The best winter school holiday activities in Sydney

Sydney’s beloved Christmas in July Festival will be coming back to The Rocks this July, this time with a magical alfresco cinema, more than 80 twinkling Christmas trees, a European-style winter market and a laneway with real falling snow.

This magical winter wonderland is back with a snowy play zone for snowman building and snow angel making, a 45-metre ice slide toboggan, an ice skating rink and so much more. 

Darling Square will be running free winter-inspired activities thrououghout the shcool hols – everything from free craft workshops including snow globe and snowflake making to free winter-themed face painting.

Thursdays through Sundays throughout the holidays, South Eveleigh will be transformed into a winter wonderland with its brand new offering, Loco Markets. Inspired by the charm of European street markets, Loco will have a rotating lineup of themed nights, live entertainment, artisan stalls selling handmade goods, delicious food and drink, and family fun from June 19 until July 27.

A full 90 years since its famous smile first lit up the Harbour, Luna Park is still Sydney's favourite vintage attraction. You'll be greeted by Martin Sharp's iconic clown face at the entrance, and get the chance to check out the park's new immsersive experiences as well as oldschool faves – including the Wild Mouse rollercoaster, which is back in action after a multi-million dollar restoration project.

Sydney's whale-watching season will be at its peak over the winter hols – here's how to spot them in the city and beyond.

 One of the world’s biggest immersive experiences has landed in the Harbour City. Already experienced by more than two million visitors around the world, Bubble Planet is a fantastical world of optical illusions, cutting-edge virtual reality experiences, giant bubbles, and next-level immersive projections. 

The new Urbnsurf Sydney is a good place to let kids blow off some steam in the winter sunshine. The "Bays" offer safe, gentle, rolling green and whitewater waves perfect for those who are learning to play in the waves. To use The Bays, it's just $39 per kid. You can also do a Boog in the Bays session, which are a great way for kids to build confidence on a bodyboard while developing the basic, fundamental skills. Keen? You can book over here.

The Australian National Maritime Museum knows exactly how to cater to enquiring minds – deep diving into the fascinating science and history of our oceans and ocean-going vessels. There are free educational trails all around the museum and the Kids on Deck section will be open all holidays with a heap of interactive activties. There's also a fascinating Ocean Photography exhibition live right now to keep the parents entertained. You can check out the full program here.

The beloved Opera House knows how to put on a killer school holiday program to entertain little minds, and this winter is no different. Highlights from this season's line-up include playful physical theatre, creative workshops and immersive plays designed to help children develop their understanding of sustainability.

When it rains in Sydney, it pours. So it pays to have a few wet-weather saves up your sleeve for when the kids are home and bored with Youtube and colouring-in. Luckily, our city has a whole load of indoor playgrounds and kid-friendly museums – as well as craft workshops, leisure centres and active areas – to keep ’em busy. Click here to get inspo.

Kingpin locations across Sydney are serving up a wildly affordable deal this winter school holidays. Priced at just $55 per person (but worth over $100!), their limited-time Ultimate Holiday Pass will score you two actvities (choice of bowling, darts, laser tag, an escape room or karaoke), a $20 food and drink voucher and a $40 voucher to spend in the arcade. 

Ninja Parc South Granville is a perfect stop for kids wanting to burn off some steam while simultaneously finessing their parkour skills. Featuring rope climbs, bouldering challengers, vertical and horizontal doors, a sea of poles and, the ever-classic ‘warped wall’, this gym-meets-play extravaganza is totally equipped to obliterate every last vestige of school holiday boredom. 

Get the kids outside with these gorgeous walking routes in and around the city. From easy breezy coastal walks to half-day bush hikes and multi-day expeditions, Sydney is blessed with many different walking paths that’ll suit amblers of all abilities.

Enrol the little dancer of the house into one of Sydney's most established dance school's school holiday workshops. The classes dabble in everything from jazz, to contemporary, to hip-hop, to theatre. The classes target both beginners and kids who have been dancing since they could walk, so hit up the timetable to find something that suits. Learn from some of the best including performers from Grease The Arena Spectacular, the Moulin Rouge in Paris and Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. The multi-day workshops will take place at the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct.

The work of the late May Gibbs has given Australian children wondrous fantasies for years, with The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot & Cuddlepie enduring as an essential component in our collective childhood memory. Nutcote is where Gibbs wrote her books and long-running cartoon strip Bib and Bub. Reminisce about Gumnut babies and Banksia men in that childhood fantasy world when you visit the museum, learn about Gibbs and her characters, and then relax in the gardens.

