Family Friendly Resorts with Waterslides

Some of the best family holiday memories are created by the pool. There’s no fuss, no rush, parents can relax, and the kids have an absolute blast! They mingle and make friends, hang out in gangs, scoot around the grounds, and, most importantly, have fun being kids in the outdoors. You’ll hear the iconic summer sounds of ‘Marco, Polo’ and squeals of laughter and delight. It’s the best kind of holiday for entertaining the kids – they’ll have tonnes of fun and make new friends. Who knows, maybe you will make some new friends too.

Featured Resort: North Star Holiday Resort

Brisbane Kids won’t know where to start at North Star Holiday Resort! When planning Sammy’s Adventure Lagoon, the designers went all out. There will be non-stop fun running from slide to slide, squirting their friends with water cannons, racing down the side by side slides, and getting soaked under ‘The Big Dripper’. With 65 interactive water features, the kids may be busy for quite some time. The September 2018 addition of two amazing ‘super slides’ – 8.2m high tubular water slides that add waterfuelled fun at every twist and turn as they spiral their way more than 60m down to poolside landing platforms below – only add to the supercharged excitement at North Star!

Should the weather turn, North Star Holiday resort has you covered with Neptune’s Castle Kids’ Club. Open on weekends and available daily during school holidays, this FREE service is available for kids aged three to twelve years and takes place in a large indoor play area with three levels of fun, ball pit, spiral slide, flying fox and climbing opportunities. Arts and craft are also available. When kids’ club isn’t operating, guests may still access the space and kids can play with parental supervision. For the smaller guests at North Star, there is the Little Treasures play space created for those aged three years and under. Located in the picturesque seaside town of Hastings Point, accommodation at North Star Holiday Resort ranges from powered camping sites and ensuite sites, to small villas, apartments and large villas sleeping up to ten. For more information visit www.northstar.com.au.

Sunshine Coast Resorts with Waterslides

Oaks Oasis, Caloundra

The water park at Oaks Oasis in Caloundra looks like something that belongs in a theme park, with a tipping bucket, numerous slides, and water spurting from different directions. Designed to suit all ages, the pool is shallow enough for the smallest of Brisbane Kids and is interactive enough to suit older Brisbane Kids. They will have so much fun that you’ll have a problem getting the kids to leave.

Also on offer at Oaks Oasis is a resort-style pool, shaded playground with jumping pillow, bike hire, mini golf, and sports equipment hire for tennis and beach volleyball. Accommodation ranges from hotel rooms to self-contained apartments and villas. For more information visit https://www.oakshotels.com/oaks-oasis-resort.

RACV Noosa Resort, Noosa

There is so much for the kids to do at RACV Noosa Resort! From the heated splash pad with water sprayers and hoops you’ll hear squeals of delight as the kids try to squirt each other, or cheers as they slide into the lagoon style pool on one of the waterslides. Kids will marvel at the sandy pool entry and enjoy building sand castles, dams and channels, or driving toy machinery through the sand. There’s also a shaded shallow section in the pool for the toddlers to enjoy.

Adjacent to the swimming pools is a small playground. The games room has an air hockey table and table tennis tables along with the usual gaming devices. While the kids have fun at the school holiday Kids’ Club, pamper yourself at the onsite spa or have a game of tennis. Bike hire is also available. Accommodation ranges from hotel rooms, to self-contained apartments and villas. For more information visit https://www.racv.com.au/travel-leisure/racv-resorts/our-destinations/noosa-resort.html.

Rivershore Resort, Maroochydore

There will be no time for the kids to be watching screens at Rivershore. With so many different activities to choose from, they won’t know where to start. The main pool is heated to a comfortable 28 degrees from April to October, with two large waterslides for the bigger kids. For the toddlers there is a smaller heated pool with a depth of 2ft which has a few sprayers to keep them occupied. Next to the pool is a partially-shaded playground and kanga jumper. Grab a coffee from the café and let the kids burn off some of their energy.

Making the most of their river frontage, stand up paddle boards and kayaks are available to hire from Rivershore Resort. The pontoon is the perfect spot to wet a line and try your luck fishing. The boat ramp is suitable for small to medium sized boats. Mini golf and bike hire is also available. Accommodation options include unpowered sites, powered sites, glamping and luxury safari tents. For more information visit https://www.rivershore.com.au/.

Gold Coast Family Resorts

Sea World Resort, Main Beach

With a waterpark named SpongeBob SplashBash Aquatic Adventure Playground, you know the kids are going to have fun at sea World Resort! Featuring a tipping bucket, jets, sprayers, hoops and water slides, there is water coming from every direction. And just because the sun has gone to bed doesn’t mean the kids have to. The SpongeBob Light Show comes alive from 7pm with LED lights and the kids’ favourite SpongeBob songs. An interactive Dora the Explorer themed area is designed for the smaller family members.

