School Holiday Activities for Families on a Budget

The Goldy has always known how to do family fun properly, and the best bits don't need to cost the earth.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is a full day sorted. Hand-feed a lorikeet, meet a koala, and let the kids loose on the free-flight bird show – it's 27 hectares of Aussie wildlife and rainforest, and you could easily spend the whole day there without checking your watch once.

GC Aqua Park is the one for some fun on the water. Think floating slides, slippery mountains, trampolines and a few inevitable tumbles into the drink – it's pure holiday energy and a brilliant way to cool off between beach days.

For the thrill-seekers, the SkyPoint Day Climb gets you 270 metres above Surfers Paradise for views that stretch from the hinterland to the horizon. It's a proper buzz for the teens (and the brave parents) without needing a plane ticket.

Sydney has a reputation for being pricey, but plenty of its best family attractions sit comfortably under the $100 mark.

SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium puts the kids nose-to-glass with sharks, platypus and a very chilled-out dugong, right in the heart of Darling Harbour. Pair it with WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo next door for koalas, wombats and crocs, and you've got a full day of Aussie critters.

If your crew feels more at home in the mountains than harbour, the Blue Mountains Scenic World Pass is hard to beat – the Scenic Railway, Skyway and Cableway all in one ticket, with rainforest boardwalks and views over the Jamison Valley that genuinely stop conversation. Not bad for a day trip from the city.

Melbourne's weather might keep you guessing, but these picks work whatever the sky's doing.

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre is an indoor wonderland of rides, build zones and a 4D cinema that will happily eat up a few hours – perfect for when Melbourne decides to throw four seasons at you in one afternoon. Just next door, SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium covers Antarctic penguins, sharks and a walk-through ocean tunnel, so you can tick off two brilliant attractions without leaving the block.

For a classic dose of nostalgia, Luna Park Melbourne gets you unlimited rides on the historic Scenic Railway coaster and everything else in the park – one ticket, no counting tokens, no arguments about whose turn it is.

Tropical North Queensland does bucket-list stuff every day of the week, and a lot of it is more affordable than you'd think.

Hartley's Crocodile Adventures is croc-spotting done properly, with a cruise through billabongs and up-close encounters with some of the biggest reptiles in the country. For a gentler pace, the Kuranda Koala Gardens and Birdworld 2 Attraction Pass lets the kids cuddle a koala and wander through a rainforest aviary in the same afternoon in the village of Kuranda.

History buffs (and anyone who loves a good jungle mystery) will love Paronella Park – a crumbling Spanish castle swallowed by rainforest, complete with waterfalls and a story that's genuinely stranger than fiction.

Some of the best budget days out aren't tied to one postcode – they've popped up in cities all over the country.

Holey Moley Mini Golf is mini golf that's somehow just as fun for parents as it is for kids. With courses across the cities we've covered, as well as Wollongong, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and beyond, there's almost certainly one near you.

Hijinx Hotel is part escape room, part indoor adventure playground, set in a quirky, larger-than-life hotel theme with five challenge rooms to work through as a team. It's a brilliant option for a rainy arvo or a change of pace between beach days, with locations in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Sydney and the Gold Coast.

If you're after serious bang for your buck, combo passes are where the real savings live – see two, three or four attractions for less than they'd cost you separately.

Sydney 4 Attraction Pass ($64) bundles up SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo, Sydney Tower Eye and Madame Tussauds into one ticket, all clustered around the CBD and Darling Harbour so you're not wasting holiday time on transport. Four attractions, one price, zero fuss.

The Melbourne SEA LIFE and LEGOLAND Combo ($62) does the same trick for Melbourne families – aquarium and LEGO wonderland, side by side, for one combined ticket that beats paying for both separately.

And up on the Gold Coast, while you'll have to wait for a deal to score a theme park pass for under $100, combo passes are still your best mate for saving a buck. The 5 Day Theme Park Pass gets you into Movie World, Sea World, Wet'n'Wild and Paradise Country all on one ticket, while the 2 Day Dreamworld and SkyPoint Observation Deck Pass pairs thrill rides with those next-level views over the Goldy. Either way, you're covering a lot more ground for a lot less than paying park by park.