-size pirate figures keeping a salty eye upon it all – NRMA Treasure Island Holiday Resort is a family delight.

A dog friendly Gold Coast holiday park!

As we are travelling with our fourth family member – our adorable (and a little salty herself, at times) Sweetums the Miniature Schnauzer, we needed to find a pet-friendly caravan park. I was thrilled to discover that NRMA Treasure Island welcomes dogs, cats and even birds. A game changer, this means you can still have your Queensland holiday with no need to leave your beloved pets at home (or for the added holiday expense of a boarding kennel!).

Treasure Island offers pet friendly cabins, camping, motorhome and caravan sites. Plus there’s even the luxurious option of an en-suite site, which was our choice. Holidaying with dogs never felt so good!

NRMA Treasure Island features and activities

Resort fun activities and entertainment

From several separate swimming pool areas and a water park, to the big jumping pillow and year-round kids club and outdoor activities, children will never get bored at Treasure Island!

Kids Club entertainment program

Treasure Island offers an excellent kids club program year-round with a weekly schedule. All kinds of kid-appropriate sporting fun, games, arts and crafts can be found on the entertainment program handed to you upon check in.

Many of the family activities are free of charge, with some paid activities on offer too. These can include fun options such as hair braiding, jewellery making or T-shirt painting. From the under-5s right up to teenagers, there’s something for every child at Treasure Island!

NRMA Treasure Island swimming pools

There are four swimming pools at NRMA Treasure Island. All of them have surrounding quality lounges, shade – and of course a good supply of pool noodles and pool floaties!

The first pool we visited was the Riverside Pool, which as the name suggests, is located adjacent to the lovely Biggera Creek canal – complete with houseboats! Townhouse Riverside Villas are located around one side of this quiet, picturesque swimming pool. A peaceful oasis, this is where you go for a relaxing sun lounge or swim.

Pool number two that we visited was the Lagoon Pool, complete with gorgeous palms and a cascading waterfall. This pool area also plays host to two waterfall spas! Surrounded by beautiful Lagoon Deluxe Villas, this is a gorgeous pool to lounge by to the dulcet sounds of a waterfall.

Last but not least is the beautiful resort main pool. This huge area is actually two more large heated pools in one area plus a canal snaking from a slide pool.

Nobody is overlooked at Treasure Island Resort, with an additional baby pool for the tinies too.

A fun waterslide tips its riders down a slope and into the main pool, which also has a sloped beach-style access inwards, making it especially accessible. A pirate ship juts out between the two big pools housing squirting water cannons for the kids to shoot each other with.

Whilst we visited all the swimming pools more than once, the main pool complex was our favourite, especially in the evenings when the pool is lit up a vibrant blue!

Resort Water Park

Yep – this Gold Coast holiday park has it’s own water play park included! Shipwreck Shores Waterpark is pirate themed of course (aaaar!) and a whole lot of fun. The kids will love this large water feature with tons of squirty, water splashing fountains of fun!

Dodge through the fountain tunnels, get thoroughly soaked under the spouting dragon and get ready for the big skull and crossbones bucket – it’s a huge dunk that will have the kids screaming with laughter!

A jumping pillow and tennis court

In addition to all the organised free fun there are plenty more activities to do anytime during the day, such as the big, shaded bouncy pillow. My girls gave this jumping pillow a big thumbs up for both bounciness – and a view of the movie screen!

There’s a full-sized court for sports such as tennis and basketball too, which is also incorporated in to the activity program.

There’s even a ping pong table, plus a pool table inside the Bistro!

Playgrounds galore

From the dedicated toddler and pre-schooler playground located near the main pool, to playgrounds big enough for my teenagers, the park playgrounds are a lot of fun – and help burn off some of that boundless kid holiday energy!

My kid’s loved the big slide next to the jumping pillow. There’s another playground located outside of an amenities and laundry area.

The Tiny Tots playground is absolutely adorable, with tiny hedge paths revealing plastic play gyms and little slides – good luck getting your toddler out of this one!

Outdoor Gym

Don’t worry, us adults are catered for too – our playground is an outdoor gym! That’s if you’ve got any energy left from the jumping pillow (or all those margaritas by the pool!)

Movies Under The Stars

One of our favourite things to do at Treasure Island was watch Movies Under The Stars. Screening several times a week, this outdoor cinema is a real hit. All the latest family movie hits are played – we saw Scoob, Onward, Disney’s Frozen 2 and Mulan during our stay. Many families take a picnic blanket or camp chairs to settle down in the deliciously balmy Queensland weather to watch the movie. For added fun, my kids would sometimes choose to watch it whilst they were bouncing on the Jumping Pillow!

