I took my family on a budget trip to the snow and proved you don’t need to leave Australia to have a great winter holiday with the kids.
In fact if you pack your own food, and don’t get lift passes you can do it for as little as $81-per-day, per-person for a family of three.
We added two nights at the beach because I wasn’t sure how much the kids would like the snow – and because surf’n’ski holidays appeared to be a popular search term.
We squeezed in a more expensive first day, opting to go snowboarding, but definitely would have been just as content with a $10 toboggan rental.
We also went mid-week, driving down on Tuesday after work when accommodation is more affordable.
We stayed at Discover Parks in Jindabyne, about 20 minutes from the snowfields.
Budget cabins start at $115-per-night in winter, but we opted for the $175-per-night cabin which sleeps up to six people, and we stayed two nights.
I made a mental note that a trip could be ‘even cheaper’ next time if we recruit a few friends to tag along.
We opted for a ‘free’ breakfast each morning, having cereal brought from home instead of heading to the café or bakery which can cost $50-$60 each time.
I took my family on a budget trip to the snow and proved you don’t need to leave Australia to have a great alpine holiday with the kids
The kids both said the day we just played in the snow was the most fun
We passed up the option to hire a toboggan – though would do it next time instead of forking out for a morning of snowboarding.
To get to Perisher, which has a designated area for toboggans, would have cost us $133 on the train, we also could have hired snow chains for as little as $25 and paid the $30 National Park fee.
Instead we went for $207-per-child snow gear rental and lift passes and a $350 snow gear and lift pass rental for myself at Thredbo.
I also opted for the private shuttle to pick us up and drop us home on the first day – which cost $364, as I wasn’t confident to head up myself. I drove myself the next day and would self-drive if I were to go up again.
After about four hours of snowboarding down the ‘mini hill’, which consisted of us walking up a slight slope and learning the basics, and two trips up the chair lift we were done with our boards.
We dropped them off and went for lunch at the pub-style restaurant – where we spent about $80 on hot chips, chicken strips, a serving of butter chicken and three drinks. I would definitely make the effort to pack lunch next time.
Snowboarding was interesting, though we wouldn’t work it into the budget next time
The cabins at both Jindabyne, left, and Narooma, right, were super clean and comfortable
The rest of the day was spent having fun in the snow, before we headed back down the hill at 3pm, everyone thoroughly exhausted. We got Thai at the restaurant adjacent to the caravan park which cost about $60.
We drove up the hill to Thredbo on the second day, paying the $30 National Park fee, and hiring snow chains which we didn’t end up using. There is a steep fine for cars which don’t have the chains, so hiring some is a must if you plan to drive.
Buses head up the hill on weekends, a return trip costs $23 for adults and $12 for children.
This was a much cheaper day and the kids said it was their favourite. We went for the Winter Wonderland pass at Thredbo. This gives access to the roller coaster, Gondola and access to the village’s pool and gym facilities.
For myself, a ten-year-old and a five-year-old this was just $149 and provided entertainment for most of the day.
The kids loved the roller coaster, though each pass only allows one ride. Additional rides can be purchased at the ski counter.
The kids loved paddle boarding and for $30-per-hour the boards were affordable
They also loved these peddle cars – we had them for about two hours at $5-per-30-minutes
They also loved the Gondola, which can be ridden all day. We got off at a few of the stops, compared the snow and the view and then kept going.
We built a snowman, made snow angels and practiced sliding for hours before heading back toward the village.
I brought the left over Thai for lunch and sat at the tables by the river to eat it – the kids ended up hanging out here for hours having an amazing snowball fight.
We then splurged on a hot chocolate (about $17 for the three of us) and headed back down the hill, this time with maps tracked on the Discovery Park in Narooma.
The kids slept the whole way – which was great because then they had energy to explore the incredible playground at the new caravan park.
The caravan park is on the beach which impressed the kids
The playground is new – and the kids were thrilled with it – they could have spent days playing here
The park opens up to the beach, has a series of bike tracks, an inflatable pillow and a playground which attracts attention from the road.
The park’s budget cabins are about $99 per night – we opted for the deluxe option which was $169 and huge.
It had a full-sized laundry, kitchen and bathroom. A large living area and dining area and two bedrooms, one with a Queen bed and the other with two sets of bunks.
The staff were very helpful and pointed out loads of fun things for us to do while we were there – including hiring the pedal karts which proved a hit.
The karts cost $5 for half an hour and we had two for about two hours.
On Friday I took the kids to the harbour where I taught them to paddle board.
Board hire is $30 for an hour, we hired two and then fueled up with a hot chocolate each afterwards.
The rest of the day ran away from us as we explored the caravan park and beach and made the most of the play equipment.
We had sausage sandwiches for dinner, using food we brought with us, though I noted Woolworths was only a few minutes away.
We packed up on the Saturday morning and declared we would be back again, probably with the dog as it is a dog-friendly site.
It is a five-hour drive so we had Maccas for lunch which cost about $25.
The trip made me reconsider my views on caravan parks – I remember them being a bit crusty when I was a kid.
But the two Discovery One parks I went to were exceptional.
They were very clean and well kept, they felt safe and because they are family-focused environments I didn’t feel the need to shush the kids as they went tearing from one play area to the other.
Including fuel, accommodation, food we bought out and activities out four-day mini-break for three cost $2282 or $190 each per day.
This could have been cut down further, if I had opted for standard cabins and the cheaper first-day snow experience. Which I think the kids would have preferred anyway.
Without the lift passes and deluxe cabin the trip would have cost $972 or just $81-per-day.
The price at the caravan parks do fluctuate depending on timing and availability – and are cheaper at off-peak or shoulder times and through the week.
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