In July 2024, the Caravan Industry Association of Australia's Let's Go Caravan and Camping website asked its Facebook community about their next big trip, then grouped the answers by state 1. The places people named ran from Cape York to the Great Australian Bight 1.

This guide takes those bucket-list caravan trips state by state and adds what each one takes to plan. It covers permits and bookings as well as seasons and road conditions, checked against the agencies and operators that manage them. It keeps the places and leaves out the individual travellers and their plans.

Tasmania: book the ferry early

If you take your van to Tasmania on the Spirit of Tasmania, book early. The operator says designated spaces for large vehicles are limited, and demand is particularly high in summer and the school holiday peaks 2. When you book, give the correct height and the total length of your vehicle and caravan together, including attachments such as the drawbar and an LPG cylinder 2. LPG cylinders must be switched off on board 2.

Tasmania has its own biosecurity rules. Biosecurity Tasmania lists fresh fruit and vegetables among the items to dispose of before you travel, and says penalties may apply 3. It also carries out random vehicle checks at the Devonport terminal. Your vehicle and van must be cleaned of visible soil and mud before you travel 3. Its advice for Spirit of Tasmania travellers says to declare anything you are unsure about to the inspection staff 3.

Once you land, slow down. Spirit of Tasmania warns that the state has a fair few steep, winding roads, which are tough on a tow vehicle on the way up and give its brakes a workout on the way down 2. Plan shorter driving days than you would on the mainland.

South Australia: the Nullarbor and the Flinders Ranges

South Australia's answers ran from the Nullarbor and the Great Australian Bight to the Flinders Ranges and Venus Bay 1.

For whales, the stop to plan around is the Head of Bight Whale Watching Centre, about 20 km south-east of the Nullarbor Roadhouse in the Yalata Indigenous Protected Area 4. Its wheelchair-accessible boardwalk leads to the shoreline, where you can watch southern right whales and their calves 4. South Australia's environment department says August is the peak month there, with up to 300 whales spotted in busier years and 160 in quieter ones 4. Further west, the department lists clifftop lookouts in the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area between the roadhouse and the border, where whales are seen only on the rare occasion 4.

If you carry on across the border, Western Australia's quarantine checkpoint is at Eucla on the Eyre Highway and runs 24 hours, and quarantine risk material must be declared to an inspector when you arrive 5. Honey is prohibited unless it is certified on a health certificate, so finish the jar first 5. Planning a few nights in the city on the way? Our guide to caravan parks in Adelaide has some.

The Flinders Ranges

Inland, Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park centres on Ikara (Wilpena Pound), a name the Adnyamathanha people translate as meeting place 6. The main road into Wilpena Pound is sealed, and although unsealed roads with changing surfaces run through the park, its public roads are accessible to caravans and trailers as well as high-clearance two-wheel drives 6. Campsites must be paid for before you arrive 6.

Timing matters more here than the road. The park says mild temperatures from April to October make that the most comfortable time for bushwalking and cycling, while summer maximums range from 30 to 45 °C 6. It closes on days of Catastrophic Fire Danger and may also close on Extreme days, and wood fires are prohibited from 15 October 2026 to 24 March 2027 6. The park also listed a closure of most of its area from 9 pm on 6 November until 9 pm on 9 November 2026 for pest control, so read its alerts before you set off 6.

The Top End: Darwin and East Arnhem Land

The Northern Territory's answers included Darwin and Nhulunbuy in East Arnhem Land 1.

Season decides a Top End trip. The Bureau of Meteorology puts the tropical dry season between May and September and the wet season between October and April, with the monsoon typically arriving in late December 7. The wet brings showers and thunderstorms, and at times severe monsoon squall lines and tropical cyclones 7. The Bureau's guide to the wet and the dry explains how the seasons change across the north.

East Arnhem Land is a bigger undertaking. Tourism East Arnhem describes the Central Arnhem Road as 675 km long and predominantly unsealed dirt, with a few small river crossings 8. A permit from the Northern Land Council is required to travel the road 8. The tourism body also says camper trailers and caravans on it should be built for rough going, and that you should check your insurance policy before you tow along it 8.