Go Kart hire and Mini Golf Course

As if that isn’t enough things for families to do together at Treasure Island, other popular paid activities include Go-Karts (helmets are provided) to peddle around the park and a 18-hole Holey Moley Mini Golf course at just $4 per person. There’s DVD and Chess hire too.

NRMA members pay half price

Many paid resort activities are discounted by 50% if you are an NRMA Blue Member! That’s a great holiday money saver for the family budget.

Bistro and bar

With the on-site licensed Galleons Bistro and bar, there’s no need to even step out of NRMA Treasure Island to go in search of a family meal! This a-la-carte menu restaurant with family favourites and daily specials is a sure holiday winner.

The elegant timber-vaulted airy design of the Bistro and its expansive outdoor dining areas offer a lovely dining atmosphere.

With the Water Park located opposite, you may have some difficulty keeping the kids at the table after their meal, though!

Accommodation Options

From pet friendly cabins to deluxe poolside villas, powered and unpowered motorhome, bus and tent camping sites, to ensuite caravan sites and tent sites – NRMA Treasure Island Holiday Resort has you covered!

Our stay was on a pet-friendly powered en-suite caravan site, as we are currently travelling with our dog, but Treasure Island also offer a huge range of accommodation alternatives to camping and caravanning – from apartments by the lagoon pool, to peaceful riverside deluxe cabins.

Different en-suite options include riverside en-suite sites, and dog-friendly en-suite sites.

Our pet-friendly ensuite site was very convenient. Treasure island ensuites are very modern and elegant. Although we have our own bathroom in our caravan, we all wanted to use the Treasure Island ensuite!

Our en-suite featured a large double-sized shower, toilet and vanity with complimentary toiletries.

When it comes time to set up your caravan, motorhome or tent, connections are a breeze with close and simple fittings.

I’d highly recommend booking a Treasure Island en-suite site for the height of caravanning and camping luxury!

Take a look around our caravan ensuite site on our video here…

NRMA Treasure Island park facilities

Every necessary and useful holiday park facility can be found at Treasure Island.

There’s a Reception, a basics shop that also sells ice creams (the ultimate holiday essential!) and a great Bistro for easy no-washing-up family meals that every mum and dad needs!

The park itself is a tropical delight with extensive gardens and connecting pathways, all kept immaculately. A cast of what seems like thousands of staff circulate to ensure everything is ship-shape (aaar, me hearties!) and in order. This is a holiday that is seamless, easy and fuss-free for holiday makers.

Two laundries on site

Tired at queueing at holiday park laundries? At Treasure Island there’s not one laundry but two! Both guest laundries feature several machines ($4 a wash, takes $1 gold coins – $4 drying cycle), washing lines, plus the Riverside Laundry has large dryers. Spending half your life waiting or watching for a washing machine on your holiday whilst your kids have fun without you isn’t an issue at this holiday park!

Camp Kitchens

There are well fitted-out Camp Kitchens with dining tables both inside and out, plus several covered BBQ areas with dining tables dotted around the park too.

There are two large communal toilet and shower amenities, and both are spacious, modern, spotlessly clean and well-maintained. Accessible amenities are also on site.

The park also offers Dump Points to empty your porta pottie, motorhome or caravan toilet cassettes.

The perfect Gold Coast holiday base

There’s no doubt about it – the NRMA Treasure Island Holiday Resort makes a fantastic Queensland holiday base, with all the big Gold Coast attractions just minutes away.

Located at Biggera Waters near Labrador in Queensland, NRMA Treasure Island is around half an hour from the NSW-Queensland border at Tweed Heads. It’s approximately 35 minutes taxi or Uber ride from the Gold Coast Airport, 9 hours drive up the Pacific Highway and M1 motorway from Sydney, and around an hour’s drive to Brisbane (slightly longer in peak-hour traffic).

This makes Treasure Island the perfect Brisbane weekend retreat or Gold Coast family holiday choice.

Local tourist attractions and Gold Coast day trips

Just 15 minute down the road from the holiday park you’ll find the world-famous Surfers Paradise, with its pristine white beaches and bustling holiday entertainment.

Gold Coast theme parks

Treasure Island is just twenty minutes drive to the theme parks Movie World, Dreamworld and Whitewater World, and fifteen minutes to Sea World.

Don’t miss the beautiful Gold Coast Hinterland too. Mount Tamborine is forty minutes drive, and Springbrook National Park – home of the amazing Natural Bridge – is just under an hour.

If you’re really motivated, you can even do a day trip up to Bindi and Bob Irwin’s home, Australia Zoo, at around 2 hours drive away (146kms)!

Gold Coast Theme Park discount tickets

If you’re heading up to one of the Gold Coast theme parks, or other great attractions you can purchase discounted tickets at park reception, including tickets to Warner Bros Movie World, Sea World, Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast, Australian Outback Spectacular, Dreamworld , Whitewater World and Wildlife Currumbin Sanctuary.

