With kids · Gold Coast · Australia
Gold Coast with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: MarketingHOTA, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Quick answer
The Gold Coast is Australia's classic family holiday: patrolled beaches, four big theme and water parks, wildlife sanctuaries and calm creek swimming at Tallebudgera and Currumbin. Apartments with kitchens make longer stays easy. Top picks: Sea World, Warner Bros. Movie World and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Families usually base themselves in Broadbeach.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 9
- Best area for families
- Broadbeach
- Rainy-day options
- 1
- Busiest months
- December–January
Best things to do with kids
Theme park · Main Beach
1.Sea World
A marine-themed park on The Spit with dolphin and seal presentations, polar bears, penguins, an aquarium and a mix of family and thrill rides. It is the closest theme park to Surfers Paradise.
Check the presentation times on arrival and plan rides around them to avoid the queues that follow each show.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Buy tickets online in advance; multi-park passes can be good value if you plan more than one park.
- Kids
- Iconic
Theme park · Oxenford
2.Warner Bros. Movie World
A film-themed park with DC superhero and Looney Tunes zones, stunt shows, parades and some of the coast's biggest roller coasters. It sits next to Wet'n'Wild on the Pacific Motorway, about 25 minutes north of Surfers.
Head to the biggest coasters first at opening, then catch the parade and stunt show later in the day.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Kids
- Iconic
- Active
Zoo · Currumbin
3.Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
Operating since 1947, the sanctuary started with lorikeet feeding and now has koalas, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, crocodiles and a wildlife hospital that treats thousands of injured native animals each year. Free-flight bird shows and a treetop ropes course add variety.
Join the lorikeet feeding session; flocks of rainbow lorikeets land on your arms and plates.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Nature
- Iconic
- Outdoors
Theme park · Oxenford
4.Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast
A large water park with high-speed slides, a wave pool, lazy river and splash areas for younger children. Some pools are heated in the cooler months.
Visit on a hot weekday outside school holidays and bring water shoes for the hot pathways.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Kids
- Active
- Outdoors
Theme park · Coomera
5.Dreamworld
One of Australia's largest theme parks, with thrill rides, a children's area and native wildlife including koalas and kangaroos inside the park. The neighbouring WhiteWater World water park can be combined on some tickets.
Use a train or bus to Coomera station if you are staying in Brisbane; the park is a short connection away.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Kids
- Active
Nature · Burleigh Heads
6.Tallebudgera Creek
The tidal creek mouth south of Burleigh's headland has clear, calm, shallow water over sand, ideal for small children, paddleboarding and snorkelling at high tide. Grassy banks and picnic areas line the water.
Go at high tide on the incoming flow, when the water is clearest; avoid swimming on a fast outgoing tide.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
Zoo · Burleigh Heads
7.David Fleay Wildlife Park
Run by the Queensland Government, this park in mangroves and eucalypt forest at West Burleigh shows native animals such as platypus, cassowaries, koalas and nocturnal species in a quiet bush setting. It was founded by naturalist David Fleay, the first person to breed platypus in captivity.
Time your visit for the keeper talks and the nocturnal house, where you can see gliders and other night animals.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Nature
- Off the beaten path
Nature · Burleigh Heads
8.Burleigh Head National Park
A small national park covers the Burleigh headland with rainforest, basalt columns and the Oceanview Walk around the point, which looks north along the beach to Surfers Paradise. Whales, dolphins and surfers can all be seen from the track, and the Jellurgal Aboriginal Cultural Centre explains the headland's significance to the Yugambeh people.
Walk the coastal track in the early morning, then grab breakfast on James Street.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Views
- Outdoors
- Kids
Experience · Main Beach
9.Whale-watching cruise
Humpback whales migrate along the coast between about June and November, heading north to calve and then south with their young. Cruises leave from Mariners Cove and The Spit, and sightings are frequent at the peak of the season.
Choose a morning trip in calm seas, and take seasickness tablets if you are prone to it.
- Time needed
- 2.5–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Nature
- Couples
- Outdoors
Rainy-day ideas
- SkyPoint Observation Deck — Visit at sunset to see the coast turn gold, then stay for the city lights.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for families, couples, shopping and food lovers
Broadbeach
Just south of Surfers, Broadbeach is calmer and smarter, with restaurants and bars around Surf Parade and Victoria Avenue, Kurrawa Park on the beach, The Star casino and the large Pacific Fair shopping centre. The light rail links it to Surfers in about ten minutes. It is the most balanced base for families and couples.
- Good
- Good restaurants and quieter nights; Light rail connections; Patrolled beach and parkland
- Watch out
- Fewer budget options; Busy around big convention events
- Nearby
- Kurrawa Beach, Pacific Fair, Surfers Paradise
Family travel tips
- Children should swim only between the flags; surf conditions can change quickly.
- Rash vests, hats and high-factor sunscreen are essential in every season.
- Calm creek mouths such as Tallebudgera and Currumbin Alley are better than surf beaches for toddlers.
- Plan theme parks for weekdays outside school holidays to cut queues.
- The Broadwater Parklands in Southport have a free water-play area for young children.
Day trips for families
- Springbrook National Park (About 1 hour by car) — Part of the World Heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforests, Springbrook has the Natural Bridge rock arch where glow-worms light the cave at night, Purling Brook Falls and the Best of All Lookout over the coast.
- Tamborine Mountain (About 45 minutes by car) — A rainforest plateau with short waterfall walks, a treetop skywalk, wineries, a distillery and the craft shops of Gallery Walk.
- Lamington National Park (About 1.5 hours by car) — Ancient rainforest with more than 150 km of walking tracks.
- Brisbane (About 1–1.5 hours by train) — Queensland's capital has free art galleries and the Queensland Museum at South Bank, CityCat river ferries and Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.
When to go with children
The best months overall are April–May and September–November. December–January are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Gold Coast good for kids?
The Gold Coast is Australia's classic family holiday: patrolled beaches, four big theme and water parks, wildlife sanctuaries and calm creek swimming at Tallebudgera and Currumbin. Apartments with kitchens make longer stays easy.
+What can kids do in Gold Coast?
Sea World, Warner Bros. Movie World, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast and Dreamworld.
+Where should families stay in Gold Coast?
Broadbeach: Polished dining precinct with a patrolled beach, the convention centre and Pacific Fair.