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The perfect 5-day Canberra itinerary for families

Carla Grossetti Carla Grossetti
This Canberra itinerary for families proves there are more reasons than ever to visit the national capital.

Canberra has long been a beacon for families and these days, there are more and more reasons than ever to visit the compact national capital. From where to eat, where to play and where to stay, follow our 5-day guide for a fun-filled holiday that will keep everyone in high spirits.

Day 1

Morning

Hot Air Balloon Flights with Balloon Aloft Canberra
Soar above for sweeping views of Lake Burley Griffin and beyond. (Image: David Barber/5 Foot Photography)

Drift above the skies of the nation’s capital with Balloon Aloft  and you will see the city laid out before you, with the Brindabella Range swathed in fog during winter. You’ll also see the wheel-and-spoke street plan laid out by architect and city planner Walter Burley Griffin and the grand buildings dotted around the lake named after the famed American. The flight (suitable for children aged seven and over) will be followed by a breakfast (with bubbles for adults) at a local restaurant where each family member will receive a commemorative flight certificate.

Midday

a Dhawura Tour with Aboriginal guides
Learn about the First People’s connection with the land from an experienced Aboriginal guide. (Image: VisitCanberra)

After the excitement of dawn, make the most of a day of dazzling Canberra sunshine by visiting Mt Majura where you can learn firsthand about the First People’s connection with the land. A two-hour Dhawura Tour with a Nugunawal guide offers an Indigenous interpretation of the landscape. Discover insights into the cultural significance of scar trees, where bark was removed to make canoes, shelters and coolamons (water carriers), as well as bush foods and medicines and their traditional uses.

Evening

the National Dinosaur Museum, Canberra
The National Dinosaur Museum showcases life-size displays of dinosaurs. (Image: VisitCanberra)

Check into your Kids Cubby + East Apartment at the East Hotel, which is the most family-friendly hotel in Canberra. Fuel up on dinner at Agostinis before heading into the  National Dinosaur Museum , which often conducts tours after-hours that shine a light on reptiles of the Mesozoic era. Stroll past dino dioramas and into galleries filled with skulls and skeletons and gargantuan fossil replicas that bring the ancient predators to life. The National Dinosaur Museum also includes a landscaped dinosaur garden dominated by Stan, a 20-metre-long T. rex that towers over the entrance. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Day 2

Morning

Pollen Cafe, Australian National Botanic Gardens
Pop in for a feed at Pollen. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Strike a balance between ‘what the kids want to do’ and ‘what the adults want to do’ and meet in the middle for a visit to Australian National Botanic Gardens , a stone’s throw from Canberra’s CBD. The gardens, which open from 8.30am, support a living collection of some 70,000 plants and themed collections dotted around the 40-hectare property. Look for water dragons in the Tasmanian Garden Ponds. Connect the dots between activity stations along the Children’s Discovery Trail and visit the two-storey Treehouse in the paperbark garden. Refuel on waffles at the popular Pollen cafe.

Midday

horseriding with Burnelee Excursions
Saddle up at sunset. (Image: VisitCanberra)

You don’t need to be an experienced equestrian to join Burnelee Excursions On Horseback for a one-hour ride near Murrumbateman, a 30-minute drive from Canberra’s CBD. The property is blanketed in bushland that is home to local wildlife such as kangaroos, echidnas, wedge-tailed eagles and wallabies. Clip-clop through the rolling countryside on Billie the Brumby and learn to canter across open paddocks on your Bush Experience, suitable for families with children aged eight and over. Visit nearby Robyn Rowe Chocolates for hot chocolates all round.

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Evening

zebras at the National Zoo & Aquarium, Canberra
Enjoy up-close encounters with a range of wildlife. (Image: National Zoo & Aquarium)

Check out the National Zoo & Aquarium before checking into your accommodation at Jamala Wildlife Lodge in order to maximise the amount of time you get to spend in your suite. Stay in one of the Jungle Bungalows , where lions, tigers and cheetahs prowl outside your big picture window. Or in the Giraffe Treehouses within the enclosure that houses African mammals. Guests at Jamala Wildlife Lodge also receive exclusive access to the zoo on the day of their departure.

Day 3

Morning

interactive exhibits inside Questacon
Spend a family fun day enjoying interactive exhibits. (Image: Questacon)

Dedicate most of the morning to bouncing between Canberra’s main cultural attractions, all of which cater to families. The must-visits include: Questacon to see the whimsically arranged Clockwork Universe, which explores scientific theories of astronomy, and RoboQ, a mechanical humanoid; and CSIRO Discovery Centre to learn first-hand about science. Competitive families can also channel their inner champion at the Australian Institute of Sport in the interactive Sportex exhibit. Head to the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Australia to create crazy reflections in Bert Flugelman’s iconic steel Cones and take in some history at Parliament House .