Gold Coast shopping malls

Don’t miss out of the famous Gold Coast shopping during your visit. The Harbour Town designer outlet centre (you can even take your dog to the outside areas there) is just down the road from Treasure Island, or a two minute drive, as is Australia Fair. It’s twenty minutes to the massive Pacific Fair shopping mall and the second-largest shopping centre, the Robina Town Centre.

Book your Queensland holiday now!

NRMA Treasure Island has your next Gold Coast family holiday covered. A great location, modern facilities, pet friendly options, masses of activities for the kids and family entertainment. There’s everything you need to allow you to relax and unwind – or rev-up the family fun so that you all have a great time together – it’s family holidays made easy!

Find out more or book your accommodation for NRMA Treasure Island Holiday Resort at the official website here.

How to get there

All information is correct as at February 2021 – please check the above website link for relevant, up to date information and accommodation prices.

The Let’s go Mum family are partnering with NRMA Holiday Parks, however all opinions remain firmly our own.

Like this blog? Pinterest pin it!

Have you ever visited the Gold Coast? Tell us your activity ideas for families in the comments section below!

The post NRMA Treasure Island Holiday Park Resort, Gold Coast review appeared first on Let's go Mum.

BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park has an incredible range of features and activities to keep every family member happy, and although this holiday park also happens to be the closest one to the Gold Coast theme parks, the BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park is quite simply – a destination in itself.

The park itself is very large, and immaculately kept. Landscaped tropical gardens line paved roads. A large staff keep everything running smoothly. From a year-round family activities schedule, to prompt maintenance and excellent security, this park is beautifully managed.

Children ride their scooters along the streets whilst parents lounge in camp chairs, chatting. The atmosphere is one of relaxed family fun. BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park is a pet-friendly holiday park, so even the family pet is welcome.

Really, what’s not to love about this kid friendly Queensland holiday resort? We stayed at BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park during the Christmas/Summer school holidays and just adored it.

Koalas and Kangaroos live in and around the park!

Why go to a zoo when Australian native animals are right outside your door? Here you can actually stay where Koalas and Kangaroos live in the wild.

You only need to go for a stroll amongst the huge trees to spot the gorgeous locals – koalas are dotted around the park, kicking back in their gum trees – we even saw some with babies on their backs!

Kangaroos graze the open grass areas, or live in the surrounding bush land. It’s a beautiful way to observe these wonderful Australian animals in the wild at your leisure, and it’s truly a beautiful holiday experience.

No time to read? Watch our BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park video here…

The perfect Gold Coast holiday base

BIG4 Gold Coast is located at Helensvale, an easy 50 minute drive from Brisbane, or just 40 minutes from the NSW border at Tweed Heads and Coolangatta. (10 hours drive from the Sydney CBD). It’s the perfect base to enjoy everything the Gold Coast has to offer!

The closest holiday park to Gold Coast theme parks

The big Gold Coast theme parks are located nearby to Big4 Gold Coast. Movie World, Wet and Wild, Paradise Country and the Australian Outback Spectacular are all only one minute’s drive away. Dreamworld and Whitewater World are five minute’s drive down the motorway, and Sea World is just under half an hour’s drive away at Surfers Paradise.

Local attractions and Gold Coast day trips

Other top Queensland attractions and day trips include Mount Tamborine – 30 minutes, Surfers Paradise – 25 minutes, Springbrook National Park – 53 minutes and Australia Zoo – 1 and a half hours, (or 134km).

Gold Coast shopping centres in easy reach

All the major Gold Coast shopping centres are close by too, with the outlet stores of Harbour Town – 15 minutes, Robina Town Centre – 20 minutes,  and the huge Pacific Fair shopping mall – 25 minutes.

The biggest holiday park water park in the Southern Hemisphere!

A new feature at BIG4 Gold Coast in 2020 is an exciting new water park – and it’s HUGE!

Opened in February 2020, the BIG4 Gold Coast water park is the largest holiday park water park in the Southern Hemisphere! Complete with a huge dunking bucket, side-by-side water slides, long and short slides and water play areas to suit all ages, this super-fun water park is a holiday attraction in itself – yet it’s located right in the park for guest use – amazing!

Surrounded by elegant landscaping and numerous, luxurious guest cabanas, this will be the place to hang out and keep cool with the family on the Gold Coast – and with an incredible new attraction like this, why would you stay anywhere else?

An accessible water park means fun for all

The new water park is wheel-chair friendly too, with an accessible ramp both down into the water park cabana area, and up into the water play itself. Ramp-accessible cabins also overlook the water park.

