Family-Friendly Hotels in Coffs Harbour: Where to Stay
For a family in Coffs Harbour, the choice comes down to one question: do you want to walk to the Big Banana, or sleep in town, a short drive from Park Beach, the only beach in the city patrolled every day of the year? Country 2 Coast Motor Inn sits next door to the Big Banana on the Pacific Highway. CBD Motor Inn and Quality Hotel City Centre put you in the centre. Club Wyndham Coffs Harbour Terraces is a resort at 6 Resort Drive in Pacific Bay, on the coast north of the Big Banana, and Comfort Inn Premier, on Bellingen Road, has a children's playground in about 2.5 acres of grounds. The five stays average 8.2 out of 10 across more than 7,000 guest reviews; three have a pool, one of them open only in the warm season.
Coffs Harbour is a road-trip town on the NSW North Coast: the Big Banana on the highway, a working harbour with its long timber jetty, Muttonbird Island at the end of the breakwall, and surf beaches running north of the centre. Most families arrive by car, but NSW TrainLink XPT trains stop here daily and the town has its own airport.
Big Banana, beaches or the centre
Coffs Harbour sits on the Pacific Highway, about six hours' drive north of Sydney and about four hours south of Brisbane, which is why so many families stop here for a few nights on a coastal road trip. The trick is to pick the base that matches your days: theme-park mornings, patrolled-beach afternoons, or a walk out to Muttonbird Island.
The Big Banana Fun Park is at 351 Pacific Highway, about 5 km north of the city centre, and Country 2 Coast Motor Inn is next door at number 353. For families that matters more than it sounds: the park has a water park, a toboggan, an ice skating rink, mini golf, laser tag and a 4D ride simulator, so children tend to want more than one session. Sleeping next door lets you split the park into a morning and a late afternoon, with a rest at the motel pool in between, instead of driving across town twice.
Not every beach in Coffs is watched every day, and this is the detail most families miss. Park Beach is patrolled every day of the year: council lifeguards cover it, with the local surf life saving club taking weekends and public holidays from the September to the April school holidays. Diggers Beach, the closest beach to the Big Banana, has lifeguards only during the NSW school holidays of September and October, December and January, and April. Jetty Beach is patrolled only at the peak of summer. Outside those weeks I would swim at Park Beach, between the red and yellow flags.
CBD Motor Inn on Grafton Street and Quality Hotel City Centre on Elizabeth Street are the two stays for families arriving without a car or wanting restaurants within walking distance. Quality Hotel City Centre has an outdoor pool, but it is seasonal: on a winter stay, do not count on it to fill an afternoon. Destination NSW also lists electric vehicle charging there. CBD Motor Inn has no pool, but its 8.5 score from more than 1,100 reviews is one of the strongest on this page, and the centre keeps Park Beach and the Jetty a short drive away.
The free outing I would plan for every family is Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve. From the Yacht Club car park, the walk along the harbour breakwall and over the island is about 3 km return; the island section alone is about 1.2 km, with a steep climb to the top. The track crosses a colony of more than 5,500 breeding pairs of wedge-tailed shearwaters, in their burrows from August to late April, and ends at a whale-watching platform over the Solitary Islands Marine Park. NSW National Parks asks visitors to stay on the track to protect the burrows.
Club Wyndham Coffs Harbour Terraces is at 6 Resort Drive, in the Pacific Bay resort precinct, a short walk from Charlesworth Bay Beach. Wyndham lists three pools, a nine-hole golf course and a children's play area. It has the highest score of the five, 8.8, but from only 120 reviews, so I treat it as promising rather than proven. Comfort Inn Premier, on Bellingen Road on the southern side of town, is the motel I would choose with toddlers: its playground sits in about 2.5 acres of park-like grounds, and its 7.5 score rests on more than 600 reviews.
Coffs Harbour works all year, but the sea and the crowds follow the calendar. In July the water averages about 21°C, fine for adults and cool for small children, and the seasonal outdoor pool at Quality Hotel City Centre is then a poor bet, so a winter stay leans on the Big Banana and the walks. The NSW school holidays tell you when families pour in: those are the only weeks the council puts lifeguards on Diggers Beach, and, from late December to late January, on Emerald Beach further north.