Western Australia: the Kimberley and the south

In Western Australia, the answers ran from the Kimberley's Kalumburu and Honeymoon Bay down to Esperance and the Margaret River region 1.

Main Roads WA is upgrading the Gibb River Road, but most of it will stay a high-standard unsealed road, with only the hard-to-maintain sections sealed, including the busier eastern and western ends 9. In 2025 the stretch between the Pentecost River and Home Valley Station was upgraded and sealed, and the program aims to reduce road closures due to flooding 9. Check current conditions with Main Roads WA before you commit a van to it; its Gibb River Road page sets out the upgrade works. If you are shopping for a van for roads like this, start with the off-road caravans on Caravan Domain, and ask what the maker says about corrugations.

Permits for Kalumburu and Mitchell Falls

Kalumburu takes paperwork. The Kununurra Visitor Centre says visitors first need a permit to travel through the Aboriginal land on the way, then must buy a pass on arrival at Kalumburu or Honeymoon Bay 10. Western Australia's entry permits cover proclaimed Aboriginal Lands Trust reserves, and its transit permits are free and applied for through the state's Aboriginal lands permit system, although native title holders may still require a visitor's pass, and some communities charge to enter or camp on community land 11. Mitchell Falls needs an Uunguu Visitor Pass as well 10.

Horizontal Falls is changing

AAP has reported that boat rides through the Horizontal Falls in Talbot Bay, about 250 km north-east of Broome, will be phased out by March 2028, although visitors and tour operators will still be able to use the surrounding waters 12. The state's environment minister said the government had a responsibility to respect the cultural views of the Traditional Owners while also supporting the tourism sector 12.

Driving in from the Northern Territory instead? Western Australia's other road quarantine checkpoint is at Kununurra on the Victoria Highway, and it also runs 24 hours 5.

Queensland: from K'gari to the outback

Queensland's answers took in K'gari and Cape York, as well as the Dinosaur Trail and Birdsville 1.

K'gari needs a permit before you drive on it: the Queensland Government says you must buy a vehicle access permit first, and the same rule covers Bribie Island and Cooloola, among others 13. Planning to tow on sand? Ask the island's managers what your rig can take, and look at the camper trailers listed on Caravan Domain if a full-size van will not suit.

Cape York's roads depend on the weather. Cook Shire Council says the wet season often requires it to restrict access to roads or close them entirely, and asks drivers to obey all road closures and weight restrictions 14. The Peninsula Developmental Road is state-controlled, so the council points drivers to the Department of Transport and Main Roads and its QLDTraffic service for that road's conditions 14.

The Dinosaur Trail and Birdsville

The Outback Queensland Tourism Association suggests five days for its Australian Dinosaur Trail, a drive of 916 km 15. Each of its three towns has a headline stop:

  • Winton has the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, which the association says holds the world's largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils 15
  • Hughenden's Flinders Discovery Centre is home to Hughie, a skeletal Muttaburrasaurus 15
  • Richmond's Kronosaurus Korner is home to what the association calls Australia's best-preserved dinosaur skeleton 15

Birdsville's Big Red Bash has one more year to run. The 2026 festival was called off in March after extreme rainfall flooded the site's red dunes, and the organisers have announced that the 2027 Birdsville Big Red Bash, with performances from 6 July, will be the festival's finale on the edge of the Simpson Desert 16. They said tickets would go on sale on 12 November 16. For somewhere to stay closer to the coast, our guide to caravan parks in Queensland is a place to start.

Victoria: the Great Ocean Road

Victoria's pick was the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles 1.

The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority calls the road one of the world's most celebrated scenic drives 17. The Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge are in Port Campbell National Park, where, in the Authority's words, "the Southern Ocean has shaped limestone cliffs, offshore stacks, sea caves and natural arches" 17. The Authority describes the park as part of an Aboriginal cultural landscape, lists it as having no dogs allowed, and advises booking national park campsites early in peak seasons 17.

