Things To Do in Bendigo With Kids
Bendigo is the fourth largest city in Victoria. It is located approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes north of Melbourne making it a great day trip from Melbourne or perfect family getaway.
Bendigo is one of Australia’s most historical cities. It was a former Gold Rush town in the 1800s, due to the fact that gold was abundant in the city.
It is a city full of history, culture, historical buildings, great food and a huge variety of family-friendly attractions. Here are the best things to do in Bendigo with kids.
Central Deborah Gold Mine
Location: 76 Violet Street, Bendigo VIC 3550, Australia
Business hours: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm, daily
Bendigo is well-known for its gold mines and gold mining history. The gold rush boom transformed Bendigo from a quiet town to being Victoria’s 4th largest city. The Central Deborah Gold Mine is one of 5,500 registered gold mines that once operated in Bendigo. The Central Deborah Gold Mine operated from 1939-1954. Throughout this time almost 1 tonne of gold was successfully extracted. Today you can explore the mine for yourself.
The Central Deborah Gold Mine offers 4 gold underground experiences:
Explore the surface Tour:
This tour can be done by people of all ages so it is suitable for if you have young children. Entry is free but you will need to book a ticket. This tour won’t let you go in the mine but you will be able to indulge in a birds eye view of Bendigo and have a look at the original equipment used when the mine was operational.
The Mine Experience Tour:
In this tour put on your hardhat and travel 61 meters underground where you can see the conditions of gold miners back in the day and discover how the gold was extracted. Note that children need to be 3 years or over to do the Mine Experience Tour, so this activity is better suited to families with older children.
Underground Adventure:
The Underground Adventure Tour is targeted at more adventurous visitors aged 8 years and over. The tour takes you 85 meters underground and includes a traditional miners lunch.
Nine Levels of Darkness:
This tour is available for visitors aged 14 years and over. If you’re brave enough to travel 228 meters underground to the original miner’s cage. This tour also includes a traditional miners lunch.
Prices vary depending on the tour you do and whether or not you are a concession cardholder. See here for detailed ticket prices.
Discovery Science and Technology Centre
Location: 7 Railway Place, Bendigo VIC 3550, Australia
Business hours: 10 am – 4:00 pm, Tuesdays to Sundays; closed on Mondays
The Discovery Science and Technology Centre is loaded with interactive, educational exhibits. It is the perfect balance of fun and educational. Here are some of the many exhibits The Bendigo Discovery Science and Technology Centre has to offer:
Bendigo Planetarium:
20-minute astronomy shows broadcast at the Bendigo Planetarium 2 times per day at 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Vertical slide:
This slide is in fact The Southern Hemisphere’s tallest Vertical slide! Children must be over 5 years of age to ride. Riders will travel 30-40km per hour down a 7-metre drop. It’s a fun way to learn how gravity works!
Echo Chamber:
Kids will love learning about how echos work and experimenting with different echos and sound in the Echo Chamber.
The Discovery Science and Technology Centre has many, many more exhibits and things to do. It’s definitely something to add to your Bendigo bucket list.
Family tickets ( 2 adults and up to 4 children) are $54. Otherwise Adult tickets are $16 or $13.50 for concession cardholders. Kids aged 5-16 are $11.50, kids aged 3-4 are $5 and children under 3 are free.
The Zone Fun Park
Location: 1 Gildea Ln, East Bendigo VIC 3550, Australia
Business hours: 9:30 am to 7:30 pm, daily
The Zone Fun Park is a family fun centre with activities such as arcade games, go-karts, laser tag, paintball,mini-golf and a whole lot more.
Skate Zone:
Kids and adults can get their toes up gliding along the rollerblading track. There is always music playing to keep the atmosphere up.
The Kombat Zone:
The Kombat Zone is a paintball centre. Children as young as 10 can participate in junior paintball and there is also regular paintball for people over the age of 16.
Laser Zone:
Large laser tag zone with smoke, sound effects and lasers for children over 4 years old to play in.
Kart Zone:
There are 2 go-kart tracks at The Zone fun park. Race and bump other players to the finish line in either the indoor or outdoor go-kart track. Junior carts go up to 50kmoh while senior karts go up to 60kmph!
Golf Zone:
18 hole mini-golf course to challenge people of all ages and test your golf skills.
The Zone Fun Park indeed offers a wide variety of activities adults and kids cannot get enough of. There is plenty there for the whole family.
