Shows run through the day, from Tigers LIVE! at 11am to the Wildlife Warriors Show at 1.15pm. Entry includes the Laughing Frog splash park and play areas with a jumping pillow, so pack swimmers. It opens 9am to 5pm daily, and a family pass for two adults and two kids was $233.95 in October 2026.

Start at the Noosa Headland day-use area, with free barbecues and toilets, or walk 1km along the boardwalk from Hastings Street. The sealed path to Dolphin Point, 1.2km one way, suits strollers; watch for koalas in the trees and, June to November, humpback whales. The beaches along the way aren't patrolled, so save the swim for a flagged beach.

Sharks and rays glide over the 80m Ocean Tunnel, and the little blue penguins can be watched from above and below the water. Kids can touch sea stars in the Tidal Touchpools, and the three-level Shipwreck Shores play zone is included in entry. It's all indoors, so it suits a wet day; book ahead, as pre-booking is essential.

Point Cartwright shelters this popular swimming beach from the south, and lifeguards patrol it all year round. Parklands, playgrounds and takeaway food sit just behind the sand. Dogs aren't allowed anywhere on the foreshore, and accessible beach matting goes down on weekends during the volunteer patrol season.

The 4.7km circuit near Montville passes rock pools and a falls lookout, then drops through rainforest to the base of the waterfall. Allow two to three hours and save energy for more than 300 stairs; the 1.7km Picnic Creek circuit suits smaller legs. People have died slipping over waterfalls here, so keep kids behind the fences and never dive into the pools.

This 55-hectare patch of subtropical rainforest near Maleny looks out over the Glass House Mountains. Download the forest detective trail guide for young explorers, then walk one of the 1.3 to 1.7km circuits looking for red-legged pademelons. Tracks open 7am to 6pm daily and the Rainforest Discovery Centre 9.30am to 3.30pm.

Signs at the stone-wall lookout help kids match names to the peaks, and the fire tower adds wider views and displays on the area's history. An 800m track with stairs loops through forest from one side of the picnic area to the other; allow 45 minutes. The barbecues are closed until 21 February 2027, so bring a packed lunch.

This theme park just off the Bruce Highway at Palmview has up to 30 rides and experiences. Family favourites include the Bug Run and Bombora Bounce, while older kids head for the SX360 and Dingo Racer. Outside school holidays it opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm.

More than 80 historic military and civilian aircraft fill two hectares beside Caloundra Aerodrome. Many exhibits are under cover, which makes it a good wet-weather outing, and free guides are on hand most days. It opens 10am to 4pm daily; a family ticket for two adults and three kids under 15 was $60 in October 2026.

This open hill of windblown sand above Rainbow Beach looks out over the Coloured Sands, Double Island Point and K'gari. Walk 2.8km through forest from the Rainbow Beach Information Centre, about an hour one way. On a hot day, start at the Carlo Sandblow car park for a much shorter walk.