Family Cycling Trips: 4 Reasons Why Your Family Should Take One

For active families, a cycling holiday should be high on the list of ways to explore Australia. Kids love cycling. You can cover greater distances than on foot, and even the most challenging hills can be conquered with the right gear and the promise of chocolate as an incentive.

Cycling as a family promotes a positive, healthy lifestyle and often sees children biking well into their adult years. If you are new to the world of family cycling, you will be surprised how quickly everyone adapts. Kids are resilient and have plenty of energy, so it is often the parents who need the most convincing.

There are many family-friendly cycling trip opportunities in Australia with gentle gradients, shorter daily distances and traffic-free trails. A family cycling holiday is not an all-day grind either. There are plenty of opportunities to stop for local ice cream, visit a gallery or museum, or simply take the day off and relax on the beach.

1. Get Everyone Outdoors

A family cycling holiday offers the chance to explore Australia's landscapes and connect fully with the environment around you. You will remember every headland and develop a real sense of the land you are riding through. Fresh air, time away from screens and lasting memories: it is hard to see any downside when you choose the right trail.

2. Great for Fitness

Family cycling holidays are great for health and fitness, encouraging everyone to be active regardless of age, ability or fitness level. Younger children can ride on a tag-along, while older kids develop a healthy competitive spirit trying to keep up with their parents (or, in our experience, the other way around). Just keep the routes manageable in terms of hills and distance and everyone will thrive.

3. Learn About Different Australian Regions

Cycling is an unforgettable way to travel through Australia's most beautiful landscapes. You will discover world-famous natural landmarks, cultural sites and the history of a region at a pace that allows it all to sink in. On a self-guided family cycling trip, you can linger as long as you like when the kids show an interest. Slowing down to cycling pace is remarkable for what children notice and absorb along the way.

4. Spend Quality Time Together

When the kids are happy and the parents are delighted that everyone is engaged with something healthy, the good times really do roll. A family cycling holiday offers genuine quality time together, and you will also meet a wonderful variety of people along the way, including other families with similar interests. The secret to a great family cycling trip is enjoying activities off the trail too, and places like the NSW South Coast and the Rail Trails of Victoria offer plenty of them, from train museums to kayaking and rock climbing.

>> View all family-friendly Australian cycling holidays

Will you be taking the family on a cycling adventure? Share your thoughts in the comments below.