Prices vary but you can visit their website for ticket prices.
Ride the Bendigo Talking Tram
Location: 1 Tramways Avenue, Bendigo VIC 3550, Australia
Business hours: 10:00 am – 4:30 pm, daily
Trams aren’t exclusive to Melbourne. Explore Bendigo by riding a historic tram.
The historic tram is a great way to get around and explore the local attractions. If your kids are used to being in cars, a tram ride will be a novelty to them.
Whether you will be in Bendigo for a few days or just spare hours along the way, the Bendigo Tramways provide you with a brief tour of Bendigo’s historical sites, monuments, and an overview of the landmarks of the city. The Bendigo talking tram can be caught from Central, Lake Weeroona, Bendigo Joss House Temple, Alexandra Fountain, or the Deborah Gold Mine.
Enjoy hopping in and out of the vintage trams, get to hop out along the way, and experience shopping, eating, and taking snaps of the heritage sites the Bendigo way. You can even tag your pets along as the Bendigo Tramways is pet-friendly, and get to have a perfect day for the fur-parents out there.
Ticket prices are available here.
Big Bendi WaterSlide
Location: Watson Street, Bendigo VIC 3550, Australia
Business hours: 10:00 pm – 7:00 pm, weekends only
You heard it right, Bendigo also has a big water slide that your family can ride on. The Big Bendi WaterSlide is open to all ages so you can experience sliding into the various pools with gigantic water slides you can never get tired of.
The Big Bendi WaterSlide is a park located in the midst of an Ironbark Forest so everyone can enjoy a tropical touch while splashing around. It also offers a kiddie pool, a picnic area for a barbecue. Parents can even enjoy some alone time over a beer (alcohol is allowed but strictly no glass). While it may be just another typical water theme park, the facilities are very convenient, with a wide car park area so you can have an easier time setting in with your family. Another thing, the Big Bendi WaterSlide is just 7 minutes away from central Bendigo. A quick weekend getaway with your family, why not?
If you’re not sliding and just supervising, entry is free! A full list of ticket prices can be found here.
Bendigo Pottery
Location: 146 Midland Highway, Epsom VIC 3551 Australia
Business hours: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, daily
Bendigo is also a city full of culture as well as its historical hotspots. Bendigo Pottery has been operating for more than 150 years.
Get your hands dirty while sculpting (or trying to sculpt) the pot of your dreams. There are no wrong shapes and styles; you can always scuplt different clay designs and bring the best out of your finished product.
Australia’s oldest working pottery also includes demonstrations, hands-on activities, and clay interpretative displays for the whole family to enjoy.
Long Gully Splash Park
Location: 14-38 Creeth Street, Long Gully VIC 3550 Australia
Long Gully Splash Park is a free splash park with a dry play area. It is a depth free water play area so you won’t need to worry if you have young children who cannot swim.
Anyone can manually operate the water features in the park, with the touchpads to activate the splash equipment which runs in 16 cycles every 4 minutes.
The park is also great for hosting a party or BBQ and there is no need to bring those bulky tables and chairs anymore as they have shaded seating areas and picnic tables to enjoy. For colder days, there is a basketball area and a dry playground. It’s just a simple playground, however, your kids would definitely enjoy visiting the park.
Golden Dragon Museum
Location: 1/11 Bridge St, Bendigo VIC 3550
During The Gold Rush, there was a huge influx of Chinese migration to Bendigo. The Golden Dragon Museum is dedicated to Chinese Australians and showcases how Chinese people have assimilated into Australian culture throughout the years.
Of course, you do not need to have a Chinese heritage to visit and enjoy the museum.
This museum has a temple dedicated to Kuan Yin as well as Chinese gardens for guests to enjoy.
Bendigo Farmers Market
Breen St &, Belle Vue Rd, Golden Square VIC 3555 (weekend market)
The Good Loaf Sourdough Bakery, 404 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo 3550 (Thursdays 2-4:30 PM for the midweek market)
This is a great place to try fresh local produce and cuisine not to mention a great place to support local farmers and our rural economy. The weekend market is open every second Saturday of each month between 9 am and 11 pm.
From theme parks, gardens, waterparks, museums and markets Bendigo has it all. Bendigo is a region full of wonders and fascinating experiences.
Best accommodation in Bendigo:
Looking for accommodation in Bendigo for your trip? See some of the best accommodation in Bendigo here:
