The best school holidays activities in Melbourne

It’s time to dig out your puffer jacket and drive to Ballarat, because Sovereign Hill is hosting an illuminated extravaganza this chilly season. The annual Winter Wonderlights is back from June 26 to July 19 and the Gold Rush museum will once again transform into a whimsical winter wonderland, with dazzling new light installations, Christmas carols, warming fires, cosy food and drink options and family-friendly activities. There'll be dustings of faux snow along Main Street and the chance to experience the Goldfields by firelight. Snag your tickets here.

Address: Sovereign Hill

Time Out tip: Make sure to visit St Nicholas’s winter hut, where you can snap a keepsake photo with the jolly man in red himself.

Choo choo! The Train of Lights is back on the tracks for 2026 and ready to captivate passengers with a magical winter journey through the Dandenong Ranges. Australia’s favourite steam train, Puffing Billy, will be your conductor for this trip that illuminates the natural beauty of the region with thousands of dazzling lights. This enchanting winter journey is on from June 26 to July 19 – perfect for the school holidays. Puffing Billy will chug along the historic narrow-gauge track to Gembrook Station where guests will disembark for a 55-minute stopover before returning. 

Address: Puffing Billy Railway Lakeside Station

Time Out tip: When you stop over at Gembrook Station, enjoy a sausage sizzle by the Emerald and Gembrook CFA – all money goes towards their respective brigades. 

Need to keep the kids active these winter school holidays? Colosso’s Junior Padel Program is serving up fun at Brighton Padel and Social Club in Brighton East, with sessions running throughout the school hols. Designed for kids aged eight to 15, the three-hour coached sessions cater to all skill levels, whether your child is already padel-mad or simply looking to try something new. Expect a mix of drills, games and social match play, with free racket hire included.

Address: Brighton Padel and Social Club, Breen Dr, Brighton

Time Out tip: Sessions cost $90 per child and can be booked here.

Melbourne's favourite illuminated event is back with 15 new and returning dazzling light installations. Until August 2, take a nighttime stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens and experience luminous pathways, lit-up tree canopies, soothing soundscapes and more sparkly sights. This year, highlights of the 2.1-kilometre trail are set to be the Australian premier of Bifröst by French studio Pitaya, which boasts a 20-arch tunnel of flowing light that you can walk through; and Firefly Field by Dutch studio TOER, where 200 glowing points of light will dart like fairies above the grass. You'll also be able to grab a bite to eat and warming drinks, like hot chocolate and mulled wine. Adult tickets start at $36 and are available through Ticketek – be quick as they tend to go fast. 

Address: Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne

Time Out tip: Be sure to check out the 30-metre Winter Cathedral, plus the epic Fire Garden installation, which includes a circular spiral of 150 candles.

Head to Gumbuya World’s WILDfest, running from June 27 to July 13. Just over an hour from Melbourne, the festival combines wildlife encounters, live shows, interactive activities and unlimited rides – all included with admission. Kids can meet roaming animals, enjoy hands-on experiences with Gumbuya’s rangers and take part in the popular Wildlife Wanderers sessions, featuring animals, crafts and damper tasting. When it’s time for thrills, there are plenty of rides to choose from. Get your tickets here.

Address: Gumbuya World, 1186 Princes Hwy, Tynong North

Time Out tip: For those wanting to see Gumbuya in a different light, Wildlife by Night runs every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening during the school holidays, allowing you to spot wombats, Tasmanian devils, masked owls and other nocturnal creatures.

This winter school holidays is your last chance to get to ACMI and celebrate 60 years of Play School with Playschool: Come and Play!. This is an interactive exhibition for pre-school aged kids where you can go behind the scenes, climb the Rocket Clock, sing along and experience the magic of this beloved TV show. Made by ACMI in collaboration with the ABC, tickets are free, but bookings are essential, so head here. 

Address: Federation Square, Cnr Swanston & Flinders Sts, Melbourne

Time Out tip: If it's a sunny day, take a walk along the Yarra River or have a floating picnic on a GoBoat

Want a fun family activity? We’ve got you. Bubble Planet: An Immersive Experience features a fantastical world of optical illusions, cutting-edge virtual reality experiences, giant bubbles, and next-level immersive projections. Visitors can expect to embark on a dreamlike journey through 11 otherworldly rooms, home to giant bubble domes, LED underwater-style wonderlands, selfie hubs and VR dreamscapes. FYI: It's on until the end of August.

Address: Fever Exhibition and Experience Centre, 62 Dawson St, Brunswick

Time Out tip: Bookings are essential, grab your tickets here.

