[my3beautifulboys]

Hi, We live in WA and are looking at taking the family on a holiday, we are considering Tasmania or possibly fiji, cook islands. Can anyone reccommed tasmaina as a family holiday place for young children, what would be a good area to stay and activites suitable for them, theyre ages are 7, 5 and 3, i would love to hear youre experiences and thoughts, thanks

[Lees75]

I went to Tassie with the kids when they were 6 and 3 and we had heaps of fun.

We spent a few days in Hobart- Cadbury factory, and near by is a model train thing with a fairy garden that is a great sport to have your packed lunch. Zoo Doo is a must- best animal I have ever been to. Mt Wellington. We didn't go south, but there is lots of things to do there too- forest walks, thermal springs, etc.

Launcheston - grindalwald village, the gorge. You have to head in to Tasmazia:)

Then we went north to hang out with extended family and just did beach and bush walk things.

I love Tassie

[Peanut]

I'm really busy at the moment but I wanted to respond and say that we took our kids, then 3 and 5, on a round-Tasmania camper holiday and it was wonderful! I can definitely recommend it as an amazing holiday spot for families.

I've talked a lot about it over the years since, but here's a link to a thread that I put a fair amount of info in - Tassie thread

I'll try to get back in again soon and happy to anser any questions if you have any.

[tanyak1]

We went to Tasmania for 2 weeks when our girls were 5 and 2. We drove around and spent 2-4 days in eah plae. We found lots for the kids to do - in Hobart we went to Cadbury factory tour, Mt Wellington, Salamanca Markets, and spent some time wandering around, playing in parks etc, it's such a lovely place (I wish I could move there!) and easy to walk around.

We also spent time in Port Arthur (it freaked me out but DH and the 5 year old loved it), went to a couple of zoos to see some Tassie devils, took a cruise on the Gordon River, and at Cradle Mountain we had possums and wallabies come right up onto our balcony at night which the kids loved. We also loved Lake St Claire on the other side of the lake from Cradle Mountain.

[FiveAus]

Tasmania is fantastic for family holidays. Everything is so close you can see a lot in one day. We took our girls when they were 13 and 8, and they loved it.
Port Arthur was fantastic, so were the salmon ponds at New Norfolk. There is a place down near Port Arthur called Lime Bay, it's the remains of a convict coal mine and it's free and it's awesome fun.
Richmond is lovely, there are little kid things to do there. The Cadbury factory is a bit boring, not sure if they still run the tours but it wasn't worth the effort, until the chocolate shop at the end.

[Chelli]

As far as I know, they don't do the Cadbury tours anymore, as in they don't let you in the working factory like they used to They still have the shop, and they have an information movie type thing in there you can opt to see. I'm not sure if it's still applicable, but they used to insist on closed in shoes to even set foot in the door due to OH&S regulations (so no thongs or open toed shoes). That might not be an issue now the tours no longer happen, but something to consider as it would be painful to get there and find out you can't go in.

Also, even though there is no tour, they still charge you to get in. You can see more here

As for the rest of Tassie, Salamanca markets is a must see, Tasmazia is another that the kids will love, Boat Harbour Beach is well worth a look even though they've now closed down the only shop there - there may be a kiosk running over summer but no guarantees, the Stanley Nut and Highfield house in Stanley is worth a trip, Grindlewald near Launceston is lots of fun especially if the weather is nice (mini golf for the kids, a jumping pillow and water activities), there is an excellent Mine Muesum at Beaconsfield particularly designed for kids, Queen Victoria museum in Launceston is great for kids (and free), Mona in Hobart is great for adults but I don't think my kids would enjoy most of that, the Maker's workshop in Burnie is worth a trip especially in school holidays when artists are doing workshops that kids can be involved with, the aquatic centres in Launceston and Hobart are lots of fun, and there is the Wonders of Wynyard in Wynyard (on the NW Coast) where you can get information about the Tommeginner people who were the traditional custodians of the NW Coast as well as see a big collection of antique cars.

[my3beautifulboys]

Thanks so much for all youre replies and suggestions. i have actually just been to see a travel agent and they are putting together a package to Cook islands, and also tasmaina so we can then choose. I think that going to the pacific islands in jan would actually be quite hot and humid and also the chance of cyclones and flooding, I'm not sure how common that is?

I've always wanted to visit tasmaina, with our family. We would be only going for a short time as we have work commitments, so we can only spare 10 days or so away from home.