There are plenty of great winter drawcards for families at Australia’s holiday parks, from cosy fire pits to whale watching experiences. Here are our top ideas for your winter caravan or camping escape!
As winter isn’t as popular a time to travel as summer, it’s a great time to grab a bargain at Australia’s best family holiday parks! Plus, who needs to go to the beach when there are so many fantastic facilities available within the holiday parks themselves? And they are constantly innovating, so there’s always something new to experience.
Why stay at a holiday park in winter?
Holiday parks with fire pits
What can bring greater joy to a kid than sitting around a campfire toasting marshmallows with their family and friends? Winter is the prime time to do just that, with lots of holiday parks offering outdoor fire pits to help create a memorable holiday experience.
Holiday parks with fire pits include NRMA Jindabyne Holiday Park and NRMA Halls Gap Holiday Park in The Grampians, Victoria — in addition to the communal fire pit, NRMA Halls Gap offers camping sites with their own fire pits. NRMA South West Rocks Holiday Park allows campers to bring suitable fire pits between 1 May and 1 September.
BIG4 Tassie Getaway Parks St Helens in Tasmania has a large communal firepit to gather around and a wood-fired pizza oven in the outdoor camp kitchen. At BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park, braziers may be used in the Riverwalk section of the park.
Wildlife spotting opportunities
Winter is the best time to spot native wildlife. While animals like kangaroos and wallabies can be hard to see during the day in summer – when they are hiding under bushes in the shade – during the colder months they are out and about enjoying the warm winter sunshine.
For wildlife encounters on the Gold Coast, head to BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park this winter. The property is home to a family of kangaroos and former rescue koalas who’ve been rehabilitated and released on the grounds.
Whale-watching adventures
Winter is peak season for whale watching, as the majestic humpbacks make their way from Antarctica up the east coast of Australia and back. Some of Australia’s best whale-watching destinations have fantastic holiday parks to make your winter getaway even more spectacular.
As many of our holiday parks are based near the coast, they make the ideal base for a family whale-watching trip. Consider Ingenia Holidays Hervey Bay in Queensland, BIG4 Easts Beach Holiday Park on the NSW South Coast and NRMA Victor Harbor Holiday Park on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia.
8 best winter holiday park ideas for families
1. BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort — Airlie Beach, QLD
Escape to the tropics with the whole family
BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers great-value family accommodation packages during the winter school holidays. Even in winter, Airlie Beach enjoys a moderate climate: the average daytime winter temperature in The Whitsundays is 24 degrees, so it’s a great destination for soaking up some of that warm Queensland sunshine during the colder months.
The park is perfect for families with a raft of child-friendly facilities, including a large heated lagoon-style pool, water slides and giant tipping bucket, mini-golf, two undercover jumping pillows and a playground. There’s a full schedule of activities on offer every day, many of them free.
There are also lots of social activities, including cheese and wine afternoons, pancake breakfasts, as well as roast and curry nights. The Airlie Beach resort also offers an outdoor cinema four times a week (increasing to seven during school holidays), a kids’ club, craft, games and six animal park feeding sessions per week.
Accommodation options include caravan and camping sites, self-contained hotel-style studio rooms and luxurious apartment-style condos and cottages (some with spas!) with outdoor decks and alfresco areas.
WINTER DEAL: Kids stay free during June & July school holidays!
2. BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park — Helensvale, QLD
Your great-value Gold Coast getaway awaits!
Winter is a great time to visit the Gold Coast’s famous theme parks. If your kids are nagging you for a visit, why not book a convenient stay at the closest holiday park? BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park is just across the road from MovieWorld and Wet’n’Wild, and only a few minutes’ drive from Dreamworld and WhiteWater World.
Its heated water park is the tallest at any holiday park in Australia, with a huge tipping bucket and several slides catering to kids of different ages. It hosts outdoor movies at night and there’s a kids’ club during the school holidays.
The pet-friendly park also has a giant jumping pillow and a family restaurant serving up delicious woodfired pizza, ready to enjoy on The Fireplace, a cosy heated outdoor dining terrace freshly renovated for Winter 2025.
BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park also welcomed a fantastic eco-friendly playground in 2023. Designed by Urban Play, the sustainable playground was made with old plastic bags, food packaging waste and recycled maritime waste, such as fishing nets from the ocean.
It features a double flying fox, play tower, seesaw, springers, climbing blocks and swings. Created in conjunction with the 7 Senses Foundation, it’s also a sensory haven for children of all ages and abilities. Combined with the bush-feel landscape design, the shaded and semi-fenced playground is a great place to while away a few hours enjoying a picnic lunch.
WINTER DEAL: Get 30% off selected dates and accommodation types
3. BIG4 Easts Beach Holiday Park — Kiama, NSW
Stay where the whales play this winter
A winter holiday in Kiama means whale-watching galore! Located right on the 20-kilometre Kiama Coastal Walk, BIG4 Easts Beach Holiday Park is perfectly located to experience one of NSW’s top whale-watching spots.
Located on a 14ha site just a few kilometres from the centre of town, BIG4 East Beach offers oodles of other fun things for kids while you’re there. The park has a games room for those cooler days, while the Krazy Kidz Club has a range of activities on long weekends and during the NSW school holidays, including cooking classes and crafts.
There’s also an indoor playground, Little Monkeys Play Corner, and games room. BIG4 Easts Beach has a massage studio for parents to indulge, and its extensive cabin range means there’s something to suit most budgets.
WINTER DEAL: Stay 7 nights and save 30% off your stay!
4. NRMA Victor Harbor Beachfront Holiday Park — Victor Harbor, SA
Celebrate the winter whale fest near Adelaide
NRMA Victor Harbor Beachfront Holiday Park in South Australia is a great place to stay during the Victor Harbor Winter Whale Fest — a month-long event celebrating the annual migration with art exhibitions, film screenings, author talks and tours.
The Park – an hour’s drive south of Adelaide on the Fleurieu Peninsula – offers accommodation in cabins, villas and safari tents, and has a solar-heated pool, a pump track and games arcade.
5. Reflections Holiday Parks — Wyangala Waters — Cowra Region, NSW
Get outdoors in the NSW Central West
Reflections Holiday Parks — Wyangala Waters is an excellent place to see wildlife like kangaroos and wallabies. You can also go hiking in peace, without the pesky flies and mozzies.
Watch the morning mist rise over the dam, before casting a line. Surface fishing for giant Murray cod is particularly popular during winter, and you can also try to hook a carp or yellowbelly (golden perch). Far away from the city lights, Central West NSW is also ideal for stargazing.
6. NRMA Jindabyne Holiday Park — Snowy Mountains, NSW
Enjoy a snow holiday with the kids
NRMA Jindabyne Holiday Park, located in the gateway town to Thredbo and Perisher snow resorts in NSW, has a communal campfire where skiers and snowboarders gather each night to share tales of their day’s adventures.
Located on the shores of Lake Jindabyne, it has a range of cabins, glamtainers (with fireplaces!) and villas to choose from – or if you’re really brave you can pitch a tent! There’s also a woodfired pizza oven to cook up a hearty meal, a drying room and a ski tuning table.
8. Tasman Holiday Parks North Star — Hastings Point, NSW
A retreat for all ages and interests
Located on the Tweed Coast of northern NSW, Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star is a fantastic option for those seeking an educational element to their holiday. Its Marine Discovery Centre is packed with world-class hands-on learning experiences, including interactive digital terminals.
The Resort has powered and ensuite campsites, apartments, cottages and villas. Its water park, Sammy’s Adventure Lagoon, has two waterslides and a bucket that dumps water every six minutes, and water cannons. There’s also a seasonally heated pool and wading pool.
Neptune’s Castle Kids’ Club, for children aged three to 12, is supervised on weekends and during school holidays, and there’s an outdoor playground, tennis court, and a games room with a toddler corner.
There’s also an onsite restaurant, Ripples Licensed Café, and parents can take turns visiting the adults-only retreat, Seascape, which has a day spa, hairdresser, heated lap pool, gym, spa and sauna.
Opening image: Glamping tents at NRMA Victor Harbor Beachfront Holiday Park
