Travelling with kids can be hard work sometimes, especially if you’re travelling for a specific reason that has nothing to do with simply getting away with the kids… Whether you’re taking a family trip to Dubbo, or you’re using Dubbo as a stop-off point on your family trip to somewhere farther afield, we’ve put together a list of the top fun, family-friendly activities to with kids in Dubbo.
Free Kids’ Activities in Dubbo
If you’re travelling on a strict budget, or you’d rather save your pennies so you can spend them elsewhere, here’s a short list of the best free activities to do with kids in Dubbo.
Macquarie Regional Library – Dubbo Branch
The Dubbo branch of Macquarie Regional Library has some great free programs for kids aged 0 to 12 years, with special events and activities on offer throughout the year. Best of all, the library has regularly scheduled activities as well, so you can take advantage of them all year round – not just during school holidays.
Take your pre-school aged kids along and enjoy the fun of stories, rhymes, music, and craft at Storytime or Rhyme Time. If your pre-schooler loves to keep their hands just as busy as their mind is, the Maker Monday program has some brilliant creative craft activities your little ones are sure to love!
The Dubbo branch of Macquarie Regional Library also has some excellent educational activities scheduled regularly, including Code Club, Book Club and Lego Club. There are plenty of School Holiday Activities to keep the kids occupied too!
To ensure the library can properly adhere to COVID regulations for social distancing, bookings are necessary for all activities. Contact the library or visit the Macquarie Regional Library website for more information or to book online.
Western Plains Cultural Centre
The Western Plains Cultural Centre (WPCC) in Dubbo is split into three areas – the art gallery, the museum, and the Creo Café. Take the kids along to see the ever-changing visual art collection, view the fantastic historical displays on show in the museum, and enjoy a snack at the café.
The Community Arts Centre runs School Holiday Workshops to keep the kids entertained during the holidays, and their Minimakers early learning program promises heaps of fun for the under-fives, with songs, stories and craft activities.
If the weather isn’t great, or you’re looking for ways to keep the kids entertained with some educational activities while you spend time relaxing in your motel room, the WPCC also has Learn and Explore art-making activities and tutorials that can be accessed online to keep the kids occupied for a little while.
Dubbo Regional Adventure Playground
Dubbo Regional Adventure Playground is a beautifully crafted, free outdoor playground with over 40 different play elements, including a flying fox, giant slide, basket swing and loads of timber equipment for climbing and balancing on. There’s a smaller playground and water play area for the younger kids and the playground is also home to a wheelchair-accessible Liberty Swing, so differently abled kids can join in the fun too.
The playground has plenty of seating and easy access to toilets and barbeques, and the Adventure Playground Café is open for a coffee and snack while playing. The playground is also conveniently located right next to Dubbo Regional Botanical Garden, which is also a great place to take the kids to do some nature appreciation.
Kid-Friendly Activities in Dubbo
If your entertainment budget can stretch to accommodate a little expense, there are some great activities available, including:
Old Dubbo Gaol
Take your kids on a trip back in time at Old Dubbo Gaol, with a variety of tours that allows visitors an up close and personal experience with the penal system of the 1800s. Bookings aren’t required, and you and the kids can stay for as long as you like.
Self-guided tours are available year-round; an Escape Talk is scheduled every day, and there are theatrical performances, with the Characters in Costume tour, scheduled each weekend and every day during the school holidays.
Family Passes, for two adults and two children, are relatively low-cost and additional child tickets are reasonably priced. Tickets can be purchased at the goal or take advantage of a 10% saving when you purchase your ticket online.
Taronga Western Plains Zoo
Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo offers visitors the chance to see a huge variety of animals in a natural setting that closely mimics their natural habitat. Take a ride in the zoo’s special safari truck on the Savannah Safari experience and see giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and antelopes roaming grasslands. Explore a replica African Maasai village and see lions in a simulated natural habitat in the Lion Pride Lands precinct. Book an Animal Encounters experience and get up close and person with meerkats, hippos, and a Sumatran tiger.
Walk, drive, or hire an electric cart or bicycle (or ride your own) around the expansive zoo site, which cares for over 5,000 animals from 350 different species. There are keeper talks run daily, as well as a heap of kids’ activities – including the Zoo Adventures holiday program, available to kids aged 5 to 12 years on select days during school holidays.
Dubbo Region Great Big Adventure Pass
If money is no object and you’re keen to pack as much adventure as you can into your trip to the Dubbo region, why not consider taking advantage of the “Dubbo Region Great Big Adventure Pass”? A family pass for two adults and two children allows for entry to Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Old Dubbo Gaol, the Royal Flying Doctors Service Visitor Experience, and Wellington Caves.
Dubbo Escape Room
If you’ve had enough of the outdoors, or it’s a rainy day and you need something to entertain the kids, why not get their brains working with a thrilling indoor adventure at Dubbo Escape Room? This unique and incredibly fun family activity will get you and your kids working together as a team, building problem-solving skills, and using all your creativity, intellect, and judgement, to solve puzzles and riddles and uncover important clues.
There are a variety of room experiences to choose from, each with a different level of difficulty, so there’s sure to be a room that caters and appeals to every family! Wearing of masks is essential and bookings are required. For more information, or to make a booking, contact Dubbo Escape Room or book online via their website.
Affordable Family Accommodation in Dubbo
The Palms Motel Dubbo is one of the top choices for visitors to the area, whether they’re visiting one of Dubbo’s many famous family-friendly attractions, or just passing through Dubbo with the family.
Centrally located in the heart of town, The Palms Dubbo offers a range of accommodation options with King, Queen, and family-sized rooms to suit all needs and budgets. The Palms Motel also has wheelchair-friendly and interconnected rooms available – simply discuss your needs with the friendly staff when making your booking.
Each room features luxurious towels and bedding, a 55” flat-screen HD Smart TV with free Netflix, Stan and Foxtel, free unlimited high-speed Wi-Fi, refrigerator and coffee- and tea-making facilities. Guests also have access to plenty of free on-site parking and use of all motel amenities, including saltwater pool, laundry facilities and much more.
For comfortable and affordable accommodation near Dubbo’s Macquarie River attractions, call The Palms Motel Dubbo on 02 6881 8155, email us at bookings@tpmd.com.au or book directly on our website.
