Itinerary a family staycation under an hour from Melbourne

Vineyard views, farm animals, miniature trains, plane spotting and one of the easiest weekend escapes from the CBD.

Sometimes the best weekend trips are the ones that don’t require hours in the car.

We recently booked a one-night stay at Marnong Estate in Mickleham and turned it into a relaxed two-day family getaway through Melbourne’s north. It felt like we had properly escaped the city, yet everything was still close enough that we could take our time, add a few spontaneous stops and be home without that heavy end-of-road-trip feeling.

This is a great itinerary if you want a simple staycation with younger kids, especially if you love animals, good food, beautiful views and a few fun stops along the way.

Day one – Warrandyte to Marnong Estate

Lunch at Warran Glen Nursery and Café

📍 373-383 Ringwood-Warrandyte Road, Warrandyte VIC 3113

We started the weekend at Warran Glen Nursery and Café, which is one of those places where lunch quickly turns into a much longer wander.

There’s a large nursery and gift shop, and I may have accidentally walked out with a few Jellycat plushies before we even made it to lunch.

The café is surrounded by greenery, and outside there are ducks you can feed with duck food purchased onsite, plus a cubby train at the back for children to play on. It makes the stop feel like an outing in itself rather than somewhere you simply eat and leave.

Warran Glen is currently open daily, with the garden centre trading from 8:30am to 5pm and the café until 4pm.

From here, we headed north towards Mickleham.

Next stop: Treetop Reserve Playground

📍 3 Vaux Street, Chirnside Park VIC 3116

Before lunch, we made a quick stop at Treetop Reserve Playground so the boys could burn some energy before getting back in the car.

It’s a great playground to add to the route, especially when you’re travelling with younger kids who aren’t interested in sitting in the car for the entire journey. There are also public toilets onsite, which always makes a playground road-trip stop significantly more useful!

Check-in at Marnong Estate

📍 2335 Mickleham Road, Mickleham VIC 3064

Marnong Estate was the reason we planned the weekend in the first place.

It sits on a sprawling 1,200-acre working farm and vineyard overlooking the Macedon Ranges, with accommodation, a cellar door, boutique, event spaces and three different places to eat onsite.

We only booked about a week beforehand because we wanted to make sure Melbourne was giving us decent weather. For one night, including breakfast and having the sofa bed made up for the kids, we paid around $670. Prices are advertised to start from $279 per night (the sofa bed was $50 extra and complimentary breakfast for two)

It isn’t a budget stay, but this is one of those places where the accommodation is only part of what you’re paying for!

The room itself was incredibly spacious and comfortable, with a separate living area, two TVs, a balcony, kitchenette, stocked minibar and a large bathroom with shower. We paid an extra to have the sofa bed made up, which worked perfectly for the boys.

Each cabin also has its own parking space, which is more useful than it sounds because the estate becomes very busy on weekends and the main car park can fill quickly.

Why we barely wanted to leave the estate

The best part of staying here was simply having nowhere we needed to be.

We spent most of the afternoon walking around the estate, looking across the rolling hills and watching the animals.

Marnong is still a working farm, so there are cattle, sheep, alpacas and donkeys around the property, but the camels completely stole the show for us.

There was something surreal about sitting on the hill with a glass of wine while camels wandered through the landscape in front of us.

The Highland cows also came close enough to say hello, and depending on the day you may spot kangaroos and other wildlife around the property too.

It didn’t feel like we were less than an hour from Melbourne.

And while you can enter this estate for free to come and enjoy the sunset, it is great if you can support them by booking dinner at their restaurants, grabbing some wine on site, or have a picnic at Vista (open on weekends from 10-5) .

Sunset at Vista

Vista is the casual weekend spot at Marnong Estate, where you can pick up coffee, wine, pizza and paninis and then find a table or patch of grass overlooking the countryside. The estate officially positions Vista as its relaxed weekend dining option alongside the more polished Cucina 3064 and La Vètta.

This is where I would deliberately spend the late afternoon.

The views at sunset were incredible!

We have visited plenty of wineries and regional properties, but watching the light drop behind the rolling hills while the animals wandered nearby felt very special.

Grab a drink, let the kids explore and don’t rush this part.

Note no dogs, BYO food/drinks or ball games are allowed here.

Wine tasting at the cellar door

We also booked a wine tasting at the cellar door, which became another highlight of the stay. This is $15 per tasting or one free tasting if you purchase 2 bottles.

It’s very easy to make a winery weekend difficult with young children, but because everything is contained within the estate, we could enjoy the tasting without needing to plan another drive afterwards.

There’s also a boutique where you can stock up on wine, cheeses, ready-made meals and takeaway food for the cabin.

I really like that flexibility.

You can have a beautiful restaurant dinner if you want one, or simply grab something from the boutique and disappear back to your room for the night.

Dinner at La Vètta or Cucina 3064

We booked La Vètta, Marnong Estate’s hatted Italian restaurant, and the food was sublime. The restaurant has been recognised by the Good Food Guide and focuses on a more refined Italian dining experience.

However, if I were recommending this itinerary specifically to families with younger children, I would probably book Cucina 3064 instead.

Cucina is designed to be the more relaxed, family-friendly restaurant and serves Italian classics in a much more casual environment.

La Vètta does have a children’s menu and high chairs, so families are absolutely welcome, but Cucina is the easier choice if you want pizza, pasta and a meal where nobody is worried about keeping small humans particularly quiet.

A quiet night in the cabin

After dinner we headed back to our cabin, which might have been my favourite part of the entire stay.

The beds were so comfortable, the kids were tired, and we sat on the balcony looking at the stars before putting a movie on.

It was so peaceful.

One thing worth knowing, though, is that Marnong Estate is also a popular wedding and event venue. We could hear fairly loud music until around midnight from an event happening on the property.

