Camp Winnie shares their top five beach camping spots in QLD that we know will place you in beach bliss.
Are you a wilderness wanderer or are you a sand seeker? Australia has around 12,000 beaches along its 60,000km coastline. If you visited one per day, it would take more than 32 years to see them all! Whether you’re a casual tourist or a serious traveller lapping Australia, you will have sand between your toes at some point. There’s just no doubt about it. So you may as well set up camp at some of the world’s best million-dollar views.
So where does one find the holy grail of beach front camping to embrace the serenity and tranquillity that Australia has to offer? QLD has beach camping on a platter! As a family travelling Australia full time, here are our top five beach camps in QLD that we know will place you in beach bliss.
Seventeen Seventy camping ground, Gladstone Region
Take a wander around a piece of our beach history in this QLD camping spot and follow in the footsteps of Captain James Cook himself. Seventeen Seventy, via Agnes Waters, is the very beach where Captain Cook arrived in the HMS Endeavour and made his second landing on Australia’s shore in the year 1770 (Botany Bay being the first).
Whilst not a surf beach, Seventeen Seventy is remarkably clean, no doubt due to the low tourist numbers in comparison to other well-known and over-populated beaches.
Enjoy the green rolling hills as your backdrop and the coastal calmness while fishing or kayaking. And as the water has no high currents or rips, the swimming is possibly some of the calmest beach swimming we have experienced in QLD. What more could you ask for?
Noosa North Shore Beach camping ground, Sunshine Coast
This beach camping spots in QLD is not to be missed. Whilst a stunning, secluded bush-style campground offers country charm, a pristine beach awaits you just metres away. This beach is open to recreational 4WDing, however, I opted for a different experience. Riding my motorcycle along that beautiful straight sand that stretched for many miles was an amazing experience.
For the complete package, beach camping is permitted and your permit for driving and camping is easily obtained online through QLD National Parks). Be advised that the usual QLD road rules do apply on the beach, and police conduct regular patrols and issue fines for non-compliance.
Ellis Beach Oceanfront Holiday Park, Tropical North QLD
Located in tropical North QLD between Cairns and Port Douglas, it is the abundance of palm trees that sell this low-key beach front camping resort. As well as caravan sites and camping areas, beach style oceanfront cabins are available. So if you’ve left your RV at home, you can still experience beach from camping without having to bring anything more than your overnight bag. As you stroll the one-kilometre walk along the beach, take note of the pumice stones on its shores.
Whitehaven Beach, Whitsundays
No QLD camping beach list could call itself a list without discussing the Whitsundays. This is paradise in the true sense of the word, and if you have yet to experience the Whitsundays, then today, it is on your bucket list.
Do you remember a television commercial for Qantas, with a choir of young children singing the sounds of “I still call Australia home”? Or Captain Jack Sparrow fighting off the un-dead in Pirates of the Caribbean? Then you have already caught a teasing glimpse of this world-class beach.
Boasting the bluest water and the whitest sand in Australia, it’s no surprise that Whitehaven remains the most popular beach among the 74 islands in the Whitsundays. The island is easily accessed by commercial charter or private boats from Airlie Beach or Shute Harbour.
Camping on Whitehaven is bush camping, meaning you will need a tent and camping equipment. So you will need to leave your RV back on the mainland for this amazing QLD beach camping spot. There are pit toilets but no showers or running water.
Alau Beach Campground, Cape York
If extreme tourism is what you crave and you are planning a ‘trip to the tip’ along roads less travelled, we’ve still got you covered for an epic beach front camp in QLD. Located near the very tip of Queensland, Alau Beach Campground gets your RV to beachfront property on a budget. Miles of unpopulated sweeping beaches bend around the coastline and really set this campground apart from many we’ve stayed at.
With an overwhelming sense of achievement for reaching the tip of this wonderful country, you can join like-minded campers for an extended happy hour and witness the most stunning beach sunset you will ever see. As with all beaches in Far North QLD, the usual croc-safe warnings apply.
So before you purchase your next airfare to Thailand or Hawaii, maybe put the passport away. Instead, plan an epic road trip with your bestie and visit one of these amazing beach camping spots in QLD – or all five!
