10 Days on the Gold Coast with Young Kids: Our Family Adventure from Dunedin

When it comes to family-friendly holidays, the Gold Coast is hard to beat. With direct Jetstar flights from Dunedin, warm weather, incredible attractions, and resorts designed with kids in mind, it made for the perfect 10-day getaway for our young family.

Travelling with young children meant our holiday needed to strike the right balance between adventure, downtime, and plenty of opportunities for the kids to burn off energy. Here's a look at where we stayed, what we did, and a few tips we picked up along the way.

Flying from Dunedin to the Gold Coast

We flew Jetstar direct from Dunedin to the Gold Coast, which made travelling with young children much easier. Avoiding additional domestic connections and airport transfers meant we could start our holiday sooner and with less stress.

For families, that direct flight is a huge advantage and one of the reasons the Gold Coast remains such a popular choice for South Islanders.

Staying at Turtle Beach Resort

Our first accommodation was Turtle Beach Resort, and it was an absolute hit with the kids.

The resort is designed with families in mind, with multiple pool areas, a large main pool, spas, and the famous Splash Zone water play area. While the Splash Zone is strictly for children, many parents looked on wishing they could join in!

One of the things we loved most was that the resort itself became part of the holiday. We made sure to leave time in our schedule simply to enjoy the facilities rather than rushing off every day.

For rainy days, the onsite cinema screens movies several times a day, while mini-golf and the kids' club offer even more entertainment options. The underground parking was another bonus, allowing direct access to our apartment and making transfers much easier during wet weather.

A word of warning for travellers with mobility concerns: there are quite a few stairs throughout the resort. There may be accessible routes available, but from our experience, it's not the most mobility-friendly property.

Tropical Fruit World

On our first full day we headed to Tropical Fruit World, and it turned out to be a fantastic introduction to the region.

The experience begins with fruit tastings before boarding a tractor-pulled trailer for a guided tour through the plantation. Along the way we sampled bananas and macadamia nuts, visited a petting zoo, enjoyed a river cruise, and finished in the playground area.

The playground is currently being redeveloped, but the flying fox was still a favourite with the kids.

It was a relaxed, enjoyable morning and a great activity for families looking for something a little different.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary easily filled an entire day.

The famous lorikeet feeding sessions take place at 8am and 4pm and are free to watch outside the main park entrance. We arrived towards the end of the morning session, which was probably ideal as our youngest wasn't entirely sure about having birds flying all around them!

Inside the sanctuary, the WildSkies bird show was a standout. The park is easy to navigate, either on foot or using the train, and there are plenty of shady spots which are appreciated during warmer weather.

Exploring Tamborine Mountain

One of our favourite day trips was a self-drive adventure into the Tamborine Mountains.

Our first stop was the Historic Rivermill, where we were amazed to see around 35 turtles, along with large eels and catfish. The kids loved feeding and petting the goats and sheep, and best of all, the animal area and turtle viewing are completely free.

From there we continued to the Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk, an easy 1.5-kilometre walk through rainforest canopy bridges and forest trails. It was suitable for the whole family and offered a completely different side of Queensland from the beaches and theme parks.

We also visited Curtis Falls, which was peaceful and beautiful, before stopping for lunch at the Tamborine Mountain Regional Botanic Gardens on our way back to the coast.

David Fleay Wildlife Park

When it came time to move between resorts, we needed an activity to fill the gap between check-out and check-in.

David Fleay Wildlife Park turned out to be the perfect solution.

The park is compact enough to explore in a couple of hours, making it ideal for families with younger children. We enjoyed the bird show and close-up views of crocodiles and cassowaries, while the family admission pricing was excellent value.

We packed our own lunch and used one of the picnic areas before continuing on to our next accommodation.

Staying at NRMA Treasure Island Resort

If Turtle Beach was excellent, NRMA Treasure Island may have been even better for our children.

We stayed in a Lagoon Deluxe Villa, which comfortably accommodated our family with a queen bed and two sets of bunks.