Exhausted all that Sydney has to offer? Jump in the car, and you'll discover a whole new world thanks to our round-up of the best day trips close to the city. Don't have a vehicle? This list of the best day trips to take using public transport should help.

In Sydney, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to pristine stretches of protected wilderness that are just a stone’s throw from the heart of the city. Whether you and your kids like chasing waterfalls ot discovering stunning unspoilled beaches, NSW is home to an abundance of incredible national parks. We’ve rounded up our eight favourite ones that are within 100 kilometres of the CBD.

If the Art Gallery of NSW wasn't already on your radar for the school holidays (how could it not be?), you might want to put it on now. The gallery is a super kid-friendly space for exploring art and it's a great place to foster creative minds. While you're there, check out the Young Archie (part of the Archibald exhibition feautring works by talented young artists).

Hidden deep (well, kind of deep) within the heart of Centennial Park is a playground like no other. Fit out with a wild tree house, bamboo forest, a fancy water-play area, banksia tunnels, turtle mounds and dry creek beds, this ‘wild play’ locale is full of wonderful nooks and crannies that keep kids fresh, entertained and connected to the big outdoors, all from within the controlled paradise of Centennial Park. 

Manly Surf School runs lessons across Collaroy, Long Reef, Palm Beach, and, of course, Manly Beach – with daily dunks in the ocean to keep the kids entertained and active in the great outdoors. You can either book your kid into a single or multiple (group) sessions, or into a school holiday program. You can even take a lesson along with them, if you're keen to upskill too.

Spend hours cooing over a barnyard of baby animals: chicks, lambs, calfs, kids, ducklings and rabbits, you name it. The almost-too-adorable experiences at Golden Ridge Animal Farm are largely aimed at human kids wanting to learn about the 500 furry and feathered farm residents – but grown-ups can tag along too.

Would you believe kids as young as three can do indoor skydiving at iFLY in Penrith? It’s all about the "look mum, look dad" here, as the indoor skydiving takes place behind glass in the middle of the venue – so even being a spectator is fun. They also have a camera taking pictures throughout your ‘dive’ so you can purchase your most impressive pose – complete with g-force cheeks.

Game on, Sydney. In early 2024, Australia’s very first interactive gaming rooms opened in Darling Harbour, offering full-scale, immersive versions of Squid Game, Angry Birds, Ghostbusters and a whole lot more. Little ones aged five and up can come for the adventure, too, with light-hearted games featuring beloved characters from Paw Patrol and Shaun the Sheep. You can find Immersive Gamebox next door to Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, with sessions running daily from 10am until 7pm Sundays through Thursdays, and until 8pm on Friday and Saturday nights. 

If you’ve ever wanted to get seriously close to tigers (without there being a terrible ethical or safety problem in the way), this is your chance. Tiger Trek is an entertaining but also hugely educational experience that helps you make better supermarket choices to help protect the endangered Sumatran tiger's habitat. The Tiger Trek is included in your ticket to Taronga, so it's free to zoo attendees.

A cold breeze is brewing and Elsa is calling. There's icy fun on in Sydney this autumn, so you can practice your ice-skating twirls, double axels and graceful tumbles. Click through for our guide to permanent ice-skating rinks as well as temporary pop-ups in Sydney and nearby.

Sydney's playgrounds are the perfect place to use up any pent-up energy. Let wriggly little ones run free at these parks and playgrounds that know how to entertain the real bosses of the household. Click through to see our top picks and find one you haven't been to before.

This little pocket of Alexandria is the perfect place to hide out on a rainy day. You’ve got 9 Degrees for indoor climbing, Hijinx Hotel for group challenges (more info below), Holey Moley mini golf, boozing for the grown-ups at Rocks Brewing Co – plus an arcade of retro games, bowling and laser tag at Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq. Inside, there are bowling lanes, an interactive 3D theatre ride (our pick of the whole venue), a laser tag zone for kids, the tightest dodgem track you’ll ever come across, and a whole lot of arcade games.

The largest island in Sydney's harbour was once home to a convict gaol and a huge shipbuilding factory. Today, the island is run by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust – with many of the incredible old buildings still in tact and waiting to be exploted. The trust run different types of tours – visitors can opt for a self-guided audio tour ($6 per person) or on-demand guided tour (60 or 90 mins; $16). Those who want to stay on a bit longer also have options – there are camp sites, glamping packages, apartments or heritage holiday houses.

Got cash to splash on a family-friendly stay in the city? Sydney's best hotels are turning it up this winter – with Hyatt Regency even offering a 'Kids Concierge' service.