Heated pool and water slide

Another feature of the park is a large resort-style heated pool, which is open from 7:30am in the morning until 9pm at night.

This stunning swimming pool has water falls, coloured lights at night and is surrounded with hot tubs, spas and elegant cabanas with pool-side lounges.

A fun, fast water slide operates day and night too

Pool-side café restaurant

Also to be found by the pool is Nibbles, a large cafe restaurant. Here you’ll find delicious meals for all the family.

Offerings such as fish and chips, chicken parmies – even kids’ meals options such as nuggets and chips are available. I loved dining poolside. The food was delicious the kids’ meals got a big thumbs-up from my girls!

Kids Activities and family fun

Kids’ Activity Centre – year-round activities!

You’ll be amazed at the range of events and activities on offer at BIG4 Gold Coast.

As a parent who doesn’t necessarily only travel during school holidays, it’s wonderful to know that they offer family-friendly activities and events year-round, and not just during the school holidays.

The large Activity Centre is the hub of the family activities and events. Here you’ll find a host of different craft workshops, Nintendo game sessions, family movie nights, reptile park visits, kid’s disco nights and so much more.

Games Room

A games arcade room is also available until late, equipped with everything young gamers (okay, and their parents!) could want, including several large video games and games of chance – and of course some fun machines like The Claw!

Jumping Pillow

The big jumping pillow is a lot of fun, and is fully shaded – so you can still bounce in the summer sun (or the winter sun for that matter – this is Queensland, after all!)

Pedal go-karts

Want to go for a spin with a friend – or three – all in the same kart? Hire a pedal go-kart for a super-fun few laps around the park. They’re a lot of fun, and it’s a great family activity to do together.

Bring your bikes, skate boards and scooters too

Kids and adults alike can ride around the paved roads of the park without a care, as the driving speed limit is a safe 10kms per hour. Just make sure everyone is wearing a helmet, and don’t ride after sunset.

BMX Track

As if riding around the huge park’s paved roads weren’t enough, there’s a dedicated BMX dirt track – complete with jumps! And like the petting zoo and pet off-leash area, it’s accessible anytime during the day.

River walking track and kayaking

Take a leisurely stroll along the river walk where you can koala and kangaroo-spot. You can kayak the river too!

Accommodation options

At BIG4 Gold Coast there is a wide range of accommodation options, including an on-site motel, comfortable and modern cabins, plus numerous motorhome, RV, caravan and tent camping sites.

From check in to check out, everything is taken care of for a worry-free family holiday

From a seamless check-in to being accompanied to your cabin, tent or caravan site and settled in – guest services are remarkable. If you are nervous about backing your caravan or RV onto your site, there’s no worries at BIG4 Gold Coast. Staff will not only escort you to your site, but also expertly guide you in – or even park it for you, if you prefer! As we had a new caravan, this was reassuring back up I really appreciated.

Large caravan and camping powered and unpowered sites

Caravan and tent site sizes are generous, and come with plenty of room for your awning or annex, plus a parking spot for your car. There are both unpowered and powered sites with water, and an in-ground system for your grey water hose.

Caravan ensuite sites and tent camping ensuite sites

Take a look around our Premiere Ensuite Site in our video…

If shared facilites aren’t for you and you would prefer your own private ensuite, there are numerous caravan and tent ensuite sites available. We stayed on a site with a Premiere ensuite, and it was modern, elegant and huge in size!

A range of cabins for big and small families

There are many types of different sized deluxe cabins available to suit your holiday needs. There are even cabins where dogs are allowed to stay with you!

Essential Park Facilities

Stylish, clean Amenities

The communal amenities at BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park aren’t your average caravan park toilets and showers block. The design and facilities are first class, and quite remarkable for a holiday park.

Large & modern Camp Kitchen

The camp kitchen is well-fitted out with everything a camper could need to cook up a large family meal, with plenty of dining room. Both the camp kitchen and the amenities block are elegantly styled, and feature large, decorative aquariums.

Guest Laundry

A large guest laundry with modern, coin operated washing machines and dryers is on site.

Dump Point

For those RVs and Caravans with toilets and toilet cassettes, or porta potties there is a dump point available on site.

Park Security

It’s clear that park security is held to a very high standard at BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park. Access to the park is restricted via boom gates into and out of the park with 24 hour pin access. Staff in their golf buggies are a constant presence within and around the park – and can also give you a lift to where you need to go if accessibility is a problem.

All guest children are required to wear park wrist bands for the duration of their stay, to ensure that only official guests and their registered visitors are on site.

A pet friendly Gold Coast holiday park

Dogs are allowed – even in some pooch-friendly cabins!

Don’t worry about having to leave your dog at home either, because at BIG4 Gold Coast dogs are not just allowed, but catered for!

