Sun, sand and, increasingly, culture are what Australian families seek in a resort holiday, with a Holidays with Kids magazine survey finding nine of the Top 10 resorts for families are in Queensland but when travelling overseas, parents often select resorts with access to local culture.

All but two of Australian families' 10 favourite over-four-star Australian resorts are in Queensland, headed by Sea World Resort and Water Park on the Gold Coast, which is home to six of the Top 10. In the Australian four-star-and-under resort category, Queensland claimed six of the Top 10 spots, with Paradise Resort Gold Coast number one.

As Australia's highest circulating family travel magazine, with a readership of 600,000, Holidays with Kids magazine polled its 58,000-strong database to find readers' favourite resorts in Australia and overseas, with the winners of the 2015 Readers' Choice Awards for resorts announced in the latest spring 2015 edition of the popular title.

Each resort was judged by readers on various factors including facilities and activities for kids, quality of accommodation, standards of service and hospitality, value for money, and overall experience.

“Our survey showed Australian families can't get enough of sun and sand and they'll travel north to chase the warmth,” said Holidays with Kids editor in chief, Cathy Wagstaff. “The resorts they liked most are near the beach and often on the Gold Coast but they also deliver value for money and boast first-class children's facilities, which parents see as key in their holiday planning,” Ms Wagstaff said.

“Overseas, beach destinations in places like Fiji, Hawaii, Malaysia and Bali are popular, but access to local culture is a rising trend where parents want their kids to experience the colour and flavour of foreign cultures.”

Top over-four-stars Australian resorts as voted by Holidays with Kids magazine readers

1. Sea World Resort and Water Park, Gold Coast
2. Turtle Beach Resort, Gold Coast
3. One&Only Hayman Island, Whitsundays
Equal 4. Sheraton Mirage Resort and Spa, Gold Coast
Equal 4. Hotel Grand Chancellor, Gold Coast
5. Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa, Broome

Top Australian resorts four-stars-and-under as voted by Holidays with Kids magazine readers

1. Paradise Resort, Gold Coast
2. Novotel Twin Waters Resort, Sunshine Coast
3. The Towers of Chevron Renaissance, Gold Coast
4. Wyndham Vacation Resorts Coffs Harbour
5. Kingfisher Bay Resort, Fraser Island

Number one overseas resorts for families as voted by Holidays with Kids magazine readers

Malaysia: Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort, Kota Kinabalu

Bali: InterContinental Bali Resort, Jimbaran Bay

South Pacific: Warwick Le Lagon Resort & Spa, Vanuatu

Thailand: Angsana Laguna Phuket

Fiji: Plantation Island Resort, Malolo LaiLai Island

Hawaii: Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, Honolulu

USA: Disneyland Hotel, Anaheim, California   

For the complete list of the Top 10 in each category and for information on the chart placegetters, visit www.holidayswithkids.com.au/top10-2015

The new spring (Volume 45) edition of Holidays with Kids magazine includes the first-ever northern hemisphere lift out of Ski & Snowboard with Kids, which offers 32 pages of wintry delight in the US, Canada, Japan and Europe. The magazine also includes features on a search for Santa in Finland, experiences to bring your favourite films to life, Noosa, whale-watching in NSW, holiday parks with amazing playgrounds, Tracey Spicer's family holiday in Hawaii, Vanuatu and Christmas cruises.

Holidays with Kids is Australia's authority on family travel and is one of Australia's highest-circulating and most-established travel magazines. Key distribution is via Qantas, in-store at company-owned McDonald's restaurants and Rebel Sports Stores around Australia. It is produced in Sydney by Signature Media, Australia's leading independent publisher of travel titles.

Media enquiries: Cathy Wagstaff, Editor:  +61 2 9406 4400, info@signaturemedia.com.au