School Holiday Activities in Geelong: A Local Parent's Guide
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The last week of term arrives, and suddenly there are six weeks of days to fill. If you're a Geelong parent juggling work, siblings and a budget, the summer break can feel less like a holiday and more like a logistics puzzle.
We run school holiday workshops at our Grovedale studio every break, so we hear from a lot of parents about what works and what doesn't. This guide pulls that together: free ideas around Geelong, options for days when the weather turns, and what to look for if you book a holiday program.
Start with a loose plan, not a packed one
Kids don't need something booked every day. Most families we talk to settle into a rhythm that looks something like this:
Two or three "anchor" activities a week that are booked and paid for
A couple of free outings close to home
At least one slow day with nothing planned at all
Anchors give the week shape, especially if you're working. The slow days stop everyone running out of steam by the second week of January.
One more tip: book your anchors early. Summer programs across Geelong fill quickly, and the spots that suit working parents tend to go first.
Free and low-cost ideas around Geelong
Geelong is a good town for cheap days out. A few reliable ones:
Eastern Beach and the waterfront. Swimming, picnics and a walk along the foreshore. An easy default for a warm day.
Geelong Botanic Gardens. Shade, space to run around and plenty of picnic spots.
The Barwon River. The shared paths suit scooters and bikes, and Buckley Falls makes a good short walk.
Your local library. Geelong Regional Libraries run events for kids, so check their program before the break starts.
Council and tourism listings. The City of Greater Geelong and Visit Geelong & Bellarine both publish school holiday pages each break. They're the quickest way to find one-off events near you.
Indoor options for hot or wet days
Geelong summers swing between scorchers and cool, windy days. It helps to have a few indoor ideas ready:
A slow morning at one of central Geelong's galleries or museums
An indoor pool session
An indoor play centre for younger kids
A booked activity that burns energy, so the afternoon at home is calmer
That last one matters more than people expect. A morning spent climbing, flipping and balancing leads to a very different afternoon than a morning spent on a tablet.
What to look for in a holiday program
If you're booking a structured program, here's what we'd check, whatever the activity.
Group size. Smaller groups mean more coaching and more turns for your child. We cap every holiday session at 8 students.
Who's teaching. Ask about experience, Working With Children Checks and first aid. Our coaches are real circus artists, and every one of them holds a Working With Children Check and first aid.
Length. Some kids are happy all day. Others do better with a two or three hour block, which also leaves the rest of the day free for you.
Beginner friendly. Check whether your child needs any experience. Plenty of good programs are built for complete beginners.
Drop-off rules. Some programs let parents watch, others are drop and go. Knowing ahead of time saves a wobble at the door.
Circus holiday workshops at CircArts this summer
We run three kinds of holiday workshops for ages 6 to 17, all in our Grovedale studio with a maximum of 8 students per session.
Aerial Extravaganza is a three hour session on four aerial apparatus: lyra (aerial hoop), trapeze, silks and hammock. It suits complete beginners through to advanced students.
Acro workshops run for two hours. Acro for Beginners is the place to start. Kids with some acro, gymnastics or tumbling experience can book a skill workshop: Handspring, Backflip and Backsault, Walkover and Side Aerial, or Creative Tumbling.
Circus workshops also run for two hours. Circus Skills covers juggling, hoops, unicycle, balance and circus games, and there are separate hula hoop, juggling and unicycle sessions for kids who want to focus on one skill.
This summer, workshops run on weekdays from 21 to 24 December 2026 and from 4 to 27 January 2027. We're closed from 25 December to 1 January, and on Australia Day.
You can book a single day or save with a holiday pass. Passes are valid for one month from purchase, so they work well if you want to spread days across the break.
What to pack for a holiday workshop
A water bottle and a snack
Fitted activewear (loose clothing can catch on aerial equipment)
Bare feet or grip socks for aerial and acro
Closed-in shoes for circus workshops
Our workshops are drop and go, as there isn't room for parents to watch in the training space. We'll take it from there.
A sample week
Here's how one week might look for a family with a working parent and a nine year old:
Monday: Morning swim at Eastern Beach, quiet afternoon at home
Tuesday: Aerial Extravaganza at CircArts
Wednesday: Library visit and a picnic in the Botanic Gardens
Thursday: Acro for Beginners, then a play date
Friday: Bike ride along the Barwon and a pizza night
Two booked activities, three free ones and plenty of downtime. Repeat with a few changes each week and the summer starts to look a lot more manageable.
A note for Surf Coast and Bellarine families
Our studio is in Grovedale, in Geelong's south, so it's a short drive for families in Torquay, Armstrong Creek, Waurn Ponds and Highton. If you're coming from the Bellarine, the morning workshops pair well with a beach afternoon on the way home.
Book your holiday days
Summer spots go quickly, especially in the weeks after New Year. If your kids have been climbing the furniture, give them somewhere better to do it.
See dates and book school holiday workshops at CircArts
Questions first? Text us on 0489 082 643 or call 0420 211 844.