You can have your dogs with you on site, or in selected park cabins.

There’s also a dog wash on site, and even a dog-friendly area in the pool-side café!

Dog park off leash area

Although you are required to keep your dog on a leash, there’s a huge, fenced off-leash area for your pooch to exercise to their heart’s-content – it even has a fun exercise course!

Dog poo disposal bags and a bin are also provided there for your convenience.

On-site Doggy Daycare!

BIG4 Gold Coast offers secured kennels on-site for doggy day care.

At just $20 a day, it’s not only incredibly convenient, but around $10 a day cheaper than most Gold Coast dog minding services.

BIG4 Gold Coast is the perfect family fun holiday park on the Gold Coast. Centrally located, it’s handy to so many Gold Coast attractions, and with everything you need for a fun family holiday already within the Holiday Park itself – why would you stay anywhere else?

Find out more or book your accommodation for BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park at the official website here.

How to get there

Find out more or book your cabin accommodation, caravan or tent site or ensuite site for BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park at Helensvale, Queensland at the official website here.

All information is correct as at May 2020 – please check the above website link for relevant, up to date information and accommodation prices.

Let’s go Mum were hosted guests of BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park, however all opinions remain firmly our own.

Like this blog? Pinterest pin it!

Have you ever visited the Gold Coast? Tell us your activity ideas for families in the comments section below!

The post BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park – the perfect all-round Queensland family holiday appeared first on Let's go Mum.

It’s clear from the moment you enter Big4 Yarra Valley Park Lane, that you are entering a nature-paradise.

Nestled at the base of a tree-covered hill, wombats, kangaroos and many other native animals live all around the park. Parrots of many colours flutter through the trees and are so quiet they will even fly down to perch on you arm to eat out of your hand.

A park in the true sense of the word, accommodation options are set within a forest of established trees.

Staying at Yarra Valley Holiday Park can be as relaxing and peaceful as you’d like – or high-energy family adventure and fun – the choice is yours!

Family fun is everywhere

There’s certainly no shortage of fun things to do at Yarra Valley Holiday Park.

A huge supervised inflatable water park is a stand-out feature to keep kids (and adults!) entertained. Floating on a lake surrounded by majestic gum trees, this is an activity you won’t find at your average holiday park. There is a massive inflatable tower to climb and jump off, slides, monkey bars suspended over a water-pit and a whole lot more.

Next to the lake is a set of tennis courts, and just over the hill is a recreation room with games tables and lounge/play area.

In the centre of the park you’ll find a beautiful lagoon pool and a heated outdoor spa, both naturally shaded by towering gums. With a smaller baby pool at one end, this is the perfect place for the younger family members to have a paddle, whilst the older kids can swim and play in the big pool. It’s also a lovely spot to settle down on a lounge with a book, or for mum and dad to cool off in the pool with the kids, too!

At the lower end of the park are large open lawn areas for the children to run and play. There’s a large playground (in addition to the other playground on the hilltop area of the park), jump pad, giant jumping pillow and  a huge koala to pose in for family photos!

Family accommodation options

There’s a large range of accommodation options to choose from at BIG4 Yarra Valley. They range from pitching your own tent or bringing your own caravan or motorhome (there are several drive-through sites), to numerous on-site cabins, condos, villas and studios. Then there are their famous Pods and glamping tents.

Family Glamping Bell Tents

No time to read? Watch our Family Glamping Belle Tent video tour here

These gorgeous Bohemian styled tents aren’t just for couples anymore, with Big4 Yarra Valley offering families a glamping tent experience too!

Sleeping four, this clever family accommodation option consists of two Belle tents linked via a personal lounging deck. Each glamping tent has its own personal ensuite just a few paces away.

All of the glamping tents are individually themed. Ours was “Eclectic Belle”, and eclectic and glamorous it was, with drapes, throw rungs and pillows. Our largest tent was furnished with a king-sized bed, lounge, dining table, flat-screen TV, bar fridge and climate control.

Inside the kid’s tent were two single beds and luxury lounge chairs. My little glampers thought this was all very exciting!

Our mornings were greeted with bird-song – in particular, the parrots eating bird seed on our private deck. Just magic.

Our 2-bedroom Hilltop Cabin

No time to read? Watch our Hill Top Cabin video tour here

Next, we stayed in a beautiful Hilltop Cabin. With scenic views over the creek and bushland hills opposite, this is another great family accommodation option.

Our ultra-modern two-bedroom cabin was fully furnished and fitted out, and could accommodate families of up to six people.

There was a master bedroom and a bunk bedroom sleeping up to four people – great for the kids.  A bathroom with shower and separate toilet were located on opposite sides of the hallway. All linen, blankets and towels were supplied.

