KI a ‘top spot’ for holidays with kids

Jul 16, 2015

Seal Bay Conservation Park on Kangaroo Island. Photo: Nicolò Bonazzi/flickr

Kangaroo Island is one of Australia’s top 10 family-friendly holiday destinations, according to Lonely Planet.

The travel book publisher has the island in eighth position, describing it as “South Australia’s most underrated weekender”.

“Big-ticket enticements for kids here include the stinky, grumpy residents at Seal Bay Conservation Park and the appropriately named Remarkable Rocks in Flinders Chase National Park,” it says.

“In between you’ll find sand dunes (sandboarding!), surf beaches, pelican-feeding sessions, honey farms, fishing jetties, caves and wildlife parks – plenty of kiddie distractions until it’s time for some fish and chips (and a KI wine or two) at the pub in Kingscote.”

KI is the only South Australian destination to make the top 10.

The list is led by Sydney Harbour, which is singled out for family-friendly activities such as rides on the old Sydney ferry, picnics on Cockatoo Island, Wild Life Sydney Zoo and Sydney Sea Life Aquarium.

Not surprisingly, the Gold Coast theme parks (Dream World, Sea World, Movie World and the myriad other kid magnets) are included, along with two other Queensland destinations: Far North Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, and Brisbane.

Lonely Planet suggests that Brisbane may, in fact, be Australia’s most kid-friendly city, with attractions such as the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the man-made Streets Beach, the treehouse playground at New Farm Park on the Brisbane riverbank, and the Queensland Museum and Sciencentre.

Other less predictable inclusions are Canberra (“ditch your preconceptions: Canberra is much more than a political filing cabinet these days”) and Victoria’s High Country, with its winter skiing and summer camping spots.

Lonely Planet has released the family-friendly list to coincide with publication of the latest edition of its Travel with Children book, which includes ideas and tips for travelling with kids in more than 80 countries.