The 2025 Easter holidays on the Gold Coast are set to be entertaining, adventurous and eggsellent fun! Check out the exceptional array of holiday activities from creative workshops, wildlife programs and outdoor fun to Easter Egg hunts, unique attractions, markets and more.
Easter Activities
HOTA's Mad Hatter Easter Bonnet Workshop and Parade
Come along to one of the Mad Hatter Bonnet Making Workshops at HOTA and create a whimsical headpiece fit for the zaniest of tea parties! Bring your own hat to decorate or build a paper hat from one of our templates and jazz it up in your own unique style! Then join in the parade to show off your fabulous creation!
Wear your Easter Bonnet (or dress up as your favourite character from Alice in Wonderland) and you’ll score a half-price ticket to HOTA Gallery’s major exhibition, Writer’s Revealed. This exclusive exhibition features handwritten manuscripts, letters and illustrations from some of the most well-known figures in literature, including Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland.
Date: Saturday April 19
Time: 10.30 - 11.30am and 12.30pm - 1.30pm.
Where: HOTA Gallery - 165 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise
Cost: $20
Easter in the Laneway - Cavill Lane Surfers Paradise
Cavill Lane will light up with eggciting Easter celebrations over the long weekend. Think free and fun activations, live music, good vibes, and Easter entertainment happening all across the weekend with face-painting, live music, roving Easter bunnies and more. There’s a free magic show by famous magician Matt Hollywood on Friday April 18th at 12.30pm - but get in quick! Seats are limited and will fill up fast. Make a day (or night!) of it, and enjoy delicious dining in the laneway’s restaurants to keep the Easter fun going.
Date: Friday April 18th - Sunday April 20
Time: Various times on each day.
Location: 3113 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise
Cost: Free
Easter Eggstravaganza Sanctuary Cove
Join in the annual Easter fun at Sanctuary Cove - a free, family-friendly event with pony rides, a petting zoo, craft, face painting and a visit from the Easter Bunny! The 102.9FM Hot Tomato Street Team will be there and an epic Easter hunt where you search for hidden code words around the Marine Village. Once you’ve found them all you can claim as Easter surprise and go in the running to win a Nintendo Switch. (Entrants need to register for the Easter Egg hunt.)
Date: Sunday April 20
Time: 10am - 2pm
Location: Sanctuary Cove, Hope Island
Cost: Free, but you need to register for the Easter Egg Hunt.
Easter Weekend at Southport Sharks
The long weekend means an extra helping of fun at Southport Sharks. It will be an action-packed celebration with free live entertainment and plenty of family-friendly good times. Kids will be delighted with free face painting, balloon art and a special Easter-themed show. Foodies will be thrilled with delicious eats, festive treats and buffet dining and there’ll be live music all weekend long.
Date: Thursday April 17 - Monday April 21
Time: Check the website for specific times each day
Location: Corner Olsen and Musgrave Ave, Southport
Have a Hoppy Easter at Paradise Centre
Hop on down the Paradise Centre at the beach end of Cavill Ave from April 14 - 20. Catch the Easter Bunny on his way around the centre sharing some sweet surprises and there’ll be free face-painting on Level 1 from 12pm - 4pm daily (excluding goof Friday). The holiday fun doesn’t stop there - keep the kids entertained with a visit to the world’s largest Timezone, Zone Bowling. Freak VR or Padlock’d Escape Room.
Date: April 14 - 20 (excluding good Friday)
Time: 12pm - 4pm each day.
Location: 2 Cavill Ave, Surfers Paradise
Free Holiday Activities
Broadbeach Bricks
Visitors can also contribute to the Epic Build – a giant LEGO Mech designed to explore the cosmos, and take part in the daily treasure hunt where participants search for hidden codes in the precinct for a chance to win prizes. Don’t miss this out-of-this-world LEGO adventure! NB: Workshops are free but registration is essential. Book now to avoid disappointment.
Date: Wednesday April 16 - Sunday April 20
Time: 10.30am - 2.30pm daily.
Location: Broadbeach Mall, Victoria Ave, Broadbeach
Cost: Free, but registration for workshops essential.