A traveler's takeWith children under ten and a car, I would book Country 2 Coast Motor Inn: walking to the Big Banana and back to a pool is worth more than any view, and its 7.7 score comes from more than 4,000 reviews, the widest base of opinion on this page. With teenagers who want to roam, I would sleep in the centre at Quality Hotel City Centre, for the cafés within walking distance, knowing its pool is seasonal. For a beach-first holiday outside the school holidays, I would avoid both the Big Banana motel and Pacific Bay: Diggers Beach is then unpatrolled, and Park Beach is a drive from each. The Pier Hotel Coffs Harbour is adults-only, which is why it is not on this list.
Family-friendlyClub Wyndham Coffs Harbour Terraces
★4.4Family-friendly accommodation with a pool, restaurant, and balconies near Diggers Beach
Why guests love itClub Wyndham Coffs Harbour Terraces suits families who want a resort base within walking distance of Diggers Beach. Family rooms have air conditioning, private bathrooms, and balconies or terraces, and the outdoor pool and garden give children a place to burn energy. A restaurant, bar, minimarket and coffee shop sit on site. Guests rate it 8.8 across 120 reviews. Our editorial advice: book a terrace room for evening meals outdoors, and walk to the beach in the morning.
Family-friendlyCBD Motor Inn
★4.3Family-friendly stay with fitness centre and parking in Coffs Harbour
Why guests love itCBD Motor Inn in Coffs Harbour is a three-star, family-friendly motor inn with air-conditioned rooms and private bathrooms. There is a fitness centre, free WiFi and free on-site parking, and its central position gives easy access to local attractions and water sports. An 8.5 score from 1,114 reviews is good, and I would choose it as a simple, central base for a family trip.
Family-friendlyQuality Hotel City Centre
★4.3Family-friendly stay with a pool, fitness centre, and free parking in Coffs Harbour
Why guests love itQuality Hotel City Centre in Coffs Harbour keeps things practical for families: a seasonal outdoor pool, a fitness centre, a bar, free WiFi, free on-site parking and laundry facilities. It is a comfortable base rather than a resort, which suits a few nights of exploring the area. I like the parking and laundry for anyone arriving by car with children, and the 8.5 score from 1,272 reviews backs it up.
Family-friendlyCountry 2 Coast Motor Inn Coffs Harbour
★3.9Family-friendly motor inn with a pool, tennis, and pet-friendly options
Why guests love itThis is a motor inn for families and pet owners who want a practical road-trip base. There is a swimming pool and a tennis court on site, which is generous for the category. Rooms are air-conditioned with cable TV, and some have a balcony or a spa bath. The Big Banana is about 100 metres away and Diggers Beach is a short walk. Guests rate it 7.7 from over 4,000 reviews, so expect comfortable rather than polished.
Family-friendlyComfort Inn Premier
★3.8Family-friendly stay with playground and barbecue on park-like grounds
Why guests love itComfort Inn Premier in Coffs Harbour sits on 2.5 acres of park-like grounds with a children's playground and a barbecue area. All rooms are on the ground floor, air-conditioned, with a flat-screen TV and refrigerator, and some have kitchenettes. Jetty Beach is a short drive away and the city centre is 700 metres off. A 7.5 score from 639 reviews is modest, so I would choose it for the grounds and easy access with children.
Local tips
- 1Outside the school holidays, swim at Park Beach: it is the only beach in Coffs Harbour patrolled every day of the year, by council lifeguards and, at weekends in the warm season, the surf club.
- 2At Country 2 Coast Motor Inn, walk to the Big Banana rather than drive: the motel is at 353 Pacific Highway and the fun park at number 351.
- 3Plan the Muttonbird Island walk between August and late April if you want to see the shearwaters at their burrows; the rest of the year the colony is away on migration.
- 4Bring binoculars for the whale-watching platform at the end of the Muttonbird Island track, which looks out over the Solitary Islands Marine Park.
- 5Travelling with a grandparent or a child with limited mobility, use Jetty Beach: the council has an accessible beach ramp there and lends beach wheelchairs free of charge.
- 6Without a car, sleep at CBD Motor Inn or Quality Hotel City Centre: NSW TrainLink XPT trains stop at Coffs Harbour daily and the centre keeps restaurants within walking distance.
- 7Before a Diggers Beach day near the Big Banana, check the council's patrol schedule: lifeguards are there only in the NSW school holidays of September and October, December and January, and April.