For guests staying at Sea World Resort for two or more nights, the free Dolphin Discovery Presentation is an unforgettable experience. Guests have a behind the scenes look at the dolphin training. If you’re one of the lucky few, there are limited opportunities to have up-close encounter with the dolphin with a photographic opportunity to prove it! That’s the bonus of staying next door to Sea World Marine Park. Accommodation is resort style with apartments ranging from studios to premium family rooms. For more information visit https://seaworld.com.au/resort.

Turtle Beach Resort, Mermaid Beach

The splash zone at Turtle Beach Resort is a multi-storey maze of water fun! With side by side slides, the kids can race their mates, see who can go down the tunnel slides fastest, and get dunked under the tipping bucket together. Toddlers and smaller Brisbane Kids haven’t been forgotten, with two smaller slides shallow water. There are three pools for kids, and an adult only pool for a bit of me time.

Always a crowd pleaser, Turtle Beach Resort has a 15-hole mini golf course, a recreation room with coin-operated games, tennis court and a small cinema. Club Turtle Kids Club is available to kids ages four to twelve years. Apartments are available to suit a range of families with single bedroom apartments to four bedroom apartments. For more information visit https://www.turtlebeach.com.au/.

Tallebudgera Creek Tourist Park, Palm Beach

Situated on the crystal clear waters of Tallebudgera Creek, Tallebudgera Creek Tourist Park is a family-friendly holiday park that caters for the whole family. The main pool has two medium-sized slides for bigger Brisbane Kids, with a shallow splash deck for the smaller kids at the other end. There is a shaded shallow pool with water features, toadstools and frogs spurting water that’s perfect for toddlers. The pools are heated seasonally. Kids are well catered for – hire a go-kart, check out the TV and recreation room, play in the playground, or make use of the tennis courts. It is easy to see why this park is featured in the Trip Advisor Hall of Fame.

While staying here, make the most of the prime location on Tallebugera Creek and swim at the sandy beach out front, kayak, or stand up paddleboard in the Tallebudgera estuary, try your luck fishing or go for a walk in the national park around Burleigh Headland. Accommodation ranges from unpowered sites to villas big enough to sleep nine. For more information visit https://goldcoasttouristparks.com.au/parks/tallebudgera-creek.

Family Friendly Resort Options further afield

Big4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort, Airlie Beach

Recently opened, the water park at Big4 Airlie Beach includes a spectacular, mind-blowing, multi-storey maze of slides. It has 13, yes 13, slides! Adjacent to the large slide structure is a smaller structure in the shape of an octopus with smaller slides. The water is shallow enough for smaller kids and has huge slides for the bigger kids. There is something to keep every age group occupied here for many hours. Adjacent to the water park is a large lagoon style pool which is heated to a temperate 28 degrees and which also hosts two large water slides.

In typical holiday park fashion, there are numerous activities to keep the whole family entertained at Big4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort. Kids will love the kids’ club activities, with scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, face painting and beading classes. Spend some family time on the mini golf course, a giant chess board, or the full-size tennis courts. Also on site are playgrounds, a jumping pillow and outdoor cinema. Movies are screened three times weekly, and nightly during school holidays. Accommodation varies from powered sites and villas, to cottages and condos. For more information visit https://www.big4.com.au/caravan-parks/qld/whitsunday/adventure-whitsunday-resorthttps://www.big4.com.au/caravan-parks/qld/whitsunday/adventure-whitsunday-resort.

Big4 Cania Gorge Holiday Park, Cania Gorge

Tucked away inland about 225km from Bundaberg is Cania Gorge National Park and, while there is no camping permitted in the national park, there is the Big4 Cania Gorge Holiday Park in close proximity. At the end of the day, after walking the trails and soaking in the stunning landscape of Cania Gorge, come back for a nice cool dip in the pool. Let the kids burn off any remaining energy in the splash park with its huge twin loop slide, small tipping buckets, water sprayers and slides. For “quiet time”, there is a separate pool for mum and dad to dip their toes into as well.

When you’re not busy exploring the natural beauty of Cania Gorge, Big4 Cania Gorge Holiday Park also has a playground, jumping pillow and bird feeding opportunities. After working up an appetite with all the action, try a wood fired pizza for dinner. Accommodation ranges from unpowered sites to villas. For more information visit https://www.big4.com.au/caravan-parks/qld/bundaberg-coral-isles/cania-gorge-holiday-park.

This article was sponsored by North Star Holiday Resort in Hastings Point. Whether you like to rig up the tent or soak in a spa bath, North Star has just the right accommodation option for your family. Find out more at http://www.northstar.com.au/.

For more exciting family-friendly holiday destinations, you might like to take a look at our Farm Stay Accommodation ideas, or look further into Family Friendly Camping.