Best Things To Do In Dubbo With Kids

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It didn’t take the kids much to twist our arms and have us agree to take a road trip with their cousins to Dubbo in central west New South Wales, Australia.

It wasn’t the first destination that sprung to mind when I thought of family-friendly destinations in Australia, but as it turns out, there are plenty of things to do in Dubbo with kids. In fact, most of the attractions are family-friendly and cater to children.

If you’ve never been to Dubbo before, you’re in for a treat. With just 39,000 residents, it’s a tiny city, and known for its red earthy landscape. In fact, Dubbo translates to “red earth” or “misty” in aboriginal tongue, so you can imagine the kind of desolate, remote landscape it has.

It’s also just a 5 hour drive from Sydney, which makes it the perfect weekend getaway. In this guide, T and Leah have shared their top attractions in Dubbo so you can decide what to do on your visit.

Things To Do in Dubbo With Kids

1. Explore Taronga Western Plains Zoo

Without a doubt, Taronga Western Plains Zoo is the top attraction in the city and one of the best things to do in Dubbo with kids.

Spreading across 300 hectares of bushland and integrated grasslands, the zoo is home to over 700 animals from five of the world’s continents.

The large space provides ample room for animals to free roam – exactly how zoos should be!

Taronga Western Plains Zoo is an all weather location. Whether it’s sunny, overcast or drizzling with rain, I’m pretty certain the whole family will have a blast.

The free roaming enclosures mean that you can see each animal type in a near to natural habitat. It’s almost like seeing them in the wild!

You can see the lion pride, hippos, elephants, and even stop to watch keeper talks where you can learn all about the conservation efforts.

Dubbo zoo is structured around a 6-kilometre circuit which visitors can navigate by foot, bike, electric buggy or your own vehicle.

On our trip, we arrived early so we could snag an electric buggy, something all of the kids were super excited about.