Mallacoota Family Holiday: Houses and Days for Big Groups

Hammond Properties looks after 17 holiday homes in Mallacoota. Two of them suit big groups:

• South Gateway House sleeps 13 and works for big groups or two families together. It has a fenced yard and water views, and it takes dogs.
• Blue Bird is the other big-group house. It's about 4.5 km out of town, with water views, and it doesn't take dogs.

If the youngest ones need somewhere safe to run, seven houses have a fully fenced yard:

• Pheeney Place
• Vista Views
• Blue Waters
• Lacy's Place
• 27 Mirrabooka Rd
• South Gateway Unit
• South Gateway House

Also worth knowing: every house except Four on Stingray Point has air conditioning. 15 of the 17 houses have room to park a boat; Lacy's Place and Vista Views don't. 15 of the 17 take dogs, up to two per booking with no size limit, so the family dog can come too. More on that in our guide to dog-friendly stays in Mallacoota.

An easy day out starts at the Main Wharf. The inlet shallows near the wharf are calm and shallow, the best spot for little ones, and the sandy banks of Coulls Inlet nearby have calm, shallow water for splashing about. There's a playground on the foreshore near the wharf.

Kids can fish off the jetties and the Main Wharf, in sheltered water with no boat needed, so a grandparent with a rod and a grandchild with a bucket can both have a go.

The foreshore path is paved and flat, good for prams and scooters. The beach walks, the coastal walk and the lake foreshore all suit children and bikes.

Betka Beach is about five minutes' drive south of town along Betka Road. It's where the Betka River meets the sea. When the river mouth is closed, the lagoon is shallow and still, which suits small children. The ocean side has surf, rocks and currents, so check beachsafe.org.au before anyone swims there.

There's a grassy area, picnic tables, gas barbecues and toilets, so it works for a long lunch with the whole group. The Betka Beach loop track is an easy walk of about 2.2 km with river, heath and ocean views. Our Betka Beach guide has the rest.

A barbie boat is a good fit. Mallacoota Barbie Boats' barbie boats are stable and suit families and groups of all ages, you don't need a licence to drive one, and they have to stay inside the inlet. If nobody wants to drive, Mallacoota Cruises runs lake cruises, scenic cruises and eco tours aboard the M.V. Loch-Ard, which dates from about 1910.

Prices are for a half day (4 hours) and a full day (8 hours).

Mallacoota Barbie Boats is run by Grant "Gutsy" Shorland through Scallywags, and enquiries go through scallywagsmallacoota.com.au/barbieboats. Mallacoota Hireboats is at 10 Buckland Drive, open seven days, 7:30am to 6pm; phone 0474 818 058. Our barbie boats guide compares the two, and the boat hire guide covers everything else on the water.

Mallacoota has a public library at the Foreshore Caravan Park office. It's handy on a wet day.

For ideas by age, see our guides for toddlers and young kids and school-age kids.