3 of the best 7-day Queensland family road trips along the coast

Day 1 - Brisbane to Hervey Bay

Pop the kids in the car and punch Hervey Bay into the sat nav. Not only is this where humpback whales come to birth their calves in warm Queensland waters from June to November, but Australia’s largest sand island sits just off its coastline too.

You’ll find an array of caravan parks calling Hervey Bay home, and once you have settled on just one, spend the afternoon wandering the long stretches of beach that encircle the bay. The kids will love herding the bright blue soldier crabs across miles of shallow sandbanks or play with new friends until dark at beachside playgrounds.

Dinner can be as simple as a steaming parcel of fresh fish and chips from Maddigan's Seafood or get a bit fancy at Enzo’s on the Beach – you’re on holidays after all.

Day 2 - Hervey Bay

Join one of several whale watching tours where the kids can spot dolphins and whales (June to November) or spend the day fishing off a hundred-year-old jetty. You could also just do what you did yesterday, the kids won’t mind one little bit.

Day 3-6 - K'gari (Fraser Island)

Cruise across the Sandy Straits to World Heritage Listed K'gari (Fraser Island), which also happens to be the world's largest sand island too. If you're a 4WD enthusiast, BYO wheels across on the barge, you can then opt to camp out on the beach or check in to one of the family-friendly resorts or holiday homes dotted around the island.

Join a tour, or curate your own adventure - the choice is yours, but be sure to dip into the crystal clear waters of Lake McKenzie, slide down the dunes into Lake Waddy or float the day away in Eli Creek. Your water babies will love this trilogy.

For a good look around the country of the Butchella people, and to learn more about their fascinating culture and history, join one of the tours departing from Kingfisher Bay Resort daily.

A few rules to follow: know the tides, keep food securely stored away and keep an eye on the kids. Dingoes roam freely on K'gari and while beautiful to see in their natural habitat, they are predators and therefore need to be respected as such.

Day 7 - Hervey Bay to Brisbane

Return to Brisbane after a week the kids would surely count as one of their favourite holidays of all time.

Road Trip 2: Yeppoon and Great Keppel Island

8 hours drive from Brisbane (655 km)

Day 1 - Brisbane to Bundaberg 

4 hr 15 min (360 km)

Hit the road early on route to Bundaberg. Treat the kids with a stop at Tinaberries for some of their famous strawberry ice-cream before continuing to Splitters Farm, a sprawling 160-acre bush oasis where kids can run wild and free. Book a campsite, or choose one of the glamping tents beside the creek. There's swimming, fishing and kayaking to try and a menagerie of rescued farm animals to meet, feed and even cuddle.

Day 2 - Bundaberg to Yeppoon

4 hr 5 min (330 km)

Follow the Pacific Way to Yeppoon, just north of Rockhampton, where you’ll find a choice of seaside caravan parks stretching from Emu Park through to Cooee Bay Beach. The kids will love the chance to check out the Yeppoon Lagoon, a 2500 square-metre resort-style pool fronting the foreshore with an infinity-edge overlooking breathtaking views and the Keppel Islands. Entry is free and is patrolled Monday to Sunday including Public Holidays. Nearby you’ll find playgrounds and BBQ’s if you want to watch the sun set and stay for dinner.

Day 3-5 - Great Keppel Island

Join either Keppel Konnections or Freedom Fast Cats for a swift 30-minute cruise to Great Keppel Island from Rosslyn Bay Harbour. On arrival, you’ll feel like you have stepped into paradise with soft sand dusting your feet and water the colour of the sky begging you to hop right in.

With a choice of family-friendly accommodation, you can kick back and relax, swim or snorkel fringing reefs, drift through clouds of fish and perhaps - spot a few turtles too. Afterwards, there are coves and rocky outcrops to explore, or take a walk through the island's forested interior and later enjoy dinner by the sea.

Day 6 - Yeppoon to Agnes Water

3 hours (265 km)

Ease your way south to Agnes Water where you can enjoy your final night nestled beside the ocean, rock hopping the headlands or catching the waves rolling off the first break outside the Southern Great Barrier Reef's protective embrace. A drive to 1770 will reveal postcard-perfect coastal views from the Headlands Lookout on Captain Cook Drive.

The kids will enjoy a pop into the Paperbark Forest, a magical 400 metre short circuit boardwalk winding beneath a thicket of paperbarks and lush cabbage tree palms.

