Five Super Fun Things to Do With Kids in New South Wales & Sydney

Planning your Aussie holiday and looking for fun things to do with kids? From sand surfing to balloon rides, here’s some of the coolest stuff happening in Sydney and beyond

Everybody knows that Australia is an amazing place to visit (and Sydney is particularly fab for families). You’ve got the beach, kangaroos, the Opera House, and of course the picturesque Blue Mountains. Take a closer look, mama, and you’ll find everything from sand dune surfing to hot air balloon rides. And did you know many of New South Wales’ ace museums offer free admission for kids?

Check out our gallery of the coolest family fun that can be had in New South Wales, mama. And click through to find out how you can get $100 to spend on any Sydney and NSW experience when you book with Flight Centre!

www.flightcentre.com.sg

Australia’s oldest museum, the Australian Museum has a particular focus on natural history and cultural anthropology, so whether your kiddos are keen to learn more about indigenous Aboriginal culture or the continent’s cuddliest creatures (or deadliest snakes!), there’s heaps going on to suit all tastes. Right now there’s a super cool (no pun intended) exhibit on “Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age.” The museum is conveniently located in the heart of Sydney right by Hyde Park, too.

Admission is totally FREE for kids under 16, and the museum has everything from a ‘mini-museum’ for Under-5s to a baby and toddler playgroup!

www.australianmuseum.net.au

If your kids love Future World at the ArtScience Museum, they are sure to go nuts for Learn & Play Future Park at the Powerhouse Museum (designed by teamLab, the same folks that created Future World). This interactive world of colour and light is massively fun for kids and adults alike, with the added bonus that admission is FREE for kids under 4! During April families should also look out for Tinkertoreum, where children 3 and up can engage with various challenges as they build their own car and test it out on various tracks.

Besides the above, Powerhouse Museum is also home to a permanent exhibition highlighting one of Australia’s most all-time popular children’s exports: The Wiggles!

www.maas.museum/powerhouse-museum

A scenic 2.5-hour drive up the coast from Sydney, Port Stephens is renowned for its gorgeous beaches and delectable fresh seafood. It’s also a fab spot for whale watching during the migration season (June-November), whether you opt to take a scenic cruise or look out for pods from Tomaree National Park (Tomaree Head Summit Walk is considered one of the top ten panoramic views in Australia!).

For slightly older kids, or anyone with a sense of adventure, it’s an absolute must to explore Port Stephens’s famous sand dunes, whether by 4WD tour, on a quad bike, or even sandboarding!

The Hunter Valley may be best known for its many fine wineries, but the lush region less than two hours north of Sydney offers plenty of family fun, too. For starters, the Hunter Valley Zoo provides a safe, caring, natural environment for animals, while also allowing kiddos to pet kangaroos and birds. Animal lovers will also adore pony rides, hay tractor rides, and getting to feed cows, calves, goats, and sheep at Hunter Valley Horse Riding and Adventures.

Mini gourmands, meanwhile, will love the Hunter Valley Cheese Factory – handmade cow and goat’s cheese made daily on site. Yum! 

And for some of the most stunning views you’re sure to see in Australia, a sunrise Balloon Safari is an absolute must, mama.

An annual highlight of winter Down Under, Vivid Sydney is an amazing light festival that sees the city transformed with dramatic light installations in conjunction with musical performances and a celebration of “ideas”.

Besides the sheer wonder of seeing landmarks like the Sydney Opera House transformed into sea creatures or iridescent plant life, a particularly kid-friendly recent feature was “Lights for the Wild”, an interactive, immersive event at Taronga Zoo with larger than life light sculptures of animals like a Sumatran Tiger, a Marine Turtle, and Port Jackson Shark, among many others. It’s at once captivating, and the perfect opportunity to teach children about conservation as the Zoo works to save these species from extinction. Stay tuned for updates on this year’s festival!

www.vividsydney.com

Ready to get booking, mama? Flight Centre will give mamas $100 to put toward any super fun family activity in Sydney or Greater New South Wales when you book by 18 March, 2018 (valid for the first 20 bookings, so act fast!). Simply call (+65) 6692 9765 or email [email protected] to begin planning your adventure!