Want to sip your way through 30 types of hot chocolate this winter? Head to the Ballarat Winter Festival, which is returning from June 27 to July 19. Over three weeks that perfectly coincide with the school holidays, Ballarat will turn on the winter magic with an ice rink, medieval jousting, dazzling light installations and, yes, that aforementioned hot chocolate. Beyond the hot chocolate trail, lace up your skates and get to the pop-up ice rink for a 45-minute sesh. For fantasy and fire, Kryal Castle’s Knights of Fire delivers jousting battles, daring stunts, illusionist wizards and snow queens straight out of a fairytale. Get more information here. 

Address: Around Ballarat

Time Out tip: Visit the Ballarat Wildlife Park for close encounters with kangaroos, koalas, wombats and emus.

Having undergone a multi-million dollar redevelopment in 2021, Melbourne Skydeck in Eureka Tower remains one of the best ways to discover the city from a dizzying height. These winter school hols, they've lined up Melbourne Upside Down – a 6D cinematic, immersive experience at the Voyager Theatre where you will journey all the way up to level 88. Get the details here. 

Address: 7 Riverside Quay, Southbank

Time Out tip: Take a trip to the Edge – a terrifying experience for all those who dare enter this transparent cube that's suspended almost 300 metres above the street.

There’s only one reason you’d venture into a water park in winter. Adventure Park Geelong's Winter Glow Festival is back, and taking place from until August 29. At the heart of the festival is Victoria’s largest indoor snow play zone, where you can build a snowman, make snow angels and launch snowballs at the dedicated Snowball Throw Zone. Outside, a dazzling light trail shines bright with more than three million twinkling lights and more than 1,000 installations. New for 2026 are two adrenaline-pumping rides: the Ice Toboggan, a 45-metre frozen slide, and the Drop Zone, a 20-metre tower offering a true alpine-style thrill. Get your tickets here.  

Address: 1249 Bellarine Hwy, Wallington, Geelong

Time Out tip: Little ones will love meeting the Ice Princess and roasting marshmallows by the fire.

Luna Park is where classic rides and winter fun meet this school holidays. As their tagline goes, 'Swap the winter chills for thrills'. Open daily from June 27 to July 12 for the school hols, kids will love that the dodgem cars are back after being restored inside the all-new Luna Palace Arcade. Make sure to set aside time to ride the Ghost Train or the classic carousel. Add lively entertainment and plenty of thrills, dagwood dogs and donuts to eat, and you’ve got one high-energy day out for the whole family. 

Address: 18 Lower Esplanade, St Kilda

Time Out tip: Get your money's worth and book an Annual Pass, for $99 as part of the EOFY Sale on for a limited time. 

Melbourne Zoo's Dino Trail is open until July 12, specially for the school holidays. There are more than 30 amazing animatronic dinosaurs waiting to be discovered, plus fossil dig zones and plenty of photo ops. It's also a chance to see four adorable snow leopard cubs (Maya, Kira, Lumi and Sabu), plus giraffe calf Zambezi. Also, children aged 16 or younger can get free entry to Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary and Werribee Open Range Zoo over the school holidays (when accompanied by an adult). Make sure you leave enough time to check out your favourite creatures, great and small. Get the details here.

Address: Elliott Ave, Parkville 

Time Out tip: Plan your visit so that you don't miss the informative Animal Talks (giraffes, tigers, meerkats, etc.) held throughout the day.

Code Camp is back these winter school holidays with a fun, hands-on program where kids aged five to 13 can build games, program robots and unleash their creativity. From workshops suited for younger kids like Little Coders and Spark to fan favourites inspired by Minecraft and the new Roblox Studio Designers camp that gives kids the chance to work like real game developers, there’s something for every skill level. Find out more here. 

Address: Various locations across Melbourne + online

Time Out tip: Code Camp also offers Get Crafty! for kids who love making things with their hands – like knitting, painting, crochet and more. 

If your child loves the water, despite the frrrreezing temps, Urbnsurf is open for surfing classes. This inland wave pool is the first full-sized surfing lagoon to use Wavegarden technology. If that all sounds like gibberish, let us explain: the pool uses technology to create long, man-made waves in a closed environment. According to Urbnsurf, it's able to pump out up to 1,000 perfect, two-metre-high ocean-like surfing waves every hour. Beginners can attend surfing lessons in the whitewash with friendly and talented surfing coaches. A café-restaurant by Three Blue Ducks is open to accommodate your post-surf hunger, too.  

Address: 309 Melrose Dr, Melbourne Airport

Time Out tip: Become a surfer in 30 days with the Winter Warrior Unlimited Pass.

