A Brisbane to Sydney drive with kids sounds like a lot, and it is, but broken into a week of short daily drives with real stops along the way, it turns into one of the best trips we’ve done as a family. This is exactly how we did it: 7 days, Brisbane to Sydney and back down to the Gold Coast, real costs, real stops, and the moments that actually worked with our 4-year-old daughter in the back seat.
IN THIS GUIDE
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ROUTE OVERVIEW
Planning a Brisbane to Sydney Drive with Kids
🚗 THE DRIVE
The Brisbane to Sydney drive is around 900km, 10-12 hours straight through. We spread it over 7 days, easier on our daughter than one long haul.
📅 BEST TIME
We travelled in June, cool but comfortable, and it happened to line up with prime whale watching season at Port Macquarie.
💰 Budget
Accommodation and Sydney parking were the biggest costs. Most coastal stops along the way, boardwalks, playgrounds, beaches, were free.
🏡 Best for
Families who’d rather break a long drive into a proper multi-stop adventure than treat it as a means to an end.
Accommodation Along the Way
We stayed somewhere different most nights, a mix of self-contained apartments and hotels, with 3 nights in Sydney as our longest stop.
Two balconies, two very different views, the Hastings River in Port Macquarie and our Sydney home base at Darling Square for 3 nights.
COFFS HARBOUR
Pacific Bay Resort
1-bedroom, fully self-contained, laundry and kitchen. Buffet breakfast included, kids pay their age, and on weekends, children up to 11 years eat free, up to 2 kids per 2 paying adults. What we loved most was the space, the apartment felt properly spacious for a family, with a balcony overlooking the mountains rather than a car park. It’s also close to the beach, making it a great option for families staying longer in Coffs Harbour rather than just passing through. Breakfast was excellent and genuinely good value.
Check their rates for planning your stay →
SYDNEY (3 NIGHTS)
Rydges Darling Square
2 queen apartment with kitchenette and balcony. Family stay sale, breakfast included, kids under 16 free with a paying adult. No dedicated guest parking, nearby Cinema Centre Car Park is $45/night. The location is what sold us, right in the middle of everything, an easy walk to Haymarket, Chinatown, and Town Hall, with trams running close by to get anywhere else in the city fast. Check their rates for planning your stay →
PORT MACQUARIE
Rydges Port Macquarie
Waterfront twin deluxe with balcony over the Hastings River. Underground parking $30/night. The room itself was beautiful and spacious, and we had breakfast looking straight out over the river most mornings. Walking distance to restaurants and shops made evenings easy too. Check their rates for planning your stay →
BURLEIGH HEADS (GOLD COAST)
Swell Apartments (Airbnb)
| 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 3-4 minutes’ walk from the beach. Read our full Gold Coast guide for the rest of this leg. This was our base for the Gold Coast leg, and it earned its keep, close to Burleigh Heads beach and the national park, a tram stop right downstairs, and restaurants and shops within easy walking distance.One thing that stood out was the kids’ toys and books already in the apartment, our daughter happily played with them the whole stay. Check their rates for planning your stay → |
We’ve also left detailed reviews of every stay, place, and experience from this trip on our TripAdvisor profile, worth a look if you want star ratings and photos alongside the write-up here.
COASTAL STOPS
Coffs Harbour and Urunga Boardwalk
Coffs Harbour Jetty Beach and Urunga Boardwalk, our first stops out of Brisbane.
Our first stop out of Brisbane was Surfers Paradise for a quick content stop before continuing down to Coffs Harbour for the night. While I did content, Murray and our daughter went off to Broadbeach Kids Playground at Kurrawa and Pratten Park Playground, so everyone had something to do. We arrived in Coffs Harbour in the late afternoon and walked out onto the Coffs Harbour Jetty before dinner, a heritage-listed wooden jetty with real history behind it. The beach beside it was full of life, pelicans and other birds working the shoreline, fish visible in the shallows, and our daughter had the run of the sand chasing waves while we took it all in. A handful of easy dinner spots sit right nearby, which made it a simple, low-key stop before heading back to Pacific Bay Resort for the night.
