Great Summer Travel Escapes: Ballarat, Australia

If you are looking for a great place to take your family this summer for vacation, set your travel plans for Ballarat, Australia. Ballarat is on the southern end of Australia, not too awfully far from Melbourne in the state of Victoria. What is so cool about Ballarat is that it has something for everyone in the entire family, and enough to keep you busy for a good week or more.

If you are driving into Ballarat from the Melbourne airport, the first stop you will want to make is going to be Kryal Castle on the outskirts of town. there is a big billboard marking the turn-off so you can't miss it if you are paying any attention at all. This is not a true Medieval castle, the guy who built it had dreamed of owning such a castle since his childhood. He went off and made his fortune with import-exports and came back to build Kryal Castle in the early 1970s. Apparently the townsfolk of Ballarat fought against this 3-million dollar project, but he went on with it anyway. Today Kryal Castle is a bustling tourist attraction complete with rooms full of Medieval weaponry, armor, models of ships, a great gift shop, costumed shows, and even a huge statue of Sir George and his dragon. Entry is about 20au.

Inside the town of Ballarat you will find their main claim to fame: Sovereign Hill. At this tourist attraction the whole family can pan for gold, take a tour through an actual gold mine, have a game of old fashioned bowling, watch wonderful street musicians & other performers, watch the copper smith make pans and stuff... it is just a full day of oohing and awing. Ballarat is the site of Australia's gold rush in the 1850s, and Sovereign Hill is dedicated to recreating that exciting time in Australian history. If you get hungry, there are several places to eat within the complex from cheap touristy junk to fine restaurants, and they even have a hotel inside the property if you want to stay for the really cool shows they have at night. I'm not sure how much the hotel runs per night, but entrance to Sovereign Hill is $33.50au ($16au for kids.)