This brick-filled play area in the Chadstone Shopping Centre will delight little and big Lego fans. There are 13 family attractions in Legoland Discovery Centre – the space is packed with more than two million Lego bricks and features attractions including Miniland Melbourne, where the city's best-known landmarks have been recreated out of thousands of Lego bricks. You also get access to two rides, Lego build-and-play zones and a 4D cinema experience – yes, the wind will actually blow through your hair.

Address: Level 2/1341 Dandenong Rd, Chadstone 

Time Out tip: Enjoy 30 per cent off on tickets for visits from 2pm onwards as part of the Happy Hour promo.

Need something to do these school hols that will keep tummies happy? Grazeland has you covered. This multicultural foodie haven serves up fare from Colombo to Colombia and everything in between. Their Winter Feed special gives you a main and dessert for $25 – with more than 20 options to choose from. There's a $4 entry fee for 12-plus years but no bookings are required. 

Address: 20 Booker St, Spotswood

Time Out tip: Have a sweet tooth? Go to Sweet Street for Dutch pancakes, frozen cheesecake, doughnuts, loukoumades and more. 

Here's a fun fact for you: our city is home to a flourishing herd of Asian elephants at Werribee Open Range Zoo. You can now see the elephants up close – as well as southern white rhino Nyah who has just arrived all the way from Auckland. In addition to this, little ones will love Dinos After Dark and the Dusk Safari, both on during the winter school holidays from July 4 to 11. You can also explore wide open savannahs and get up close to incredible wildlife. During the school holidays, kids under 16 can visit for free. A free 40-minute Safari Tour on a bus is included in your admission price. Get the full school holiday program here.

Address: K Rd, Werribee South

Time Out tip: Please allow extra time travelling to the Zoo due to roadworks on K Road. 

Sometimes, it helps to look at the world from a different angle – upside-down, perhaps? At this new experience that's opened  underneath the (now closed, but soon-to-be reopened) Melbourne Star Observation Wheel, you'll certainly be able to see things from a different point of view. The inverted house experience, House Down Under, brings topsy-turvy fun to Docklands. From the outside, the house appears to have dropped from the sky, Wizard of Oz-style, while inside you can capture surreal photos.

Address: 101 Waterfront Way, Docklands

Time Out tip: Made for interaction and imagination, get upside down with gadgets and gizmos in the house for the full experience. Kids under four years are free. 

The first Australian SuperPark opened in Melbourne's western suburbs at Highpoint Shopping Centre. Here, kids can run, climb and jump across a whopping 2,300 metres and choose from 17 movement-based activities in the Adventure Area, Games Arena and Freestyle Zone. SuperPark activities include an indoor pedal car track, a ninja track obstacle course, an interactive trampoline game, ten-pin bowling, a digital basketball game and a world-first footy game where kids can test their AFL skills. 

Address: Shop L07, 6201/200 Rosamond Rd, Maribyrnong

Time Out tip: Being indoors makes it the perfect place to go if the weather turns wet and windy. 

Science during the school holidays? When it's as interactive and interesting as the stuff they've got in Scienceworks, it's a great day out. The winter school holiday program runs from June 27 to July 12. As part of its interactive exhibition Colour: See the World in a New Light is a workshop called Nature: A Kaleidoscope of Colour available exclusively during the school holidays. This engaging 30-minute session explores the fascinating phenomenon of iridescence in nature, revealing why some animals and insects shimmer and change colour before your eyes. Workshops run daily at noon, 1pm and 2pm and last for 30 minutes each. There's also a free 20-minute Lights, Colour, Action! show that runs twice a day during the holidays, at noon and 2pm. Get all the info about the winter school holiday program here.

Address: 2 Booker St, Spotswood 

Time Out tip: Become a Museum Member and visit the museum for FREE these school holidays (and every day!).

As a kid, there's few things that are more fun than a huge playground. Flying across monkeybars, swinging up to the sky, diving down a slide – it's a paradise for little ones with a big sense of adventure. Across the city and its suburbs, there are plenty of sites for kids to run amok and have a ball. Many of these playgrounds also offer tables and barbecues, so you can pack a picnic or fire up the grill and spend the whole arvo soaking up some sunshine. 

Address: Various

Time Out tip: Don't forget your sunscreen and water.

Catch some thrills in the air at an indoor trampoline park. On top of being super fun, it's also a form of exercise in disguise – it's a great workout for building strength, coordination and balance. In the words of that House of Pain song 'Jump Around': Get up, stand up, throw your hands up/If ya got the feelin', jump up towards the ceilin'.

Address: Various

Time Out tip: Different play areas cater to different age groups and skill levels, so find one that suits your child.