Camping, renting a house or serviced apartment out of season would be my suggestions (from a family of 5)

We always opt for the comfort of a cottage preferably out of season cause that’s the cheapest, alternatively book early, last minute or use deals

We’ve found serviced apartments make for great – and surprisingly cost effective – accommodation.

What about a holiday at home? We’ve booked into a motel literally 15 mins from home. It had a pool (which we don’t) so the kids had a ball there. We payed in Aussie dollars (and booked when it was cheap) and it didn’t take us all day or a few days to get there. We knew all the attractions to go to and had time to actually go to them. The kids loved sleeping in a different room, watching cable TV, getting room service (once, just once we got room service when I couldn’t be bothered cooking but boy I wish I’d thought of that earlier!) We even had friends come around for afternoon drinks and the kids had a ball together. A strange idea but boy it was great and not stressful at all!!

sunshine coast and the gold ccoast are great and plenty of things to do. theme parks, aquariums etc.

I wrote about this for Mouths of Mums – maybe you can find some ideas here. https://mouthsofmums.com.au/10-tips-to-plan-a-cheap-holiday/

Wow you have relatives everywhere

Have you got family you can visit? That would save you heaps on accommodation! I’m lucky, I have relatives in Sydney, on the Gold Coast, in Bathurst and top and bottom of WA.

Thanks for the ideas so far!

Farmstays and bush cabin stays are also good for families and these can be quite affordable.

Camping or staying in a cabin at a resort/caravan park by the sea is always a wonderful holiday. Choose a resort/caravan park that has a pool and facilities and activities for the kids. The kids love to play and will be exhausted and sleep at the end of the day. Car trips to resorts/caravan parks are good as long as you plan and prepare activities and snacks for the kids. A little box full of goodies for each child is a good idea on a car trip. The box can contain a colouring book, pencils, sticker book with stickers, little snacks in packets/bags, a little book….whatever your kids enjoy. Lookout for deals for off peak times. Have fun planning!

Anywhere and everywhere, just want to get some ideas together so my husband and I can think about what we can do. Am liking the camping ideas!

I think a tent would be good by the water,a bbq&water activities for the kids ,shade with the tent,would be very relaxing,spend the day.

Just a word of warning from an old chicken! It was quite a few years ago now, but my marriage didn’t last the car trip up & back from Melb to Qld.

Many do it, but when you don’t normally spend that much time locked together, add screaming, crying kids in the back & you look at the person seated next to you & wonder what happened to the person you fell in love with?

WE hire a cabin at a caravan [ark. They have playgrounds, trampolines, places to ride bikes and more. Usually they are close to a beach, and have a kitchen so we self cater to cut costs.

We have 4 kids to and affordable holidays can be hard because once you have 4 kids most places require you to book a 3 bedroom unit, making it a lot more expensive. Not sure where you live but we love the Caloundra Waterfront holiday park on the sunshine Coast in Queensland. It’s pretty decently priced for a 3 bedroom cabin and has everything the kids love to do there.

Camping, we go with our 3 year old and our 8 month. both have been going camping since they were 6 weeks. just take a tub that you can heat water in for a bath so that they don’t have to have freezing cold baths. we also take a port cot for the youngest so they can be near us all the time without carrying them. the oldest takes his tonka truck and has a ball

Where are you looking at going?
We are driving to the Gold Coast next year (from Melbourne) and are staying at an apartment opposite the beach but at a really great price. If you look at sites like Stayz, HomeAway and AirBnB you can find some fantastic deals that will make accommodation a lot cheaper then what a resort or holiday park costs