Couran Cove Island Resort, kids call the shot.

The kids will be calling the shots when it comes to choosing the holiday destination; after all they’ve got $1,000 each to ensure they get their way. So, where can they find a destination that’s fun, family-friendly, safe and full of activities for the young and not-so-young – without boarding a plane?

Couran Cove Island Resort, situated on the Gold Coast’s South Stradbroke Island, offers all this and more – so finding a getaway the whole family enjoys is no longer a challenge.

Brisbane resident Shevaun O’Callaghan’s family took a vote to invest their ‘bonus’ in a family holiday at Couran Cove Island Resort because they’ve loved the various family activities Couran Cove offers during their stays over the years.

“It is always such a great experience for us to do things as a family. The girls talked so much about the first trip that we’ve been back again and always come home with great memories,” Shevaun said.

“Exploring the rest of the Gold Coast is so easy through regular ferry transfers to the mainland, but at the end of the day, going back to the peacefulness of the island makes us realise how special the resort truly is,” she said.

The broad range of activities provides families with the opportunity to spend quality time together – building a lifetime of family memories. An excellent use of the family bonus Mr Rudd would surely approve of.

Outdoor excitement while exploring the maze of safe bike trails, sun-soaked beaches and coastal bush is sure to lure the kids away from the TV and the Xbox.

Free activities, which the kids won’t even realise have an educational slant, include the opportunity to get up close and personal with the island’s native wildlife and resident reptile collection and learn about the island’s aboriginal culture and dreamtime artifacts located around the resort on the Alcheringa Trail self-guided walk tour.

Bush walks and cycling trails in the many rainforest tracks offer further incentive to explore the natural world on land, while the timetable offers every possible combination of water activities you’d expect from an island resort. Even the younger kids can get special treatment with those from age three upwards catered for at the resort’s Kites Kids Club.

With the kids happily entertained, parents can relax at the luxurious Day Spa (the couples’ room is very popular) or simply kick back and enjoy a relaxing picnic on their own private patch of the resort’s 22 kilometre stretch of beach.

As discovered by our overseas visitors, Couran Cove Island Resort is also a great base from which to explore the Gold Coast. Only a 40 minute ferry ride from the Gold Coast’s dazzling attractions – world famous theme parks, outlet brand shopping and the casino. Whether it’s shopping on the mainland or island activities, the resort’s activities and tour desk is open daily and can organise anything from helicopter rides to snorkeling and fishing.

Around 80 per cent of Japanese flying into Brisbane travel straight to the Gold Coast to enjoy all it has to offer. It’s time local Australians uncovered the secret the Japanese and other visitors seem to have hit on.

Key Search words for WEGO and Google: Stradbroke Island, Couran Cove Island Resort