Movies Under the Stars
Time: From 5pm (movie starts at 7)
Location: Paradise Point Parklands
Cost: Free
Park Life
The Gold Coast has some epic parks and playgrounds where kids can run around, enjoy the outdoors and burn off some of that endless energy! Give them a spin on the playground at Broadwater Parklands Penninsula Playground, complete with four level spiral tower, glockenspiel, binoculars, telescopes, suspended nets, rope tunnels, enclosed slide, jumping mats, a carousel and more. Or if pirates are more your tribes pace, Pirate Park at Palm Beach Parklands is a creative playground where kids can climb, swing, slide and even walk the plank on a playground resembling a giant Pirate Ship. Fuel up at Dune Cafe nearby and bring your swimmers as the sparkling waters of Currumbin Creek are right alongside. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)
Little Nature Lovers
Date: April 8 - 17
Time: Various times
Location: Various locations around the Gold Coast
Cost: Most workshops are free, but some involve costs.
Art Roll
Gold Coast Markets
The Gold Coast Art and Craft Markets are held every Sunday. These beachside markets are always popular and change location each week, but wherever they are, it’s a great way to spend the morning browsing stalls in the sunshine and snacking on the delicious fare from food trucks and vendors. On April 6 and 20, they’ll be at Pratten Park, Broadbeach, and on Sunday 13, you can find them at Coolangatta along Marine Parade. Check out more Gold Coast Markets here.
Fun Things To Do on the Easter Holidays
Supanova Comic Con & Gaming
Supanova is an awesome annual event is for fans of sci-fi, fantasy tv, films and books as well as anime, gaming, comics and cartoons. Special guests including authors, actors and comic book creators participate in signing sessions, photo ops and panel discussions with their fans. Plenty of people attend Supanova in cosplay and checking out the incredible costumes is half the fun. You can also check out amazing artwork at Artist’s Alley and browse stalls of merchandise, collectibles, comics and more.
Date: Saturday April 12, Sunday April 11
Time: 10am - 6pm
Location: Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach
Cost: $45.50 (per day) - kids under 12 get free entry with a paying adult.
Imaginator
This intriguing new Surfers Paradise attraction will transport you to a different dimension. Imaginator is a multi-sensory audio-visual play experience that takes you through a series of immersive installations, created through a fusion of imagination, technology and wonder. The mesmersising visual illusions include shimmering waves of light and sound, sensor triggered LED waves and marvellous illuminated landscapes to explore. An excellent rainy day activity and a good one to visit with grandparents as all ages will be enthralled by Imaginator.
Location: 3241 Surfers Paradise Boulevarde, Surfers Paradise
Cost: Adults - $29.95, Junior - $27.95, Family - $88
Ranger For a Day at Paradise Country
Do your kids dream of becoming a wildlife ranger or just love animals? Give them the best school holidays ever, by signing them up to be Ranger For a Day at Paradise Country. They’ll need to be aged 6 - 13 to enlist, but can expect to find out what it's actually like to be a Wildlife Keeper for a day with duties including animal feeding, handling and park preparation for animals such as kangaroos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, dingoes, koalas, marmosets and meerkats. How cool is that?
Date: April 7 - 17
Time: 9am - 2pm
Location: Paradise Country, Production Dr, Oxenford
Cost: $115
Creative Workshops at The Craft Parlour
For something a little special these school holidays, treat the kids to a session creative play at The Craft Parlour. Get hands on in workshops like beading workshops, clay play, ceramics kids craft days and sessions especially for teens. Classes are held in a beautifully inspired space alongside a team dedicated to encouraging creativity. Prices and times vary per workshop - see classes for details.
Date: April 8 - 16
Time: Check the website for timing of workshops
Location:
Cost: From $55
Say Hi to Hijinx Hotel
If your kids think they have done it all before - check them (and you) into the Hijinx Hotel where an immersive playhouse full of fun awaits. Ten rooms host between two to six players who will need to work together to solve challenges, engage in tasks, play games and score points. From candy coloured ball pits, mini basketball courts, giant scrabble and more. We won’t give it all away but you can add bowling, mini-golf, arcade games and dodgem cars to the school holiday fun card too - so the kids will be stoked!
Location: Level 1, Cnr of Surfers Paradise Blvd and Elkhorn Ave
Cost: Adults - $29, Under 18 - $20
Run out fun? Not on the Gold Coast! We haven't even got started. Check out more family friendly adventures and activities for the holidays.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Experience Gold Coast acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are situated, the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh Language Region.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the lands, waters and their extended communities throughout Southeast Queensland.