Midday

GoBoat Canberra on Lake Burley Griffin
Chart your own Scandinavian electric picnic boat on Lake Burley Griffin. (Image: VisitCanberra)

Take to the waters of Lake Burley Griffin on a GoBoat . No boat license or experience is required to take the electric picnic boats for a loop around the lake, which, on a fine day, mirrors the olive-green trees and blue of the sky. You can order a GoBoat Nibble + Nourish grazing platter to go. Or pack your own picnic for a cruise up the Central Basin to Springbank Island, where you will find barbecue facilities and undercover seating. Score a shady spot for a siesta under the weeping willows, which hang like leafy green curtains over the lake.

Evening

the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, Canberra
A peaceful landscape within the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. (Image: VisitCanberra)

Arrive at Nils Desperandum as its silhouette starts to sharpen against the fading backdrop of Tidbinbilla Range . No, this rustic rammed earth cottage does not have wi-fi. Nor does it have electricity. What it does have is a fire pit located under a vast sky that might just help families break their tech addiction. Visit in winter when the temperature slips overnight producing a magical thin film of frost that covers the grass, turning it silver.

Day 4

Morning

kangaroos at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve
Spot kangaroos at sunrise. (Image: VisitCanberra)

Rise with the sun and you will likely see kangaroos, koalas, emus and the ever-elusive platypus around the gorgeous grounds of Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve , 40 minutes from the city. The platypus are most active in August, when they are often spotted along the Sanctuary Loop . Take the 700-metre-long Koala Path to get to a grove of eucalypts where the arboreal marsupials reside high in the trees.

Midday

the National Arboretum Canberra
Wander the stunning grounds of the National Arboretum in Canberra. (Image: Vishal Pandey/VisitCanberra)

The award-winning Pod Playground occupies prime real estate at the National Arboretum Canberra , offering panoramic views of the landscape stubbled with native grasses and plantings of more than 44,000 rare and significant trees. I love taking my nephew to the acorn-themed playground. It opens at 7am, has climbing structures, slides, swings, giant acorn cubbies, and music-making instruments. Sign up for a kite-making workshop and float it high in the air from Dairy Farmers Hill. The nearby Children’s Garden also has a mix of active play spaces and areas designed for quiet contemplation.

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Evening

Big Bash League at Manuka Oval
Witness an action-packed game at Manuka Oval. (Image: VisitCanberra)

Watch the Giants play a game of Aussie Rules at Manuka Oval in winter before exploring the streets of Manuka, a neighbourhood crammed with restaurants and shops. Head to whimsical kids’ fashion store Wolfie , watch artists blow molten glass blobs into a desired shape at nearby Canberra Glassworks in Kingston and see what the fuss is about at local cult favourite Brodburger.

Day 5

Morning

miniature buildings at Cockington Green Gardens
Explore the miniature buildings at Cockington Green Gardens. (Image: VisitCanberra)

Want to keep young minds occupied? Spend the day exploring Gold Creek Village in the suburb of Nicholls, which is dotted with family-friendly attractions: go to Cockington Green Gardens , Canberra Reptile Zoo , Canberra Walk-In Aviary and the National Dinosaur Museum .

Or spend your morning in Fyshwick. The spiffy suburb is now home to designer op shops, artisan bakers, small-batch brewers and edgy markets. Both little and big kids will enjoy magical Quizzic Alley , home to the largest collection of Harry Potter merch in Australia.

Noon

biking around Lake Burley Griffin
Go for a family cycle around Lake Burley Griffin. (Image: VisitCanberra)

Download a city cycling map from Visit Canberra for city riding routes that pinpoint the perfect pit stops. The lake is surrounded by cycle paths and offers picturesque routes for a family bike ride. Share A Bike offers multiple automated bike rental machines. Hire bicycles for your brood to tackle the nine-kilometre Eastern Loop of the Lake Burley Griffin Circuit before returning to the East Hotel in Kingston.

Evening

the living room at East Hotel Canberra
Check into the homey East Hotel in Kingston. (Image: Adam McGrath)

The Kids Cubby + East Apartment is supremely comfortable. Give everyone a chance to reset by returning to the East Hotel and ordering room service. The rooms have an Xbox One, a kids’ play table, and bean bags.

Getting around

Canberra’s light rail network runs from the northern suburb of Gungahlin and into the CBD.

Transport Canberra also operates the public bus network, a convenient and cost-effective way to get around the city. Neuron and Beam scooters are also great for getting around the city precinct for families with children over the age of 12.

