Melbourne With Kids
What Melbourne with kids really looks like, from a family that plans these trips for a living.
Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel
Is Melbourne good for kids?
Yes, and it is a relaxed, creative counterpart to Sydney. Free trams, laneways to explore, a great museum, a beach with a funfair and wild penguins in the city and on Phillip Island. Easy, walkable and full of character, just pack for changeable weather.
How many days?
Three to four days for the city, plus a Phillip Island day trip.
What is the one thing we cannot miss?
Riding the free City Circle tram and hunting street art in the laneways, then the little penguins at St Kilda pier or on Phillip Island.
Do we need a car?
No. The trams are excellent and the City Circle loop is free, the wider network runs on a Myki card, and the SkyBus handles the airport. The flat center is very walkable.
When should we go?
Spring and autumn, September to November and March to May, bring the most settled weather. Summer is warm and good for the beach but can spike hot, winter is mild and grey. Melbourne is famous for four seasons in a day, so always pack a layer.
Laneways, Trams and a Penguin Parade
Melbourne is Australia’s cool, creative city, a flat, walkable grid threaded with graffiti splashed laneways, rattling trams and hidden courtyards. It is a touch more low key than Sydney, and wonderful with kids, with a great museum, a beach with a penguin colony, and a famous parade of little penguins a short drive away.
The compact city center, the CBD, holds the laneways, the museums and the free tram, with Southbank and the arts precinct just across the Yarra river. St Kilda, with its beach, Luna Park and pier penguins, sits a tram ride south. The city is flat and easy, so base in or near the center and let the trams carry you.
Getting Around
The trams are the joy of getting around, and the City Circle loop around the center is free. The wider tram and train network runs on a Myki card. From the airport the SkyBus runs straight into the city, easy with kids and bags, and the flat center is very walkable.
Neighborhoods worth basing in
The CBD & Laneways
The heart of Melbourne, a flat grid famous for its laneways, where narrow alleys hide street art, cafés and little shops, linked by the free City Circle tram. Central, walkable and full of discovery, with the museums and river close by. The most convenient base for a family.
Southbank
Just across the Yarra river from the center, the arts precinct, with the aquarium, the science and arts centers, riverside paths and restaurants. Bright and easy, a good base a short walk from the CBD.
St Kilda
The bayside beach suburb south of the center, with its sandy beach, the old fashioned Luna Park funfair, a lively café strip, and a pier where little penguins nest. Relaxed and fun, a good base if the kids want the beach and the funfair.
A CBD landmark hotel
Melbourne’s grand CBD hotels offer polish and skyline views in the heart of the laneway district. The blow the budget treat, steps from the trams and the best coffee in the country.
A family hotel in the center
The center and Southbank have plenty of comfortable, family friendly hotels near the free tram and the river. Practical and central, with the laneways and museums a short walk away.
A Southbank apartment
The CBD and Southbank have apartments and suites that give a family room to spread out, handy for simple meals near the attractions. Book near a tram line or the free City Circle.
The Three I Build Every Melbourne Trip Around
The Laneways and the Free Tram
Melbourne is a city you explore on foot and by tram, and the laneways are the heart of it. Wander the narrow alleys hunting for the ever changing street art, duck into hidden courtyards, and ride the free City Circle tram around the center just for the fun of it. Federation Square and the river are the anchors, with buskers, big screens and space to roam.
The Melbourne Museum
The Melbourne Museum is a superb, hands on family museum, with a towering dinosaur skeleton, a walk through living rainforest full of birds and butterflies, and a whole children’s gallery for the little ones. Right beside it sits the IMAX. It is an easy, wonderful escape, especially on one of Melbourne’s changeable weather days.
St Kilda and Its Penguins
Take the tram down to St Kilda, the bayside beach suburb, for a classic family afternoon. There is a sandy beach, the vintage Luna Park funfair with its famous laughing clown face entrance, a great café strip, and best of all, at dusk a colony of little penguins waddles ashore along the pier to their burrows, a free and lovely wildlife show.
Family Time, Built In: Melbourne With Kids
Melbourne keeps families happy with easy, varied fun. Free trams to ride, laneways and street art to explore, a top museum, a bayside beach with a funfair and wild penguins, and the huge Royal Botanic Gardens with a dedicated children’s garden. Add the Eureka Skydeck for the view, and the days come together with no fuss.
The harbor ferry to the beach
Sunday fish market
Paddle boats on the the bay
Planten un Blomen
the laneways plaza
PARK & DOWNTIME PICK
The Royal Botanic Gardens along the river, one of the finest in the world, with lawns, lakes, and a wonderful hands on children’s garden to splash and dig in, or St Kilda beach. Green and open space for downtime in the heart of the city.
Five Things To Eat In Melbourne
Meat pie
Dim sim
Chicken parma
Fish and chips
LamingtonNicole’s Perspective
A laid back city kids warm to quickly
I have spent years planning Australia for families, and Melbourne is the perfect companion to Sydney, a little more relaxed and creative. As a former teacher I love how it rewards curious kids, the street art, the great museum, the wild penguins both in the city and on Phillip Island. It is easy, walkable and full of character.
I steer families to Melbourne for a few easy, characterful days, usually alongside Sydney and often with a Phillip Island or Great Ocean Road day trip. It is a relaxed, rewarding stop with a different feel from the harbour city.
The Day Trip: Phillip Island
Two hours south sits Phillip Island, famous for its nightly Penguin Parade, when hundreds of little penguins waddle ashore from the sea at dusk to their burrows, watched from boardwalks and viewing stands. The island also has a koala reserve and wild wallabies. It is a lovely, wildlife filled day out, and the penguins are memorable for kids.
Things I Would Tell A Friend Before They Booked
How Many Days
Three to four days suits Melbourne with kids. One for the laneways, the free tram and the museum, one for St Kilda and its penguins, one for the botanic gardens and the river, and a day for Phillip Island.
Day one for the laneways, the free City Circle tram, Federation Square and the Melbourne Museum. Day two for St Kilda, Luna Park and the pier penguins at dusk. Day three for the botanic gardens and the Eureka Skydeck, with Phillip Island as a fourth.
Add a Phillip Island penguin day, or the spectacular Great Ocean Road with its Twelve Apostles for older kids up for a longer drive.
Melbourne pairs naturally with Sydney for a two city Australia trip, a short flight apart, and it is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island. Give it a few days and build the rest around it.
Melbourne With Kids, Answered
Is Melbourne good for kids?
Yes, and it is a relaxed, creative counterpart to Sydney. Free trams, laneways to explore, a great museum, a beach with a funfair and wild penguins in the city and on Phillip Island. Easy, walkable and full of character, just pack for changeable weather.
How many days?
Three to four days for the city, plus a Phillip Island day trip.
What is the one thing we cannot miss?
Riding the free City Circle tram and hunting street art in the laneways, then the little penguins at St Kilda pier or on Phillip Island.
Do we need a car?
No. The trams are excellent and the City Circle loop is free, the wider network runs on a Myki card, and the SkyBus handles the airport. The flat center is very walkable.
When should we go?
Spring and autumn, September to November and March to May, bring the most settled weather. Summer is warm and good for the beach but can spike hot, winter is mild and grey. Melbourne is famous for four seasons in a day, so always pack a layer.
Ready To Put Melbourne On The Calendar
Send me your dates and your kids’ ages and I will map the laneways, the museum and St Kilda, sort a central base, add a Phillip Island penguin day, and pair it with Sydney for a two city trip.
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