Sydney is home to some pretty fascinating museums – some that you may not have even heard about. Places where you can learn about nature, science, design, ships, time, military history, society, the police force and more. Rain or shine, head out on a journey of discovery at these all-weather-friendly houses of knowledge.

It's time for the imagination to run wild at the Botanic Gardens. The school holiday program is jam packed with whimsical garden tours, live theatre, interactive workshops and First Nations-led 'tea time' sessions, where kids will learn how indigenous plants are used to make tea, all while learning about their nutritional and medicinal benefits (and creating tea bags to take home). The program also extends from the Royal Botanic Garden right through to Australia's largest botanic garden at Mount Annan so you can have floral fun all over Sydney. Book yourself and the little ones in for fun that is equally cultural and exciting as it is botanical. 

IMAX Sydney closed for a rebuild back in 2016, and after a longggg wait, it finally relaunched in October 2023, better than ever, in the W Sydney building. When we say this is huge news, we mean it. IMAX Sydney’s new movie screen is the third largest in the world, spanning a staggering 693 square metres. If you're looking to get the title of coolest parent ever, a seat in one of IMAX's private pods or recliner chairs might just bring you one step closer. You can book tickets for IMAX Darling Harbour over here.

Swim in a giant cereal bowl ball pit, tip-toe around a floor of lava, or enter a neon polka dot universe or an old-timey carnival in this incredible challenge rooms 'hotel' where no two rooms are the same. You’ll have just four minutes in each room to earn as many points as you can – it's a fun, high-energy vibe for the whole family. Plus, this holidays, you can score $14 kids’ activities and $50 family bundles across venues including Holey Moley, Hijinx Hotel, Strike Bowling, and Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq. 

There are Holey Moley centres all over Sydney now, but one of the newest ones is right next door to the aforementioned Hijinx Hotel challenge room hotel, and the ever-popular Archie Bros Cirque Electriq. Holey Moley features 27 pun-tastic novelty putt-putt holes spread across three madcap courses. Good for kids and adults alike. 

Want your kid to get benefit out of their screen time? Children aged 5-13 can develop valuable computer skills at a two- to three-day Code Camp. There are 121 Code Camp locations around Australia, though they can also join in online. Choose a camp based on their interests – there are themes such as Roblox Legends Camp (where they'll learn to code their own Roblox game), Drone Camp (program and code a drone), YouTube Creators camp (for budding content creators), and even a DJ Camp.

Bowling is a lark for all ages, and Strike Bowling has multiple venues throughout Sydney, inclduing the harbourside location at King Street Wharf, complete with a cocktail bar and three escape rooms; the Entertainment Quarter location in Moore Park, as well as the Chatswood, North Ryde and Castle Towers bowling alleys.

If you're keen to get the kids away from their screens and into the great outdoors, camping is an excellent option. Camping sites near Sydney are not only plentiful, but they're also one of the most affordable ways to enjoy a mini-break. We've tried and tested some of our favourite campgrounds, located in New South Wales’ most breathtaking and secluded spots.

Sydney Olympic Park has you covered with an action-packed program of autumn holiday activities. Their school holiday fortnight of fun is designed for kids of all ages and abilities. Choose from $22 archery sessions, beginner diving lessons and ball game clinics led by sports stars, or opt for the full experience with all-day recreational and aquatic camps. Plan ahead and book your spots before they sell out.

Get creative with the kids and take the mess out of the house – at these pottery studios around the city, getting your hands dirty is encouraged. The best news? You're making, not breaking, household items.

Bored of eating lunch at the kitchen table? We've rounded up the best picnic spots in the city. Our top pick for the most perfectly-Sydney alfresco feast? Chargrill Charlies by the ocean. 

Summer might be over, but if the sun is shining, Sydney's sparkling shoreline is still a magical place to spend a day with the family. We’ve cast our discerning eyes across pretty much every beach in the city, awarding points for accessibility, natural beauty, range of facilities and unique charms – these are our favourites.

The Fullerton is a hotel partly housed in what used to be the Sydney General Post Office (GPO), a heritage building that was built back in 1887. It was Sydney's first major development, and regarded as a building that would come to symbolise Sydney in the way the Houses of Parliament in Westminster represent London, and the Eiffel Tower, Paris. You can discover the rich history of the building and the Post Office on the 90-minute GPO Heritage Tour. Their resident guide will take you on a journey through time, sharing the tales and legends of the city’s iconic Grand Dame. Book here.

Sometimes, a holiday day calls for a visit to the movies. Order a bucket of popcorn and settle in for a family-friendly flick at one or the best cinemas in the city.

We've rounded up seven spectacular caves to explore around NSW.