5 ways to a cheaper family holiday this winter
In 2025, it can be easy to forget that Instagram isn’t reality and fun isn’t measured in dollars spent. If, like much of Australia, your family budget is feeling the pinch but you’re long overdue for some time off, there are some simple hacks to get your holiday costs down and help you spend quality time with family.
Travel outside peak season
“Stay in a beach town in summer, go to the snow in winter, head out into the country during spring and autumn.” This is the way Aussie holidaymakers are programmed to think and, while it’s logical enough, breaking this programming is a terrific way to cut accommodation costs and avoid peak season crowds.
NSW ski field hotels, for example, can be prohibitively expensive and booked up years in advance during winter, but costs in January are much more reasonable and a hike up Mount Kosciuszko or a drive along the magnificent Alpine Way costs next to nothing. During winter, staying in a NSW south coast town such as Lake Conjola or Tathra won’t break the bank and there are loads of low-cost activities on offer, such as mountain biking and fishing.
Share accommodation
If you’re not flying anywhere, the big-ticket holiday item is usually accommodation. The obvious solution is to go camping, but let’s be honest – living in a tiny nylon house and sharing an amenities block (or burying your business in the bush each morning) isn’t everyone’s idea of relaxation or fun, especially when children are involved.
If you have friends who are also parents or extended family you get along with, sharing a holiday house is a good way to secure comfortable accommodation while keeping costs down per head. There are other benefits, too – the kids will have live-in playmates for the duration of your stay and the adults can take turns cooking, washing up, or driving to the nearest shops for supplies (and by ‘supplies’ we mean ‘wine’).
Bring food and fun with you
Once you’ve settled into your lodgings, the big temptation is to spend money on food and activities. You know how it is – bacon and egg brekky at a café, hot dogs all round at an entertainment park, head to the pub for dinner, and suddenly the credit card’s taken a battering. Aim instead to bring condiments, snacks and spreads with you, and do a shop at your local Coles or Woolies before you set off or when you arrive in your holiday town. For the price of eating out at a café you can get a couple of boxes of cereal, a loaf of bread, milk, and an armload of sausages that will cover breakfast, lunch and dinner for several days. That will leave more in the budget for those spontaneous purchases at the ice cream parlour or lolly shop.
The same goes for holiday entertainment and activities. Dust off those old board games, pack colouring books and Uno cards, fit a bike rack to your car, and bring fishing rods. You can also borrow books from your local library or visit a second-hand bookshop, and download a bunch of shows to your devices. That way, the answer to, “What are we going to do today?” or “Mum, I’m bored” won’t always be an outlay of cash.
Surround yourself with free/cheap activities
Holiday parks and resorts have mastered this in recent years. While a cabin might not be cheap per se, once you’ve settled in, you’re surrounded with free or cheap things to do. In many cases there’s a beach or river nearby, while the parks run low- or no-cost activities for the kids (such as colouring competitions, pancake breakfasts and pedal kart hire). There are also typically a games room with free or cheap games, and the roadways between cabins and camping sites double as a bike track. Depending on the location, there are often points of interest, such as lookouts, within walking or riding distance.
5 cheap winter holiday ideas
A country retreat
Make no mistake – during winter, any location west of Penrith can become bitterly cold at night. But if you’re spending each evening rugged up in front of a crackling wood stove, the cold forms part of the country’s charm. Farm stays such as Odd Frog Lodges outside Mudgee or Old Minton Farm Stay in Nimmitabel offer spacious cabins at prices that are pretty reasonable when split amongst a large group. Kids and adults alike will love getting to know the animals, collecting eggs, or walking the property on a sunny winter afternoon. Country towns also often have winter festivals.
Park at a holiday park
Holiday parks are primarily warm-weather destinations, so winter rates can be very reasonable – and in many cases you can tailor your lodgings to your budget, everything from a camping site right up to a spacious cabin or glamping tent. Once you’re there, the parents can kick back and relax and the kids can amuse themselves all day (even if it is too cold to go swimming). The NRMA has holiday parks dotted the whole way along the NSW coast, so take your pick – and enjoy special benefits and discounts at the park with your My NRMA membership.
Go bush
When it comes to a cheap holiday, nothing beats camping. If you don’t mind roughing it, NSW has an almost uncountable number of camping spots that let you commune with nature for next to nothing. If you’d prefer a little comfort with your off-grid sojourn, the National Parks and Wildlife Service offers a range of budget cabins scattered throughout NSW, from New England in the north to the Snowy Mountains in the south and Tibooburra in the outback.
Stay in Sydney
Sydneysiders are notorious for taking their beautiful harbour city for granted and most would consider a holiday there preposterous. But it has an abundance of affordable hotels and other accommodation close public transport and, despite Sydney’s high-cost reputation, it offers endless free or cheap activities. The Australian Museum, for example, has free entry (only its specialist exhibits cost extra) and houses a cornucopia of interactive displays that will keep kids entertained and learning for hours. The Botanic Gardens are open between sunrise and sunset and provide a glorious place for a walk on a sunny winter’s day. Taking a ferry over to Manly is something every Aussie kid should do at least once, and fares are surprisingly affordable.
Leave the herd
Looking beyond the ‘trendy’ holiday towns is a guaranteed way to get accommodation costs down, and often you’ll find hidden gems the tourist herd hasn’t yet discovered. Lake Illawarra, for example, tends to be somewhere holidaymakers drive past on their way to the Shoalhaven, but it’s in close proximity to loads of activities for kids and adults alike and, because the region is not in such high demand, its holiday home tariffs are far more reasonable, especially in winter. Even somewhere like Narrabeen, with its waterside aspect and close proximity to the Garigal and Ku-ring-gai Chase national parks, can provide a relaxing ‘holiday town’ feel without the hassle and fuel costs of a long drive.