The next morning, we detoured to Urunga Boardwalk, a small coastal town with a newly renovated boardwalk where the river meets the sea. It turned out to be one of the best low-key stops of the whole trip, low tide had us spotting mullet and puffer fish right from the boardwalk, and there’s a playground and clean toilets on site. We arrived at 10am and were happily occupied for about an hour.
URUNGA BOARDWALK AT A GLANCE
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Free, and properly engaging for kids, fish-spotting at low tide is the highlight.
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Playground and clean toilets on site.
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About an hour is enough time here.
On our way back through Coffs Harbour later in the trip, we stopped at the Big Banana to see if it was worth it. We rode the banana coaster (one loop, over quickly), and while the height had one of us squeezing our eyes shut the whole way down, our daughter thought it was hilarious. A fun little stop if you’re already passing through, though probably not one to go out of your way for.
WHALE WATCHING
Port Macquarie: Whale Watching at Tacking Point Lighthouse
Tacking Point Lighthouse, Port Macquarie, and the whale tail we spotted from the lookout.
This was the unexpected highlight of the entire trip. We drove the scenic road to Tacking Point Lighthouse, stopping first to watch dolphins swimming near the shore, then continued on to the lighthouse itself. We were there from around 9:30 to 10:30am and lost count of the whales, multiple pods, blowholes everywhere, and we managed to catch one waving its tail close to the lighthouse on camera.
WHALE WATCHING AT TACKING POINT LIGHTHOUSE
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Arrive early, the car park fills up fast.
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No toilets at the lighthouse itself, the closest is Sea Acres Rainforest Centre, about 5 minutes’ drive.
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Bring binoculars, hats, sunscreen and a camera with zoom.
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Winter through spring is prime whale watching season on this stretch of coast.
Further along the same coastline, we stopped at Tea Gardens for lunch at Tea Gardens Boatshed, a relaxed river-view spot with good food and views of white boats and wild pelicans. Afterward, our daughter played on the sandy edge of the Myall River at Anzac Park while we watched the pelicans and admired the wildflowers. A local recommended the Hole in the Wall Beach lookout nearby, a worthwhile short detour if you’re passing through, though the beach itself was too rough and windy for us to get down to on the day.
CITY STOP
Sydney with Kids
Sydney Opera House and the harbour view from Taronga Zoo, two must-sees during our 3 nights in the city.
We based ourselves at Rydges Darling Square for 3 nights, a cheaper option than Circular Quay, with easy tram access to Town Hall and Circular Quay for the ferry to Taronga Zoo, and close to Haymarket, which we visit every time we’re in Sydney.
This was just one leg of a longer trip, so we’ve kept it brief here. For the full breakdown of our 3 nights, including where we ate, what we’d skip, and a proper day-by-day plan, read our 4 Day Sydney Guide.
Driving in Sydney’s CBD was properly more stressful than anything we’d dealt with in Brisbane, dense traffic and no dedicated hotel parking meant a $45/night multi-level car park a short walk from Rydges. We’d recommend leaning on public transport wherever you can, more on that below.
We spent a morning at Paddy’s Markets, more affordable produce, meat and seafood than the supermarkets, though the indoor kids’ playground we remembered from a previous visit was gone by this trip. We also caught up with family at Macarthur Square, with a good indoor, fenced, farm-themed play area attached to the food court.
FROM THE BLOG
Things to Do in Caloundra with Kids
Our Sunshine Coast Family Guide, if a beach trip close to Brisbane is on the list.
→
FAMILY DAY OUT
Taronga Zoo
Feeding giraffes and capybaras, Taronga Zoo’s animal encounters were the highlight of the day for our 4-year-old.
We took the tram to Circular Quay and boarded the ferry at Wharf 6, one of the most scenic ways to start a zoo day anywhere in Australia. Worth knowing before you go, tour operators depart from Wharf 6, while the public ferry leaves from Wharf 2, so check which one your ticket is for. The ride takes about 20-30 minutes, with harbour views the whole way. We booked our family ferry and zoo pass online for a better rate than buying on the day, kids under 4 are free.