The facilities were outstanding, including:

• Multiple swimming pools
• Water slide
• Water play area
• Spa pool
• Large jumping pillow
• Mini-golf
• Go-karts
• Daily and evening activities
• Outdoor movie screen

What really set Treasure Island apart was the atmosphere. Because the property includes a large campground for caravans, motorhomes, and tents, there were children everywhere making friends and playing together. It felt more social and lively than Turtle Beach, where most children tended to stay within their own family groups.

Harbour Town was only a short drive away and became a handy spot for shopping, supermarket visits, and picking up fresh fruit and vegetables.

Sea World and Movie World

We purchased the Village Roadshow Parks Pass and visited both Movie World and Sea World, with Sea World earning a second visit.

For our family, Sea World was the clear winner.

Our youngest child was 92cm tall during the trip, and Sea World offered more rides that younger children could enjoy with an accompanying adult. At Movie World, several attractions were simply unavailable due to height restrictions.

One of the highlights was our eldest bravely riding the Leviathan rollercoaster twice.

A Useful Sea World Tip

Sea World's Wi-Fi near the pass entrance was surprisingly poor. When we arrived, we couldn't access our digital passes.

A staff member suggested walking back towards the ticketing area where the signal was stronger, but his best advice was to take screenshots of all your pass barcodes before arriving.

Trust us — do this before you leave your accommodation.

A Bluey-Themed Day Trip to Brisbane

For our Bluey-obsessed children, a day trip to Brisbane became one of the most memorable parts of the holiday.

We surprised them with a visit to Bluey's World and managed to keep it secret until we arrived. Watching them realise where they were was priceless.

Afterwards, we caught the CityCat ferry to South Bank. The journey takes around an hour and offers fantastic views of Brisbane. We were fortunate that industrial action meant our ferry ride was free, although we did need to carefully watch the timetable to avoid being stranded.

At South Bank we enjoyed a ride on the Wheel of Brisbane, explored locations featured in Bluey, and of course stopped for ice cream.

Before heading back to the Gold Coast, we visited Mount Coot-tha Lookout, another location featured in the Bluey episode "The Sign."

It was a full day of Bluey adventures and one our children still talk about.

Family Dining Favourite

One of our best discoveries was Hotel CBD at Varsity Lakes.

We met family there for dinner and quickly realised why it is so popular with local families. The food was excellent, but the real winner was the kids' room.

The children could play safely while the adults enjoyed a relaxed meal and proper conversation.

We enjoyed it so much we returned for our final dinner before flying home. Sometimes the best holiday discoveries are the simple ones.

Travelling the Gold Coast in an Electric Vehicle

For this trip we hired a Polestar 2 electric vehicle through Thrifty.

Over the course of the holiday we drove approximately 675 kilometres and spent just NZD$105 on charging.

The vehicle comfortably fitted three suitcases plus backpacks, making it practical for family travel.

The only challenge was charging without mobile data. Most charging stations required app access, so we often relied on free Wi-Fi at locations such as Pacific Fair or Harbour Town to activate charging sessions.

Thankfully, several businesses were more than happy to help us connect when needed.

Our Final Stay: The Star Gold Coast

We spent our final two nights at The Star Gold Coast after winning a prize stay.

While the hotel is beautiful, it is probably better suited to couples than young families. That said, the location is excellent, sitting right beside Pacific Fair and close to the Gold Coast tram network, where fares were just 50 cents per person.

The infinity pool on the sixth floor was stunning, and the spa facilities, including saunas and treatment rooms, offered a relaxing way to finish our holiday.

It was the perfect place for Mum and Dad to unwind before heading home.

Final Thoughts

The Gold Coast delivered exactly what we were looking for: sunshine, adventure, family fun, and plenty of opportunities to create lasting memories.

For families travelling from Dunedin, the direct Jetstar flights make it an easy destination to reach, while the variety of attractions means there is something for every age group.

If we had one piece of advice, it would be this: don't over-schedule your days. Some of our favourite moments came from simply enjoying the resort pools, playgrounds, and unexpected discoveries along the way.

For our family, the Gold Coast was the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure — and we're already talking about when we might go back.