How to go beach camping successfully in summer in Australia

Going camping in the summer in Australia is a delicate art. Here's how to nail it.

4 min read

December 4, 2024 - 9:20AM

Lifestyle

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Drinking all the beer. Eating all the bacon and egg rolls. Getting all the sand between your toes. Cooking all the marshmallows. Surfing all the barrels. Doing all the fishing. We'd all like to be living our best lives at a beach campsite or in one of our stunning national parks this summer.

But it's not as easy as it looks. From hygiene-averse friends leaving leftover roast chicken in the esky (ruining what would have been pristine ice for your drinks and turning it into chicken water) to lizards sloping off with your eggs, camping near the beach can be a littoral (pun intended) minefield.

Here's how to survive it and - like mould in a crusty shower block - thrive this silly season.

How do you camp at the beach

Keen to argue about tent poles and create a science experiment in your esky this summer? Here are my golden rules to turn any coastal camping trip from "hell on earth" to "surprisingly fun." Picture: James Booth

1. Bring two eskys to the campground

During a recent trip to Seal Rocks, I regretted only bringing one esky. Picture: James Booth

If you only bring one esky to the campground, you run the risk of being forced to smoosh all your stuff in, leading to bruised avocados and cracked eggs. Worse, if someone absent-minded chucks a roast chook bag in the esky after dinner, not realising the bag is full of holes, you'll spend the rest of the evening with chicken-flavoured ice for your drinks (as I recently found out the hard way on a camping trip to Seal Rocks).

2. Pick a campground with showers

If you book a place without showers, you'll have to tap your own water source. Picture: James Booth

Unless you have a van with literal bucket-loads of water, camping near the beach in a campsite without basic amenities like showers, for multiple days, really sucks. So always opt for a campsite, caravan park or camping area that has showers (and preferably, a tap with drinking water).

3. Have a station wagon or SUV

As Tina Turner once said, they're "simply the best." Picture: James Booth

Hatchbacks may be cute, fuel efficient and easy to park in the city, and vans may be prime for a lap around Australia, but for weekend adventures nothing beats an SUV or station wagon. You can fit all your camping gear and surfboards in the back, throw an awning on the side and voila, you've got the Aussie version of the palace of Versaille (except the palace of Versaille doesn't have an esky full of perfectly cold VBs and pummelled-to-a-pulp avocados, does it?). Year round, this would pretty much always be my pick of vehicle, from ocean-adjacent campgrounds to little tucked away bays and corners.

4. Bring a cabana

Left: enjoying the cabana. Right: wondering why we took the cabana down so soon... Pictures: @saltywanderersau

It might be overkill for a casual afternoon on the sand back at home, but when you're camping by the beach you're in the sun all day, so having a cabana is a game-changer, enabling you to spend much longer on the beach, in-between swimming and snorkelling, without getting burnt. A surf hat is a good idea too (and sunscreen and zinc are essential): the UV on our coastline in summer is real.

5. Keep your eggs in the esky

As the barista at my campsite told me over the recent long weekend, if you leave your eggs out, they could get nabbed by a goanna. Much as the wildlife might appreciate your forgetfulness, in the morning, your stomach won't.

6. Don't invite complainers

The only thing worse than a camping trip that never makes it out of the group chat is a camping trip that makes it out of the group chat, and is plagued by moaners. To avoid this, don't invite people who don't enjoy coastal activities: they won't have fun, and they'll let you know about it. Let the beautiful beaches be beautiful: don't bring people who won't appreciate them.

7. Do invite a wildcard

It's always fun to have a wildcard when you're chatting around camp

One of the most entertaining parts of organising a beach camping trip inviting two different groups of friends, and seeing how the dynamic plays out. You go from being standoffish to best-bud-ish very quickly, forged by the pressure cooker of sun and chicken-water beers (and the lack of creature comforts).

8. Bring a bucket

Stop your car from getting soggy, by bringing yourself a bucket for wet clothes and wetsuits. Picture: James Booth

Whether you're by a beach or by a river, stop your car from getting soggy, by bringing yourself a bucket for wet clothes, snorkelling gear and wetsuits. Picture: James Booth

From stinky towels to wetsuits fermenting a new kind of bacteria in the summer heat, this is a great way to store your wet gear. Just don't let it get deep enough with water marine life could swim in it. And clean it occasionally. Oh and bonus: it doubles as a bag you can carry things over the dunes to the beach in.

9. Never leave at 5:30pm on a Friday

Pay attention to when you leave

Especially it it's a public holiday, either leave at lunchtime on the Friday, or at around 8pm when the traffic has died down. Or else wake up and leave at the crack of dawn on the Saturday.

10. Always bring thongs

If you're planning to use the shower amenities, bring thongs

As clean as the shower floor looks, if you'd like to avoid the risk of tinea (or broken glass the day after the rubbish is collected), bring thongs.

11. Remember a water tank

Even if your campsite has drinking water, it's probably going to be a fair walk from your tent. So one of these will make your life much easier. Walking over those sand dunes all day is thirsty work. Save your energy for fishing and swimming.

12. Bring beer, not wine

Always opt for beer (or margaritas) over wine in summer. It's too hot to drink something lukewarm like wine. And bring cans, not bottles: they are lighter, don't shatter, and don't require a bottle opener. Anything that simplifies your camp kitchen is a good choice.

13. Bring two stoves

Only bringing one stove means your carefully-prepared curry will go cold while you cook your rice.

14. Erect your tent upwind of your campfire

Unless you enjoy being smothered by smoke, try and keep a bit of distance between your fire and your tent. And make a note of which way the wind is blowing before setting up.

15. Don't drive on the beach unless you know what you're doing (and it is permitted)

Unless you know how much to let down your tyres, and you have an AWD, don't try and drive on the beach. Or you could end up like these guys and lose your car to the ocean.