Highlights of the day: watching the giraffes being fed with barely any crowd around, the bird show (our daughter’s favourite, with harbour views over the Opera House and Harbour Bridge as a backdrop), and the seal show, which was both fun and actually educational. The playground partway through the zoo was a good spot for a 20-minute burn-off break, and the toilets throughout the zoo were clean and well maintained.
TARONGA ZOO WITH KIDS AT A GLANCE
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Book the family ferry and zoo pass online in advance for a better price.
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The ferry ride itself is part of the experience, worth timing for good weather.
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The bird show and seal show were the standout moments for our daughter.
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There’s a proper playground partway through if kids need a break.
RIVER TOWN
Tea Gardens and the Myall River
Pelicans and puddle-jumping at Tea Gardens, a quiet detour that turned out to be one of our daughter’s favourite stops.
Covered above alongside Port Macquarie, Tea Gardens deserves its own mention as one of the more relaxed, uncrowded stops on the whole route, a good one to build in if your family needs a slower day between the bigger city stops.
DAY BY DAY
Our Brisbane to Sydney Drive with Kids: 7-Day Itinerary
7 DAYS BRISBANE TO SYDNEY AND BACK TO THE GOLD COAST
Family of 3 · June 2026
19 JUN FRI
Brisbane to Coffs Harbour
Left home at 9:30am, coffee and breakfast on the road, a stop in Surfers Paradise, arrived Coffs Harbour by late afternoon. A walk out on the Coffs Harbour Jetty before an easy dinner nearby, then back to Pacific Bay Resort for the night.
20 JUN SAT
Urunga Boardwalk to Sydney
MOSTLY FREE
Fish-spotting at Urunga Boardwalk, lunch at Rivermark in Port Macquarie, a playground stop at Raymond Terrace, arrived Sydney (Darling Square) by evening.
21 JUN SUN
Paddy's Market and family time
Late breakfast, Paddy’s Market and Chinatown, lunch and play at Macarthur Square, an evening content session at the Opera House.
22 JUN MON
Taronga Zoo
Morning ferry from Wharf 2, a full day at Taronga Zoo, gelato at Opera House afterward, evening drive to visit family.
23 JUN TUE
Sydney to Port Macquarie
An early walk to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair for sunrise, then the drive south, lunch at Tea Gardens Boatshed, a play stop at Anzac Park, arrived Port Macquarie by evening.
24 JUN WED
Whale watching and the Big Banana
MOSTLY FREE
Coffee at Four Espresso, whale watching at Tacking Point Lighthouse, a rest and play stop at the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, arrived Burleigh Heads by evening.
25-26 JUN THU-FRI
Burleigh Heads and Currumbin
National Park walks, Tallebudgera Creek, and a full day at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary before driving home to Brisbane. Full details coming soon in our Gold Coast with Kids guide.
WHERE WE ATE
Food Stops Along the Way
Nothing fancy, mostly casual, family-friendly spots with good food and a place for our daughter to move around between courses.
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Right on the Coffs Harbour Marina, we grabbed fish and chips and a burger here for dinner on our first night.
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Good coffee stop before continuing the drive to Sydney.
🍽️
Riverfront lunch stop, good option for families passing through.
🛥️
A relaxed river-view lunch, good food, boats and wild pelicans out the window.
🥕
Affordable produce, meat and seafood at Paddy’s, plus a food court with a fenced, farm-themed play area attached at Macarthur Square.
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A good coffee stop on our way through Byron Bay.
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Our coffee stop on the way back through, worth the detour if you need a proper caffeine hit.
THE REAL TALK
What Is Actually Hard About This Road Trip
Sydney’s CBD traffic and parking were the low point of the whole trip. No dedicated hotel parking, a $45/night multi-level car park that wasn’t particularly well maintained, and a properly stressful 2-hour drive to visit family in Campbelltown during peak traffic. If we did it again, we’d lean on public transport for everything inside Sydney and only use the car for arriving and leaving the city.