Carla Grossetti
Carla Grossetti avoided accruing a HECS debt by accepting a cadetship with News Corp. at the age of 18. After completing her cadetship at The Cairns Post Carla moved south to accept a position at The Canberra Times before heading off on a jaunt around Canada, the US, Mexico and Central America. During her career as a journalist, Carla has successfully combined her two loves – of writing and travel – and has more than two decades experience switch-footing between digital and print media. Carla’s CV also includes stints at delicious., The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Australian, where she specialises in food and travel. Carla also based herself in the UK where she worked at Conde Nast Traveller, and The Sunday Times’ Travel section before accepting a fulltime role as part of the pioneering digital team at The Guardian UK. Carla and has been freelancing for Australian Traveller for more than a decade, where she works as both a writer and a sub editor.
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Meet the makers shaping Ballarat’s new era of creativity

    Margaret Barca Margaret Barca
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    Makers, bakers, artists, chefs, crafters – Ballarat and its surrounds are overflowing with creative spirits. All dedicated to keeping traditional skills alive for a city that is humming with artful energy.

    Modern makers: a new generation of artists and artisans

    “Keeping craft alive is a noble cause,” says Jess Cameron-Wootten, a charming and passionate master leathercrafter and cordwainer, who handmakes traditional leather boots and shoes in Ballarat’s old Gun Cotton Goods Store.

    Ballarat was recognised in 2019 as a UNESCO Creative City of Craft and Folk Art, and today it’s a place where craft traditions converge with contemporary needs. Nothing quite captures this convergence as a visit to Wootten , the workshop and store of Jess Cameron-Wootten and his partner Krystina Menegazzo.

    heritage buildings in Ballarat
    Ballarat’s streets are lined with heritage buildings. (Image: Matt Dunne)

    Jess’s father was an artisan bootmaker, or cordwainer. Now Jess and Krys and their small team of artisans continue the tradition, but with a modern spin. The company’s boots and shoes, made completely from scratch, are renowned for their quality and longevity. Wootten also craft shoes, bags, belts, leather aprons, wallets and more.

    Cosy beanies, gloves, alpaca socks, “unbreakable” shoelaces and various other goods – many from local craftspeople and small-scale makers – fill the shop’s shelves. “We’re always happy to support a mate,” says Jess. “People love to see the workshop and where things are made. Our clients care about quality and sustainability,” Krys comments. The company slogan ‘Made for generations’ says it all.

    Ruby Pilven’s ceramics at Ross Creek Gallery
    Ruby Pilven’s ceramics at Ross Creek Gallery. (Image: Tara Moore)

    For Ruby Pilven, craft is also in the DNA – both her parents were potters and with her latest porcelain ceramics, Ruby’s young daughter has been helping add colour to the glazes. “I grew up watching my parents in the workshop – I’ve always been doing ceramics,” she says, although her Visual Arts degree was in printmaking. That printmaking training comes through particularly in the rich layering of pattern. Her audacious colour, unexpected shapes and sudden pops of 12-carat gold are contemporary, quirky – and joyful.

    You can see Ruby’s handcrafted ceramics, and work by other local and regional artists, at Ross Creek Gallery , a light-filled space surrounded by serene bushland, across from the mudbrick house her parents built in the 1980s. A 10-minute drive from Ballarat, it’s a tangible link to the region’s well-established craft traditions.

    How Ballarat is preserving the past

    artisans making crafts at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, Ballarat
    The Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades holds workshops to preserve crafts and skills.

    While tradition is ongoing, there’s a danger that many of these specific type of skills and knowledge are fading as an older generation passes on. Step forward the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades .

    The seven purpose-built studios occupy a fabulous modern building adjacent to Sovereign Hill, with state-of-the-art facilities, enormous windows and landscape views across to Warrenheip and Wadawurrung Country.

    artisanal works at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, Ballarat
    Check out artisanal works at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades.

    Practising artisans run hands-on workshops. Fancy making your own medieval armour? Or trying your hand at blacksmithing, spinning wool, plaiting leather, weaving cane or craft a knife? Book a class and learn how. “It’s about creating awareness and also sharing knowledge and skills before they are lost,” explains Deborah Klein, the centre manager.

    A city steeped in food and flavours

    Chef José Fernandez preparing American streetfood at Pancho
    Chef José Fernandez creates vibrant South American street food at Pancho. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

    One skill that hasn’t been lost is that of cooking. Ballarat’s burgeoning gastronomy scene runs the gamut from an artisan bakery (the atmospheric 1816 Bakehouse) to cool coffee shops, speakeasy cocktail bars and distilleries to fine-dining venues. But I’m still surprised to find Pancho , José Fernandez’s South American street food restaurant, serving fried cheese tequeños, fiery fish tacos, Argentinian grilled chicken.