The Authority also runs caravan parks, with rules such as a 10 pm to 7 am quiet time 18. Our caravan park etiquette guide explains how rules like these work, and our guide to caravan parks in Melbourne covers the start of the drive.

New South Wales: Dorrigo and the Darling River Run

The New South Wales answers took in coastal towns such as Wooli and Yamba in the Clarence Valley, inland stops such as Jugiong and Dorrigo, and the Darling River Run 1.

Dorrigo National Park is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, with waterfall walks such as the Crystal Shower Falls walk and a skywalk lookout over the escarpment 19. Its visitor centre, the Dorrigo Rainforest Centre, is at The Glade picnic area 19.

Out west, plan the Darling River Run around the weather. NSW National Parks says roads to and within Toorale National Park are unsealed and can be closed due to wet weather 20. It lists the park's Darling River campground as dry weather only 20. Check with the NPWS Bourke office or Bourke Shire Council for the latest road conditions before you set out 20.

Planning bucket-list caravan trips: a checklist

Most of the trips above turn on a few things you can sort before you leave home:

  • Ferries: book the Spirit of Tasmania early and give the total length of your vehicle and van 2.
  • Permits on Aboriginal land: the Northern Land Council permit for the Central Arnhem Road 8, and in WA the transit permits 11 plus the passes for Kalumburu, Honeymoon Bay and Mitchell Falls 10.
  • Beach and island permits: a vehicle access permit before you drive on K'gari 13.
  • Quarantine: Tasmania's rules on fresh fruit and vegetables 3, and WA's road checkpoints at Eucla and Kununurra 5.
  • Seasons: the tropical wet season runs from October to April 7, and the Flinders Ranges are most comfortable from April to October 6.
  • Road status: Main Roads WA for the Gibb River Road 9, QLDTraffic for the Peninsula Developmental Road 14 and the NPWS Bourke office for Toorale 20.

Before any long trip, make sure your vehicle can tow the van you have when it is loaded for the road. Caravan Domain's tow match tool shows the caravans whose ATM sits within your vehicle's braked towing capacity and tow ball limit, and you can compare hybrid campers with full-size vans before you choose.

Sources

  1. Let's Go Caravan and Camping (Caravan Industry Association of Australia), What's on your Bucket-List? Top Adventures from the Let's Go Community, accessed 29 October 2026
  2. Spirit of Tasmania, Top Tassie caravanning tips, accessed 29 October 2026
  3. Biosecurity Tasmania, Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, Travelling to Tasmania on the Spirit of Tasmania, accessed 29 October 2026
  4. Department for Environment and Water, South Australia, Where to go whale-watching on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, accessed 29 October 2026
  5. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia, What can I bring into WA: quarantine information for private travellers, accessed 29 October 2026
  6. National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia, Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, accessed 29 October 2026
  7. Bureau of Meteorology, The wet and the dry: seasons in the tropics, accessed 29 October 2026
  8. Tourism East Arnhem, Central Arnhem Road Travel Guide, accessed 29 October 2026
  9. Main Roads Western Australia, Gibb River Road Upgrades, accessed 29 October 2026
  10. Kununurra Visitor Centre, Travel into remote Aboriginal Communities, accessed 29 October 2026
  11. Government of Western Australia, Apply for a permit to access or travel through Aboriginal land, accessed 29 October 2026
  12. Australian Associated Press, Changes to tourism at the iconic Horizontal Falls, accessed 29 October 2026
  13. Queensland Government, Vehicle access permits, accessed 29 October 2026
  14. Cook Shire Council, Road Conditions and Closures, accessed 29 October 2026
  15. Outback Queensland Tourism Association, Outback Queensland Australian Dinosaur Trail, accessed 29 October 2026
  16. Australian Associated Press, published by InDaily, Qld festival confirms curtain call, accessed 29 October 2026
  17. Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, Port Campbell National Park, accessed 29 October 2026
  18. Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, Caravan parks and camping grounds rules, accessed 29 October 2026
  19. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Dorrigo National Park, accessed 29 October 2026
  20. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Darling River campground: Visitor Info, accessed 29 October 2026