Our daughter also came down with a cold partway through the trip, a clogged nose and cough that made a couple of nights harder than they needed to be. We always travel with kids’ Panadol for exactly this reason, and she handled it better than we expected, though it’s worth building a little flexibility into your schedule in case the same thing happens to you.
The distances between stops add up faster than they look on a map too. Two hours here, two hours there, it’s manageable with a 4-year-old in the car, but only if you resist the urge to add just one more stop to an already full day.
THE VERDICT
Is the Brisbane to Sydney Road Trip Worth It with Kids?
Completely, and one of the best trips we’ve done as a family. Spreading it over 7 days rather than rushing the drive turned it from a chore into an adventure in its own right, with some of our best memories coming from the smaller, unplanned stops like Urunga Boardwalk and the whale watching at Port Macquarie, not just the big-ticket Sydney days.
If you’re weighing whether to fly or drive between Brisbane and Sydney with young kids, our honest take is: drive it, but budget the time to actually stop.
★
COMMON QUESTIONS
Brisbane to Sydney Road Trip with Kids: FAQs
How long is the drive from Brisbane to Sydney?
The direct drive is around 900km and takes 10-12 hours without stops. With young kids, we’d strongly recommend spreading it over several days rather than driving it in one go.
How long does the Brisbane to Sydney road trip take with kids?
We took 7 days, with 2-3 nights in Sydney and the rest split across coastal stops. The direct drive is around 10-12 hours, but with kids, spreading it over a week keeps car time manageable.
What are the best family stops between Brisbane and Sydney?
Our standouts were Urunga Boardwalk for fish-spotting, Port Macquarie Lighthouse for whale watching, Tea Gardens for a relaxed river lunch, and the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour for a quick, silly stop.
Is Sydney easy to get around with young kids?
Public transport is far easier than driving. We found CBD traffic and parking properly stressful compared to Brisbane, and the ferry trip to Taronga Zoo was far more enjoyable than any car trip we took in the city.
Where should families stay between Brisbane and Sydney?
We based ourselves at Pacific Bay Resort in Coffs Harbour, Rydges Port Macquarie on the Hastings River, Rydges Darling Square for our 3 Sydney nights, a cheaper option than Circular Quay with easy tram access to Town Hall and the ferry to Taronga Zoo, and Swell Apartments in Burleigh Heads for the Gold Coast leg. Spreading it across a few different stays kept each drive short and gave our daughter a change of scenery without cramming too much into one place.
When is the best time to see whales on this route?
We visited in June and saw dozens of whales from Port Macquarie’s Tacking Point Lighthouse, multiple pods, blowholes, and a full tail wave. Winter through spring is prime whale watching season along this stretch of coast.
Is driving from Brisbane to Sydney worth it?
Yes, especially if you treat it as a road trip rather than a way of just getting there. Rushing the drive in one day is hard on everyone in the car, but spread over a week it becomes one of the best parts of the trip, not just the means of reaching Sydney.
Can you drive from Brisbane to Sydney in one day?
Technically yes, the direct drive is 10-12 hours, but we wouldn’t recommend it with young kids. A single long day in the car with no proper stops is tough on everyone. Breaking it into several days with real playground and beach stops made a huge difference for us.
Where is the halfway point between Brisbane and Sydney?
The halfway mark sits roughly around the Coffs Harbour to Grafton stretch of the Pacific Highway, about 450km from each city. It’s a natural place to break the drive, which is part of why we built a stop into that section of our itinerary.
M&J
Murray & Jomana
We are a Brisbane-based family writing about slow travel with a toddler across Australia and beyond. Everything on this site comes from trips we actually took with our own kid. Read our story here.
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Jomana is the heart behind Really Traveling — the one making sure every itinerary actually works when you’ve got a tired toddler and a delayed flight. She’s the family’s chief researcher, packing list perfectionist, and the reason our trips run smoother than they have any right to. If the advice on this site is practical and honest, that’s Jomana’s doing.
