The Top 5 Overseas Resort Runcations to Pair With a Family Vacation

Honolulu, United States

1Honolulu Marathon: A 1-Mile Race and a Walkable 10K for Families Who Used to Just Watch

At 7 a.m. on Saturday, a 1-mile (about 1.6-kilometer) race starts in Waikiki.

That's the Kalakaua Merrie Mile the association president was talking about. The official guide says “Children of all ages are welcome,” with one condition: kids must stay with a parent or guardian registered for the same event the whole way. The entry fee is the same for adults and kids—$70 online through December 3.

In 2026, the mile goes off on Saturday, December 12, and the marathon and the Start to Park 10K leave from the same start line at 5 a.m. on Sunday, December 13.

What about family members who don't run? The 10K can be walked. It finishes in Kapiolani Park, same as the marathon, and the official guide tells participants to wait there for family members running the marathon.

Strollers can come along, too, as long as they start at the very back. The marathon is open only to runners older than 7, and strollers aren't allowed. There's also a group discount: 10 percent off for five or more people registering together, 15 percent off for 10 or more.

For overseas residents, the marathon costs $320 online through December 3. Two nonrunners did this 10K in 2025 (YouTube channel Anna Marema). “We finished before the sun came up,” one of them said, adding that “it was easier than I expected, which I'm not a runner.”

Bananas and malasadas were waiting at the finish. On race day in 2026, sunrise is at 6:58 a.m.

and the 10K starts at 5 a.m., so in 2026, faster finishers will again come in while it's still dark.

A Japanese family who came with their newborn daughter to cheer on the husband's first marathon (YouTube channel あろべびちゃんねる) walked down the middle of the closed-off avenue to the park. “I'm going to head over with my daughter to see him finish.” Based on the official partner hotels, Waikiki hotels sit 0.6 to 1.1 miles (about 1 to 1.8 kilometers) from the finish.

In the same interview, the president looked back on the crowds along the finish stretch in Kapiolani Park: “we couldn't believe how many people were lining that road to watch their friends and family finish.” On Saturday, the whole family runs the mile together. On Sunday, while one person covers 42 kilometers, everyone else walks the 10K and waits in the same park.

Of the five, it's the easiest weekend for every member of the family to claim a finish line of their own.

JAL Honolulu MarathonSun, December 13, 2026 · D-49 · Honolulu, United StatesSee race details

JAL Honolulu Marathon · Read the story

Gold Coast, Australia

2Gold Coast Marathon: Kids Run 2K on Saturday, Parents Run 42K on Sunday

“Got the kids running 2 K's.” That's how one family with three kids (YouTube channel Cherie & Kendall) laid out their Saturday in a video from Gold Coast Marathon week in 2026. The day after the kids collected their water bottles and medals, the family headed out to the 32K mark to give Dad a boost in the marathon.

In Honolulu, the family shares one start line. On the Gold Coast, the kids get a 2K of their own. Here, that plan is already built into the race schedule.

The 2027 race runs Saturday, July 3, and Sunday, July 4, and only the marathon is on Sunday—the half, 10K, 5K, and 2K Junior Dash are all on Saturday. The Junior Dash is a 2K race for ages 5 to 14 that finishes through the same chute as the elites, and one guardian can run alongside if needed (2026 entry: A$30–40). The 5K has no age limit and can be walked, but kids 11 and under must stay with a registered guardian the whole way.

It's also the only event that allows strollers. Just start at the back. Race shuttles run from Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise to the event hub at Broadwater Parklands in Southport, and from the Surfers drop-off point it's a 5-minute walk.

The free race-weekend tram covers registered participants only, so family members pay a fare. On Sunday, the race sets out 9 official spots for families to cheer, including Cavill Avenue in Surfers Paradise, the Broadbeach live site with its big screen, and the grassy stretch at Miami (the Gold Coast beach suburb). Australia's Bureau of Meteorology normals for the Gold Coast in July: highs of 21.2°C (70°F), lows of 12.1°C (54°F), and 5.5 rainy days a month.

Just know that in 2026, the marathon sold out 8 hours after registration opened, and the half sold out in 2 hours, 30 minutes. Registration for 2027 opens in early December 2026. One runner who ran the marathon with her husband (YouTube channel Raya Belinda) left their son by the course.

“Usually [our son] is in the pram with us. We take him on all of our runs. But today he wasn't.

Every kilometer reminded us how excited we were to see him at the finish line.” That day, he was out along the course with her father. On the Gold Coast, kids cross a finish line first on Saturday.

On Sunday, they're the ones waiting by the course for their parents.

Gold Coast MarathonSun, July 4, 2027 · D-252 · Gold Coast, AustraliaSee race details

Da Nang, Vietnam

3Danang International Marathon: A Beach Race Where It's Not Even 9 a.m. When You Finish the Half

“That feeling of getting into the ocean after you finish, when you're dying from the heat.” A Korean runner (YouTube channel Yuchanghanharu) who ran the half at the 2026 Danang International Marathon named that scene—envied the year before—as the reason to run. It's possible because the start and finish sit in East Sea Park, right in front of My Khe Beach.

After finishing, the runner noted that fewer people were in the water than expected and pointed out the time: “But it's not even 9 yet.” Danang has held the race in March since 2024. In 2027, it's Sunday, March 21: the marathon starts at 3 a.

m. (7-hour cutoff), the half at 4:30 a.m.

(4 hours), and the 10K, back for the first time in 2 years, at 5:30 a.m. (2 hours, 30 minutes).

Details for the race's first-ever night 5K haven't been released yet. If your child isn't yet five—the minimum age for the Gold Coast Junior Dash—look at Danang's 500 meters. The kids' race is the Ronny Dash, which starts from the same park at 8 a.

m. on Saturday, March 20, the day before. Kids ages 4 to 7 run 500 meters with one guardian, which is why two bibs are issued.