Day 7 - Agnes Water to Brisbane

5 hours and 20 minutes (480 km)

Start early for a decent drive back but before you travel too far up the highway, stock up on famous mud crab (in season) sandwiches at the Big Crab found at Miriam Vale Shell service station. Make them last until Gympie, (279.9 km) away, your reward will be pulling up at the Lake Alford Recreation Park where playgrounds will delight the kids and tables double as perfect places to munch mud crab sangas.

Road Trip 3: Brisbane to Whitsundays

12 hr 30 mins (1100 km)

While doable over seven days, you will be doing a fair bit of driving, but totally worth it when you reach one of Australia’s favourite holiday spots - The Whitsundays. Here's how it’s done.

Day 1 - Brisbane to Agnes Water

5 hours and 20 minutes (480 km)

Leave Brisbane early and stop at Gympie for a Beefy’s pie to keep the grumbling travel tummies satisfied and stop again at Miriam Vale for fuel and a famous crab sandwich. You’ll nudge your way into Agnes Water Beach Holiday Park before sunset so the kids can have a swim or and surf while you fire up the BBQ for dinner. Get an early night as its a big drive tomorrow.

Day 2 - Agnes Water to Airlie Beach

7 hours and 50 minutes (700 km) 

Tempt the kids to rise really early with the promise of cinnamon pancake stacks at Cafe Bliss in Rockhampton and get an early start. After pancakes and the obligatory photo in front of the Tropic of Capricorn spire and alongside one of the giant bulls (Rocky being the beef capital of Queensland and all) hit the road for Sarina.

The drive north from here is a long stretch, but there's a sweet treat waiting at Sarina Sugar Shed that will charge any flagging energy levels, so hop on the one hour tour to learn the history of Mackay’s sweetest export while you sample raw sugar, sip fresh sugar cane juice and let the kids loose on the fairy floss. You’ll all float the remaining 2.5-hour drive onto Airlie Beach after turning off at Proserpine before checking in for the night at to the family friendly Big4 Adventure Resort Whitsundays

Day 3 - Airlie Beach

Spend the day relaxing by the pool while the kids hit the 13 waterslides, have a spin on the go-carts, a few rounds of mini golf, jump on the giant pillows, play at the playground and feed the friendly onsite farm animals. This is kid heaven and they won’t want to leave, but if you can get them off the water slides, explore Airlie Beach’s vibrant main street, have a swim at the free Airlie Beach Lagoon or enjoy a few chilled cocktails overlooking the ocean at beautiful Coral Sea Resort Hotel. It’s your holiday too right?

Day 4 - Great Barrier Reef

Today is all about the reef, and once your depart on your Cruise Whitsundays Hardy Reef adventure, you’ll see why the Whitsundays are so acclaimed, as you pass by emerald green islands pin-dropped in sapphire seas. You’ll spend the day snorkelling surrounded by clouds of rainbow-coloured fish and see first hand the incredible diversity of the Great Barrier Reef and its flourishing coral gardens. The kids will be in their element.

There's a safe swimming/snorkelling zone and a ride in the semi submersible if they are not keen on getting in the water, so they can still marvel at the reef.

Day 5 - Whitehaven Beach

Back it up with another of the regions famous water based adventures: a visit to Whitsunday Island, the largest of the 74 islands in the Whitsunday and home to the postcard perfect Whitehaven Beach. Watch the beguiling blue waters swirl through Hill Inlet before enjoying lunch on board and then basking in the sun on blindingly beautiful white silica sand spanning 7km of Whitehaven Beach, regularly awarded one of the best beaches in the world.

Day 6 - Airlie Beach to Yeppoon via Cape Hillsborough

5 hours and 20 minutes (500 km) 

Rise earlier than the sun to drive 1.5 hours to wake up with the resident Wallabies at Cape Hillsborough, one of Australia’s most iconic experiences. The kids will sleep in the car on route, but once there will revel in the chance to have breakfast beside some fabulous furry friends. Travel onwards to Yeppoon where you’ll have time for a swim in the free Yeppoon Lagoon Pool and watch the sun set over the Keppel Islands before settling into your accomodation for the night.

Day 7 - Yeppoon to Brisbane

7 hours and 40 minutes (660 km)

It’s a long drive back to Brisbane, so take your time with plenty of stops along the way, refresh regularly and if you don’t feel like making it all the way through, why not stop for a few nights in Noosa, or Caloundra - the beauty of a Queensland road trip is there are always plenty of places to stop along the way.

Fancy a family road trip in the outback to meet some dinosaurs? Check out the Overlanders Way road trip.