A climate-controlled open-plan kitchen-dining-lounge area makes for the perfect family space. There’s all you need for holiday cooking in the kitchen, with pots and pans, crockery and cutlery all supplied. Kitchen appliances included a gas stove top cooker, microwave, full-sized fridge electric kettle and toaster. All we needed to bring to cook our own meals, was the food!

In the cabin’s roomy lounge area there was lots of room for the family to spread-out. There was a comfy corner lounge suite, a large flat-screen TV and DVD player, plus a dining table area.

This size cabin accommodates from small to medium sized families very comfortably. That said, we spent much of our time out on the balcony, taking in the view and feeding the local parrots and ducks. What a beautiful place it was to stay.

Pods – the perfect Melbourne weekender for two – or three!

Pods are scattered across the park, with several located down by the creek, partially secluded in the woods. These tiny timber cabins feature an elegantly arched roof, and have their own balcony.  They are the perfect accommodation for couples, single parent families or parent/child combinations of up to three people.

Pod-dwellers in the creek area also receive a Pod Mobile for their own use in the park during their stay. These little all-terrain electric cars are a lot of fun to drive around, and can even go around the Park’s mountain walking track.

BYO tent, caravan, camping trailer or motor home

With plenty of tree-lined sites for tents, caravans and RVs, these are fantastic family holiday options.

Camp-cooking is covered with a separate BBQ area and a simply huge camp kitchen with everything you’ll need to whip up a family meal. There’s also a large flat screen TV and lounges to relax on.

Nearby is the stylish shared amenities and laundry, with super-fast dryers or washing lines take care of the family laundry needs.

Further Park facilities

There is a licensed kiosk on site, and very friendly, helpful staff with lots of local information and day-trip ideas.

You don’t need to go into town to find a decent coffee either – delicious coffee and hot chocolates are available from the park’s own café – perfect!

Things to do nearby – Yarra Valley family fun

There’s no shortage of family fun in the Yarra Valley, and Yarra Valley Park Lane is the perfect base to visit them.

No time to read? Watch the video here

The Healsville Sanctuary is only minutes away, and is a great family day out. There are many different native animals to see, including a fantastic free bird flight show.

The Big Bouquet Alpaca Café is just a couple of minutes drive away, and features a huge greenhouse full of beautiful Gerberas and quiet Alpacas to feed.

The Hedgend English Hedge Maze is just five minutes drive away, and features a traditional English Maze to get lost in, plus lots of other family activities included.

Ten minutes drive away you will find the charming Yarra Valley Railway with its heritage tourist train ride at Healesville.

45 minutes drive away is the Yarra Ranges National Park and the Instagram-famous, majestic Warburton Redwood forest.

In the other direction, a picturesque 45 minute drive away you’ll find the popular Yarra Valley Chocolaterie with a chocolate café and many scrumptious treats for sale.

Of course a visit to the Yarra Valley wouldn’t be complete without stopping in at a winery or two – the Yarra Valley plays host to some of Australia’s best wines.

 Family money saver – discount Healesville Sanctuary tickets

Guest benefits – when you stay at BIG4 Yarra Valley, not only are you in the Healesville Sanctuary neighbourhood, but you also get a 10% discount off tickets. Just buy your tickets on the day you go from BIG4 Yarra Valley reception.

Nearby services

Just over five minutes drive down the road is the bustlingly charming town of Healesville. Healesville has a Coles supermarket, numerous shops, service stations, an RSL club and many small restaurants, take-away food, wine and café options.

Big4 Yarra Valley is the perfect place for Melbourne families to get away from it all and have a great time together. It’s the beautiful location to have fun, explore the Yarra Valley, relax and reconnect with the family. If you’re heading to the Yarra Valley with the family, this is the place to stay!

Find out more or book your accommodation for BIG4 Yarra Valley Park Lane Holiday Park at the official website here.

How to get there

All information is correct as at March 2019 – please check the above website link for relevant, up to date information and accommodation prices. Let’s go Mum were hosted guests of BIG4 Yarra Valley Park Lane Holiday Park, however all opinions remain firmly our own.

Have you ever visited the Yarra Valley, or do you plan to go one day? Tell us in the comments below..

The post BIG4 Yarra Valley Park Lane Holiday Park – Melbourne family holidays appeared first on Let's go Mum.

BIG4 Traralgon Park Lane Holiday Park is an easy two-hour drive from Melbourne. Turning in, we immediately knew we were in for a fun time. We could see a huge adventure ropes course, a jumping pillow, a playground and a swimming pool. The kids were already exclaiming in excitement!

The holiday park itself is immaculately kept. Brightly coloured cabins line quiet, paved streets. Beautiful trees, hedges and gardens decorate the park.