Kids ages 6 to 11 run 1.5 kilometers on their own. The out-and-back course follows the beach road right beside the ocean. Entry is 300,000 dong through November 30 and 450,000 dong after that.

Organizers pitch the race as a chance to “let the little ones discover the joy of running and create unforgettable family memories in Danang.” Be ready for the heat. The same Korean runner said the humidity made it feel 1.5 to 2 times harder than a marathon in Korea.

A runner from abroad who did the half (YouTube channel Jusjusruns world) called the course “relatively flat except for the couple of bridges” and the event “Very well organized.” In 2026, close to 9,000 runners from 75 countries took part, and South Korea sent the most participants after Vietnam. According to Yuchanghanharu, Vietnam has no running crews, so roadside cheering is sparse.

The East Sea Park area around the finish doubles as My Khe Beach's hotel strip, so families can walk out of their hotel after sunrise and wait at the finish line. Once the kids have run the beach road on Saturday morning, a parent running the half starts at 4:30 a.m.

on Sunday and is back before the 8:30 a.m. cutoff.

All that's left is deciding whether to spend the rest of the day at the beach or head to Hoi An, about 30 kilometers away.

Danang International MarathonSun, March 21, 2027 · D-147 · Da Nang, VietnamSee race details

Phuket, Thailand

4Laguna Phuket Marathon: Two Days That Start and Finish Inside a Resort Complex

At 3 a.m., the marathon starts at Laguna Grove, inside the resort complex.

Both the start and finish are within Laguna Phuket, an integrated resort complex on Bang Tao Beach in northwest Phuket. It's 25 minutes from the airport by car, with several hotels clustered around lagoons along a 3-kilometer stretch of sand. Stay at a hotel inside the complex, and free shuttle buses run between your hotel and the race venue.

Unlike the first three races, Phuket keeps the start line, the finish line, and even the kids' race inside the resort complex. The race is split in two. In 2027, it's held at sundown on Saturday, June 12, and before dawn on Sunday, June 13.

On Saturday at 4 p.m., the 2K Junior Run goes off and stays entirely inside the complex, followed by the 10K at 5 p.

m. and the 5K at 5:25 p.m.

On Sunday, the marathon starts at 3 a.m. and the half at 4:30 a.

m.—both moved earlier for 2027. Junior Run entry is $13 through February 15, 2027, with awards split by age, from 7 and under up to 16–17.

But if one parent is running the Saturday 10K, there's only an hour between the kids' start and the parents' start, so another adult will have to meet the child at the finish. Families can also attend the Saturday evening pasta party, where tickets for ages 6 to 12 cost 550 baht. In 2026, Thai singer Toon Bodyslam and his wife ran the 2K Junior Run with their two kids, according to the Thai daily The Nation.

That year, organizers expanded the Junior Run age groups up to 17. But June in Phuket falls in the middle of the rainy season. Phuket International Airport normals for June: 256.8 mm of rain, 18.9 rainy days, and highs of 31.7°C (89°F).

What got to one runner who did the 2025 marathon (YouTube channel Kris Explores Asia) was the humidity more than the rain: “it is so humid, so hot. it's supposed to be the rainy season. And there's not been a lot of rain since I've been here.”

A Singaporean couple who ran the 2026 half (YouTube channel Sunny Side Singapore) said “the hills came at like 10.5 k, and then it went rolling for like maybe 3 to 4 k.” They walked 20 minutes to the Saturday pasta party—“thankfully we walked because the traffic is horrendous.” Their hotel was about 2 kilometers from the start.

On race weekend inside Laguna, your own two feet beat a car.

Laguna Phuket MarathonSun, June 13, 2027 · D-231 · Phuket, ThailandSee race details

Orlando, United States

5Walt Disney World Marathon: No Kids' Race and No Strollers in 2027

“My husband, daughter, and I ran the 10K at the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend.” One family who made the trip in January 2026 (YouTube channel Enchanted Park Hop) called it “one of the most meaningful things we've done as a family.” Their race-day video opens like this: “It is 3:00 a.

m. and we are in the car.” An hour later, they were in the EPCOT parking lot.

The 2027 weekend runs January 6–10: the 5K on Thursday, January 7; the 10K on Friday, January 8; the half on Saturday, January 9; and the marathon on Sunday, January 10—four days in a row, with the first starts at 4:30 or 5 a.m. It's the 30th anniversary of the half marathon, so Donald Duck shows up on every course.

In 2026, the marathon passed Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios before returning to EPCOT. Orlando normals for January: highs of 22.1°C (72°F), lows of 9.7°C (49°F). The official 2027 schedule has no kids-only race.

Even the 5K, the shortest event, requires runners to be 5 or older and able to finish on their own, and runners under 14 must run with a registered participant 14 or older. The 10K starts at age 10, the half at 14. Strollers and baby carriers aren't allowed on the course, or even in the start and finish holding areas.

The 16-minute-per-mile pace requirement applies to a five-year-old, too, which means finishing the 5K in under 50 minutes. According to the Disney Parks Blog, “park tickets aren't part of the package,” and Disney-focused outlets have reported that every 2027 event is already sold out, leaving a charity entry as about the only way in. Still, if your child is over five and you plan to run together, the math changes.

Looking back on the 10K, that same family said: “instead of chasing the finish line, we watched our daughter push herself, have fun, smile, and finish something hard.” Their verdict on price was just as short: “Run Disney is overpriced and worth it.” Disney isn't a race where kids wait by the course.

It's a family trip that starts once your child is old enough to stand on the start line.

Walt Disney World MarathonSun, January 10, 2027 · D-77 · Orlando, United StatesSee race details