Five Modern Family Holidays in NSW That Will Save You From Resort Kids Clubs
Get away, go feral and have fun — together.
In partnership with 
We all need some time off with a poolside cocktail every now and then. Or just to hold on to the dream of getting it one day. But in reality, do we want to pass our whole holidays like that, while our children are off making a completely different set of memories? Not so much.
A lot of family holidays aim for segregation: massages and mud baths for the big people; predictable 'kids clubs' for their offspring. But for those who are in the mood to get imaginative and adventurous, we've teamed up with Holden Equinox, the SUV for parents with nothing to prove, to round up five getaways to gratify you.
If you want to share memorable — and, quite possibly, educational — experiences with your kids, then read on to find five of the best contemporary regional holiday ideas for families wanting to clear out of the city and have fun. Together.
BYRON BAY
That boho beach spirit we all love about Byron? It starts speaking to people from a young age. Make a beeline for Byron if your dream holiday for your kids involves letting their cares wash away with the surf, all-day picnics and paddles, learning how our lunch gets from paddock to plate at The Farm, and experiencing the kind of community atmosphere that culminates in sunset drumming circles at Main Beach. Make the holiday extra memorable by staying at one of the National Parks houses along the coast — you'll get spectacular views, beach access and, once the day's tourists have left, the privilege of enjoying a historical site all to yourself. Better yet, time your holiday to take in the stalwart family-friendly festival Bluesfest and give your mini-mes a glimpse at another world.
8.5 hours' drive north of Sydney via the Pacific Highway
PEBBLY BEACH
Give your family the camping holiday they deserve at Pebbly Beach (which, adorable as the name is, is not actually pebbly). Located in the depths of the Murramarang National Park on the NSW South Coast but accessible by car, the area has a campground with good facilities, beaches that invite both surfing and swimming, and bush tracks stretching out in every direction. Best of all, you'll be sharing the beach with kangaroos friendly enough to accept your pats and photographic attentions. Don't miss the opportunity to expose your offspring to some Indigenous history via the Aboriginal Area walking track in the northern stretch of the park.
4 hours' drive south of Sydney via the Princes Highway
HONEYCOMB VALLEY FARM & FARMSTAY
A farmstay is a necessity at some point if you want to force your tiny city slickers to connect with nature. And Honeycomb Valley is one of the best there is (it's got the awards to prove it). As well as the usual opportunities to collect chook eggs, ride ponies and milk goats, Honeycomb Valley offers the chance to get better acquainted with some much smaller but perhaps more interesting charges — bees. Their "bee motel" is a sanctuary for the area's stingless bees, and honey is one of the farm's main products. The site also boasts the biggest solar oven in Australia and a dam with pedal boats. If you want a break from the farm, you're within easy reach of several north-coast towns.
3 hours' drive north of Sydney via the Pacific Highway
BLUE MOUNTAINS AND JENOLAN CAVES
That moment when your tour guide tells you that there is no darkness like the darkness inside a cave, darkness to make you lose your sense of what's up and what's down, and then they flip the light switch off? Kids live for that stuff (and admit it, you enjoy it too). Not only are the caves beautiful and fun to explore, they're an opportunity to stoke your kids' interest in geology and get in some local Aboriginal history (just download the app for a self-guided tour). Within about an hour's drive are all the other attractions of the Blue Mountains, including Scenic World with its glass-bottomed Skyway cablecar over the Katoomba Falls valley.
3 hours' drive west of Sydney via the Great Western Highway
LORD HOWE ISLAND
If your nearest and dearest have earned a holiday to end all holidays, take them to Lord Howe Island. A remnant from a volcano piercing the calm of the Tasman Sea, the subtropical island paradise only allows 400 visitors at a time, so not only is it super restful, it's super safe (think no-locks-on-your-doors safe). There's also no mobile reception, limited Wi-Fi and bicycles are the main form of transport. Once the withdrawal stage of your digital detox passes, there's nothing left for your clan to do but lose yourself in swimming, snorkelling, fishing, paddleboarding, kayaking, rockpooling, turtle-spotting, sandcastle-building and professional-level siesta-taking.
1.5 hours' flight east of Sydney
Drive your family on adventures in and outside of town in the Holden Equinox, the SUV for parents with nothing to prove. Find out more on the Holden website.