We passed motorhomes, caravans and tents. Children rode their scooters along the streets whilst parents lounged in camp chairs, chatting. The atmosphere was one of relaxed family fun. Traralgon Park Lane is a pet-friendly holiday park, so even the family pet is welcome at all sites and cabins.

Family fun and games on-site

No time to read? Watch our park activities video here…

As soon as we got settled in, the kids were very eager to go and explore all the fun of the park  – and who could blame them!

We all went for a bounce on the huge jumping pillow first – it was a lot of fun! But with so much entertainment to choose from at Traralgon Park Lane, it wasn’t long before the Park’s own hire pedal go-karts were calling – and off we went for a few laps around the park. Both kids and adults are welcome to ride on them, and it’s a great family activity to do together.

Almost every day we loved to head to the solar-heated swimming pool for a refreshing swim, or just to relax by the pool. There is an indoor heated spa just next door to the pool too.

The kid’s moulded plastic playground is a real treat for toddlers up to school-age children. It has with lots of different obstacles to climb and slides to try. For peace of mind, the playground, jumping pillow and pool are all protected with shade sails to help keep sun off.

During school holidays and on weekends, the adventure high ropes course, mini golf, laser tag and indoor fun park are all open.

Parky’s Fun Park

We decided to play the 18-hole Mini Golf course first. Fantastically themed with massive dinosaur models, life-sized pirates, Scooby-Doo, the Cars Movie and lots more, it’s a really unique and fun activity – and makes for some really great family photos in front of the T-Rex!

Next we took the challenge, and headed up the exciting adventure ropes course. It’s safety-first, and climbers watch an instruction video, before donning a full harness and hard-hat. All climbers are attached to the structure with metal cables at all times, which starts with easier levels, increasing in difficulty with each level. This was a super-fun family activity, and we all really enjoyed tackling the course.

Next-up, the kids asked me if I was up for a game of Laser Tag? Challenge, accepted! We all got suited up and headed inside the giant inflatable structure. There’s nothing quite as exciting as running around in the semi-dark shooting at each other with laser guns. It was so much fun, and our tactics so hilarious, we couldn’t stop laughing the whole time!

Family money saver – discount entry tickets

Guest benefits – when you stay at Traralgon Park Lane you receive discounted entry to Parky’s Adventure Ropes Course, mini golf and laser tag are all open, and free entry to Parky’s indoor play centre.

Parky’s Wonderland indoor play centre

If the weather looks like rain, Traralgon Park Lane have got it covered, with Parky’s Wonderland – an indoor play centre packed with awesome fun for the kids. With big and small slides, a ball pit, ball guns and big climbing frames the kids will run themselves ragged. For the little ones, there’s a dedicated babies and toddler’s only area too.

Family accommodation options

Cabins and Villas

Traralgon Park Lane offer a large range of villas and cabins. Our accommodation for the week was a Superior Family Cabin.

No time to read? Take a look around our Superior Family Cabin in our video here…

Our cabin had a generously-sized veranda complete with an outdoor table. Inside it featured an open plan kitchen, dining and lounge area. Elegantly furnished, there was a huge plush corner-suite lounge, full-sized modern kitchen and dining table. A huge flat-screen TV and DVD were mounted in the corner. It was a great family space, with plenty of room to spare. Powerful reverse-cycling air conditioning kept the inside of the cabin at the optimum temperature.

The kitchen was fully fitted out with kettle, toaster, microwave, oven and hot plates, full-sized fridge and dishwasher. A pod coffee maker added an extra touch of luxury. There was an full complement of pots and pans, and plenty of crockery, glassware and cutlery – everything needed to whip up a family meal.

Down the hall, the master bedroom featured a huge, comfortable king-sized bed. All linen and towels were supplied. There was plenty of hanging and drawer space and a large, mounted flatscreen TV on the wall at the end of the bed.

Next door was the second bedroom. It delighted the kids with it’s solid white bunk beds with sky-blue quilts. Underneath the bottom bunk,  a full-size trundle bed was concealed – perfect for those families with three children.

Across the hall was the luxurious double-sized bathroom, with a twin vanity and double shower. A hairdryer is supplied.

The corner of the bathroom served as the laundry,  with a washing machine and dryer. There was also an ironing board and iron. Next door to the bathroom was a separate toilet.

We were very happy with our cabin. A full kitchen made self-catering a breeze, and having a washing machine and dryer made it so much easier to keep up with the family laundry. The dishwasher was another huge time-saver – both children AND parents get to relax on this holiday!

BYO tent, caravan, camping trailer or motor home

There’s plenty of powered sites available for tents, caravans and RVs, and even ensuite sites.

Camping and caravanning facilities include a fully equipped indoor camp kitchen, separate BBQ area, recreation room and TV lounge, shared amenities and a laundry with modern washing machines and super-fast dryers.

