The best spots to visit over the Easter holidays

The Easter long weekend is the perfect time for a family getaway, especially this year given Easter falls right before Anzac Day, providing a rare chance to maximise your annual leave. So why not get outdoors, take the family for a weekend mini-break, or even take a day trip to get into the Easter egg demolishing spirit?

Here are our top picks of activities for the long weekend which are sure to be a hit with the whole family. 

Roma’s Easter in the Country

Queensland’s famous five-day Easter festival is back for 2025 and celebrates all things country and outback.

There’s a whole host of activities including music, art, workshops, eco-tours, races, food, and more – so there’s quite literally something for everyone.

Events are individually ticketed with plenty being free of charge, so you’ll be able to pick and choose your activities and pop in and out of the festival as you like.

Roma is approximately five and a half hours from Brisbane by car and with lots to see on the way and plenty of historical significance to discover in town, it’s a great option for an exciting long weekend.

Fun at the Roma Easter Festival.

Back O’Bourke Easter Festival

For a bit of a longer road trip, why not head to Bourke for this multi-day festival that’s not to be missed. Remember, this year, you can take some extra leave from work to turn the Easter and Anzac holidays into a good stretch off.

Immerse yourself in local and historic experiences like Jandra cruises, cemetery tours, and visiting local art galleries. But even more exciting for the Easter long weekend, the festival does a colour run on Good Friday morning and follows it up with a ‘long table dinner’ that evening.

Spend Saturday watching the street parade and the wool bale rolling competition, and Sunday includes a Giant Easter Egg Hunt and even a surprise Easter Bunny visit.

There’s so much packed into the schedule that you and the family will never come up short deciding what to do.

Back O-Bourke colour run.

Hunter Valley Gardens Easter Weekend

For a quick jaunt from Sydney, head to the Hunter Valley for great food, wine, and a lot of fun for the kids.

The stunning Hunter Valley Gardens is bringing Easter to its green vistas with rides, egg hunts, and a visit from the Easter Bunny.

This coincides with the Mega Creatures exhibition where you’ll find mythical beasts, huge insects, and prehistoric animals roaming the grounds. So if your little ones aren’t so little anymore and not that impressed with the Easter Bunny, the dinosaurs are sure to light up their eyes!

Meanwhile the grown-ups can wander the perfectly curated gardens, explore the shopping precinct, and enjoy a coffee (or wine) at one of the Garden’s many cafes.

Mega Creatures at Hunter Valley Gardens.

Bendigo Easter Festival

Just a short ride out of Melbourne, head north for the Bendigo Easter Festival, a fun filled affair that will leave you in awe. First run in 1871, it is one of Australia’s longest ongoing community festivals.

Three packed days will see rides, gold panning, street parades, and even an 85,000 egg Easter Egg hunt. There’s also live music, markets, and plenty of kid’s entertainment including a Sonic the Hedgehog meet and greet.

But the really special part of the Bendigo Easter Festival is the included celebration of the town’s Chinese heritage which dates back to 1879.

Celebrating the Lunar New Year, you’ll be able to see dancers, drums, and 100,000 firecrackers used in a ceremony to awaken Dai Gum Loong – the world’s longest Imperial Dragon – before he weaves his way through the streets and festival goers.

Dai Gum Loong in Bendigo.

The Bathurst 6 Hour

If you want to mix up the standard Easter egg hunt, your answers could be solved thanks to the Bathurst 6 Hour car race, continuing the tradition of the first ever motor race which was held at Mount Panorama on the Easter long weekend in 1938.

This is Australia's longest race for production cars at Mount Panorama and you can even camp out at the Paddock Campground to witness the action up close.

With tickets being an affordable $50 for the three-day adult pass and kids under 12 going free, it’s a great long weekend plan for the car and racing enthusiast family.