Toddler-Friendly Travels: Northern Rivers NSW + Gold Coast.

A couple of months ago I popped up a question box on my Insta stories as I was looking for a new holiday destination for our family of three. Two adults and a 14 month old. The brief was; easy with a young child, sunny, warm but not Byron and not Noosa. I love both of these locations but wanted something different. There were many fabulous suggestions. 

I’ve added these all to a ‘travel’ highlight on my Instagram.

We Chose the Northern Rivers NSW and southern part of the Gold Coast ☀️  

Here is a little summary of our trip - 

Flew into the Gold Coast Airport and hired a car through APEX car rentals. 

Apex was literally half the amount of the bigger, more well known hire companies. This was the first time for us hiring a car with a car seat and the price increases quite a lot with some companies once you add in the car seat.

With Apex we had to catch a shuttle bus for 10 mins to the car hire garage. This didn’t bother us as we flew in and out during daylight and the saving was well and truly worth it for us. 

We drove down to Cabarita Beach 🏖️ and we stayed at The Beach Resort, Cabarita for four nights. We had a two bedroom apartment and it was modern and spacious for the three of us. I’ll attach a photo below. 

I chose to stay here as location was very important to me. I wanted to be able to grab a smoothie, go to the beach, lay by the pool whilst Ollie was sleeping and we were able to easily do this and tag team. 

We had a great time here and would have no hesitations recommending this to friends. There are a good amount of cafes and restaurants for a sleepy little town. I think a car is essential. We loved exploring Kingscliff, Tropical Fruit World and also popped down to Byron Bay for a day trip.

In hindsight I wish we had longer here. There are so many beautiful beaches and inlets and little towns that we didn’t have time to explore, because two naps a day for the little person limits your activities quite a lot. 

I didn’t make it there but Halcyon House comes highly recommended if you were looking for something lux, perhaps some self care. 

A few places that we visited were - 

〰️ Tucker - amazing brunch + cute little kids play area
〰️ Number 35 - nice dinner 
〰️ Kartel Espresso - our morning chai/coffee spot after a walk
〰️ Nectar - lunch spot
〰️ The Salt Mill - I had an acai bowl from here whilst we frolicked in the water. 

Woolworths, bottle-o, bakery etc all across the road and a beach out the front. Very sleepy town but exactly what we were after. 

We then drove to Burleigh Heads and stayed here for a few nights at Burleigh Boardwalk which is very close to the beach and the promenade walk, a few great cafes and eateries. 

Rick Shores is fab for a special dinner.  Again good cafes, playgrounds, everything within walking distance. 

It came highly recommended to head to Tallebudgera Beach Creek. We spent a bit of time here and it was perfect. We rolled out the towel under some trees and enjoyed playing in the sand and the shallows of the water. 

There is a delish cafe there too - Custard Canteen - I had a Bischoff almond croissant, it was absolutely sensational. 

There is a caravan park right near here as well. There are cabins on the water that would be fab - Tallebudgera Creek.

On the way back to the airport we stopped in a this Pirate Playground to burn off some energy. We could have spent half a day here. Awesome playground, good cafe and lots of people frolicking in the waters.

My travel essentials list- 

〰️ ACCOM -  Staying in an apartment was great for food. We are still on two naps a day, so it was important to be in a good location. 

〰️ Aeromoov Instant Travel Cot - I’ve used this SO MUCH. I’m often I’m traveling by myself so it's really easy to literally pop out one handed if needed. 

〰️ Drift Away White Noise Machine -  I use this for all sleeps since Ollie was born when we are away. It  can easily attach to the travel pram and it has a night light feature too which is helpful at times. It has lots of different noise settings and I also find it very peaceful! 

〰️ Skip2 Travel Pram -  This is more so our everyday pram. Living in the boot of my car. When traveling we checked ours in, there were two of us and one child didn't feel the need to use it in the airport. I have the SPF50 sun shade which is great for naps on the go. The seat also lays back and is quite flat. You can get a newborn insert for head support that we used when Ollie was much smaller and we traveled with him. 

〰️ Izimini Chair- We use this as our highchair when we are traveling as it comes with clips so that you can securely tie the chair to most dining chairs. Also great for the beach and parks. 

〰️ Ergobaby carrier One of my top 5 baby recommendations of all time. I love this. Both parents are carrier fans in our family! 

I hope this has been helpful, and thank you to everyone who shared with recommendations for the Northern Rivers NSW and southern part of the Gold Coast, we loved exploring somewhere a little different. 

Please note some links in this blog post might be affiliate links.