Further Park facilities

There is a licensed kiosk on site with friendly staff there to help with any enquiries you might have about the park or Gippsland activities. Plus there’s no need to leave the park in search of a great coffee, thanks to the park’s own coffee bar. It’s the perfect start to the day. You can always work off all those extra coffee-calories in the Park’s onsite fitness gym!

Things to do nearby – Gippsland family fun

With so much to do at the holiday park we spent much of our time there, but we did manage a couple of wonderful day-trips.

45 minutes drive takes you to the stunning Tarra-Bulga National Park. Features include lush rainforest, towering trees, waterfalls and beautiful walks. The short walk to Corrigan Suspension Bridge is a highlight – don’t miss this. There is also a local café which is a great spot for lunch, plus they sell bird seed so that you can feed the local parrots by hand!

A 40 minute drive in the other direction will take you to Walhalla, a beautifully preserved heritage village with it’s own tourist railway, shops, pub and a goldmine to explore. It’s a definite must-see!

Take a quick look at these attractions at the end of our BIG4 Traralgon Park Lane Holiday Park YouTube video.

Nearby town services

A few minutes drive down the road the is the Traralgon town centre. Here you’ll find a single-level shopping mall with a Coles and Kmart, numerous shops including a Country Target and Best and Less, service stations, clubs and many small restaurants, take-away franchises, wine and café options. A few minutes drive in the other direction will bring you to Morwell, another large town with a Big W and other numerous stores and services.

Traralgon Park Lane Holiday Park is a fabulous family holiday choice. Well located for local attractions, and with the amount of fun activities for families on site, you  certainly won’t have the kids telling you they’re bored! The park itself is a delight to stay in, with excellent accommodation options. If you’re visiting Gippsland, this should be the first accommodation choice on your list for non-stop family fun, relaxation and adventure!

Find out more or book your accommodation for BIG4 Traralgon Park Lane Holiday Park at the official website here.

How to get there

Find out more or book your accommodation for BIG4 Traralgon Park Lane Holiday Park at the official website here.

All information is correct as at February 2019 – please check the above website link for relevant, up to date information and accommodation prices.

Let’s go Mum were hosted guests of BIG4 Traralgon Park Lane Holiday Park, however all opinions remain firmly our own.

Have you ever visited Gippsland? Comment your activity ideas for families below!

The post BIG4 Traralgon Park Lane Holiday Park – Melbourne family holidays appeared first on Let's go Mum.

The Discovery Parks Big 4 Dubbo Parklands has a lot going for it. Located just around the corner from the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, this immaculate holiday park offers quality accommodation, family fun facilities and all the services you could need on your family holiday or weekend away.

After checking in with the welcoming staff at reception, we were supplied with a map of the park and code to the security entry. We drove in and easily found our cabin – complete with its own parking spot for our car next to it, which made unpacking a breeze.

Our Dubbo Parklands deluxe two-bedroom cabin

Even though we were there during a heatwave, the whole cabin was kept beautifully cool with a powerful reverse-cycle air conditioner – it was a relief to have a cool haven to take refuge in from the 40 degree heat.

Family water-play area and swimming pool

Play ground and jumping pillow

Recreation Lounge

General Park features and Guest facilities

 Dubbo Discovery Parks Big 4 useful info

We stayed in a two-bedroom deluxe cabin

Price: *$179 per night, per cabin (sleeps 4)(10% discount for Big 4 members)

*All prices are correct as at March 2017

Address: 154 Whylandra Street
Dubbo New South Wales 2830
Australia

Phone: 1800 033 072
International: +61 2 6884 8633

You’ll find more information and the most up-to-date prices and booking system at the official Discovery Park Dubbo website here

Getting there

To Dubbo from Sydney by road – approximately 400km/5 hours drive. Go to Google Maps for rote options here.
To Dubbo from Sydney by train – approximately 7 hours. Go to XPT service for more information.
To Dubbo by bus – from Sydney – no direct route available. From Newcastle – 5 hourse Sid Foggs Coachlines (Newcastle).
To Dubbo from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Newcastle by air – one hour flight to Dubbo City Airport (7kms from town centre) Go to Qantas, REX airlines (Sydney), Jetgo (Melbourne and Brisbane) and FlyPelican (Canberra and Newcastle) for schedules/prices.

The Let’s Go Mum family stayed as invited guests of Discovery Parks Big 4 Dubbo Parklands. As always, all opinions are my own.

Have you ever visited Dubbo on a family holiday? Or perhaps just passed through? What did you enjoy about Dubbo? Tell us in the comments below…

The post Dubbo Discovery Park family accommodation – close to the Zoo appeared first on Let's go Mum.