    The room is as lively as the food – a whirl of colour filled with gifted and thrifted paintings, photos, tchotchkes (trinkets), plants. There’s a Mexican abuela aesthetic going on here. Even before the music and mezcal kick in, it’s fun. Heads up on the drinks menu – an authentic selection of mezcal, tequila, South American wines and Mexican cerveza.

    a cocktail at Itinerant Spirits, Ballarat
    Enjoy a cocktail at Itinerant Spirits. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

    The spirit is willing, so after lunch we head towards the gold rush-era Ballarat train station and across the line to the old 1860s Goods Shed for Itinerant Spirits . At one end, a massive German copper still looms behind a wall of glass. The fit-out embraces deep olive-green tones, original bluestone walls, steamer trunks as coffee tables, heritage timber floors, oversized lamp shades and cognac-hued modernist leather seating.

    the Itinerant Spirits Distillery & Cocktail Bar, Ballarat
    The distillery operates from an old goods shed. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

    Gallivanter Gin, Vansetter Vodka and Wayfarer Whiskey – the key spirits distilled – star at the bar. The spirits are crafted using grains from the Wimmera Mallee region, and native botanicals foraged in the Grampians. Seasonal cocktails are inspired by local people and places (I loved The Headland, inspired by Sovereign Hill and flavoured with old-fashioned raspberry drops). Sample the spirits, and join a cocktail masterclass or a distillery tour. It’s a seductive setting – you’ll likely find yourself ordering a charcuterie platter or pizza as the evening progresses.

    The Ballarat stay combining history and luxury

    one of the rooms at Hotel Vera, Ballarat
    The rooms at Hotel Vera have a contemporary style. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

    New lives for old buildings keeps history alive. Vera, Ballarat’s boutique five-star hotel, has taken it to the next level: it’s a palimpsest, a subtle layering of early 1900s and 1930s Art Deco architecture with a sleek new wing. There are seven spacious suites, each a dramatically different colour, with designer chairs, blissful bathrooms. High-end pottery and hand-picked artworks imbue the spaces with personality.

    Vera’s intimate, award-winning restaurant, Babae, is subtly theatrical with sheer drapes and gallery lighting, its bespoke timber furniture and brass-edged marble bench setting the stage for food with a sharp regional focus. “We have goat’s cheese from a local supplier, handmade granola from local Vegas & Rose, truffles from nearby Black Cat Truffles, fresh food from our garden, and regional wines,” says joint owner David Cook-Doulton.

    Celebrating the local makers, bakers, growers and producers, and the master chefs who work their magic is all part of the rich tapestry that links Ballarat’s history to its vibrant present.

    A traveller’s checklist

    Getting there

    It’s 90 minutes from Melbourne, either on the Western Freeway, or hop on a V/Line train from Southern Cross Station.

    Staying there

    Hotel Vera is a centrally located Art Deco boutique hotel. Consider Hotel Provincial , which feels like a sleek country house, but with its own restaurant, Lola.

    a contemporary room at Hotel Provincial, Ballarat
    Hotel Provincial has country house vibes.

    Eating there

    dining at Mr Jones, Ballarat
    The table is set at Mr Jones. (Image: Tony Evans/ Visit Victoria)

    Culinary whiz Damien Jones helms Chef’s Hat winner Mr Jones Dining with quiet assurance. His modern Asian food is deceptively simple with deep, intense flavours. Low-key, laid-back ambience, lovely staff, thoughtful wine list.

    Cocktails are definitely a thing in Ballarat. Reynard (fox in French) is foxy indeed, a clubby space with top-notch cocktails and small bites. Grainery Lane is extravagantly OTT with its massive 1880s bar, myriad chandeliers, brass gin still, Asian-inspired food and lavish cocktails.

    dining at Grainery Lane, Ballarat
    Dining at Grainery Lane.

    Playing there

    a laneway filled with artworks in Ballarat
    An artful laneway in the city. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

    Check out local design legend Travis Price’s wall murals in Hop Lane with its colourful canopy of brollies, or in Main Street. The Art Gallery of Ballarat’s off-site Backspace Gallery showcases early-career artists in a stylish, contemporary space. First Nations-owned and run Perridak Arts connects people to place, bringing together art and crafts in this gallery/shop.

    a woman admiring artworks at Perridak Arts Gallery
    Perridak Arts is a First Nations-run gallery. (Image: Tony Evans)

    The wineries of the Pyrenees are close at hand with their welcoming cellar doors and robust reds. Join a behind-the-scenes tour at the Centre for Gold Rush Collections .

    Dalwhinnie Wines in the Pyrenees
    Dalwhinnie Wines in the Pyrenees.

    Don’t forget the giant bluestone Kryal Castle , ‘the land of adventure’, for a little medieval magic, and not just for the kids: get ready for Highland-style feasting, jousting, even overnight stays.