It didn’t ruin our stay, but if you’re a very light sleeper I would pack ear plugs or ask the accommodation team whether there are any major events scheduled during your visit.

Day two – breakfast, miniature trains and planes flying overhead

Breakfast at Cucina 3064

Breakfast was included in our accommodation package and served at Cucina 3064.

Our breakfast included coffee or juice, house-baked sourdough with eggs and two sides, with options to pay extra for other dishes. The children could choose from options such as crêpes or banana bread alongside juice or a babyccino.

After checking out, we headed back towards Vista for takeaway coffees, milkshakes and a few things to eat later in the day.

Then we started our mini adventure through Bulla.

Bulla Hill Miniature Railway

📍 15 Green Street, Bulla VIC 3428

Our first stop was Bulla Hill Miniature Railway, roughly 20 minutes from Marnong Estate.

This is such a simple outing, but the kids absolutely love it.

The volunteer-run railway opens to the public on the third Sunday of each month, with rides currently costing $5 per person. Public running days operate from 11am to 4pm, with the last train departing around 3:45pm.

There’s plenty of open space, picnic shelters and a small playground too, so you can easily bring lunch and stay for a while.

Because it only runs once a month (every 3rd Sunday of the month), I would check the calendar before planning your weekend around it.

Melbourne Airport aircraft viewing area

📍 Corner of Oaklands Road and Sunbury Road, Bulla VIC 3428

Only around five minutes down the road is one of the easiest free activities you can do with plane-obsessed kids.

The Melbourne Airport aircraft viewing area sits near the intersection of Oaklands Road and Sunbury Road, directly beneath one of the airport’s flight paths. Melbourne Airport itself identifies the northern Oaklands Road viewing area as a plane-spotting location.

We opened FlightRadar24 on our phones so the boys could see which aircraft were approaching, but realistically we didn’t need it for long.

Planes were coming over every few minutes.

Some fly so low overhead that you can feel the sound before you fully see them!

There is free parking, there is often a food or ice cream truck operating on site.

For something completely free, it is such a fun little stop.

If you want to make the weekend longer

There is much more around Melbourne’s north than I realised, so this itinerary could easily become a two-night stay.

Living Legends

📍 207 Oaklands Road, Greenvale VIC 3059

Living Legends is home to retired champion racehorses at historic Woodlands Homestead and is only a short drive from Melbourne Airport. Families can visit the horses, walk through the surrounding parklands and make a picnic out of the day.

This would pair really well with the aircraft viewing area.

Rupertswood Mansion, Sunbury

Rupertswood is one of Victoria’s significant historic estates and is closely associated with the story of cricket’s Ashes. The mansion was built in the 1870s and today forms part of the Salesian College site.

Because access can depend on events and tours, I would check what is currently available before visiting rather than assuming you can simply walk through the mansion.

Dingo Discovery Sanctuary

If your kids love wildlife, you could also look into booking a visit to the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary.

This is the kind of experience I’d book in advance rather than treating it as a spontaneous stop.

Mt Monument Winery

If you want to stretch the winery theme further, Mt Monument near Romsey is another interesting option for a longer trip.

It combines wine, food and contemporary art within the landscape, making it quite different from a standard cellar-door visit.

Our trip at a glance

Day one

Melbourne → Warran Glen Nursery & Café → Marnong Estate → cellar door tasting → sunset at Vista → dinner at Marnong Estate → stay overnight

Day two

Breakfast at Cucina 3064 → Bulla Hill Miniature Railway → Melbourne Airport aircraft viewing area → Home time

If the miniature railway isn’t operating on the weekend you visit, I would swap it for Living Legends and keep the aircraft viewing area afterwards.

Is Marnong Estate good for families?

Yes, but I think it suits families who enjoy a slower style of trip, and I also want to be transparent about our experience.

There were moments during our stay when we didn’t feel entirely welcome as a family. The lady at Vista and the girl at the cellar door were absolutely lovely, and because a friend of mine works at the restaurant, she made sure we were looked after.

However, one interaction with the front-of-house manager made us feel as though we’d walked into the wrong place rather than arriving for a dinner we’d booked. We weren’t the only family there, our children were well behaved and we’d dressed for the occasion, so it left us feeling quite uncomfortable.

The breakfast staff was attentive, but noting to write home about. Same goes for the girls at the reception.

Considering how much we spent on the stay, dining and experiences across the weekend, I did expect a warmer welcome around the property and during our stay.

At the same time, I can appreciate the other side. Marnong Estate is a huge operation juggling accommodation, restaurants, weddings, events, tourists, couples and families, often all at once. I’ve worked in hospitality and customer-facing roles too, and nobody performs at 10/10 every moment of every day. One interaction doesn’t define an entire property, but I do think it’s worth sharing as part of an honest review.

Outside of that experience, there was so much we loved about our weekend.

Family travel can easily become another checklist of attractions we feel we need to provide for our children. This weekend reminded me that they don’t always need another activity waiting for them.

Sometimes you simply need somewhere beautiful where everyone has room to breathe, wander around, watch the animals, eat good food and slow down together.

Marnong Estate gave us that, while the activities we added around the region brought just enough adventure to keep the boys excited.

Most of all, it felt like we’d had a proper weekend away without spending half of it driving.

Want more adventures?

I’m always on the hunt for the best things to do around Melbourne and VIC – especially the ones where both kids and parents can actually enjoy themselves. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok for daily finds.

We booked and paid for this trip ourselves. Prices mentioned reflect what we paid during our stay and can change depending on accommodation type, dates, packages and availability.

Opening hours and experiences, particularly Bulla Hill Miniature Railway and Marnong Estate dining options, can also change. Always check directly before planning your visit.

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