Our family did a 6-month caravan trip around Australia (our route in black below):
Here are the best spots we discovered:
1. Greenly Beach, SA - FREE
The Erye Peninsula in South Australia is the place to go for beautiful free camps right on the beach (and most are dog-friendly, too!) Greenly Beach was our favourite spot - you can camp right above the dunes, you can explore the rock pools on the point... and there wasn't a soul in sight!
2. Point Brown (Near Smokey Bay), SA - FREE
Another awesome free camp on the Erye Peninsula. If you want to camp right on the beach with your dog and no crowds, South Australia is the place to go. We actually renamed this place "Dolphin Point" because we saw heaps of dolphins everyday we were there. It was magic.
3. Port Gibbon Camping, SA - FREE
A great spot with campsites in the sand dunes. There was only a few other people there - it was nice and quiet. There is heaps of exploring to do amongst the sand dunes and beaches. Don't forget to visit the resident sea lion at the point!
3. Fitzgerald Bay, SA - FREE
Fitzgerald bay is a bit busier than the above South Australia camps mentioned. You won't get the place to yourself, but it is a really cool rocky beach. We spent a few days here relaxing and skipping rocks
4. East Bay Road Campground (Near Albany), WA - FREE
This place was so stunning! It had turquoise water and white sand. There isn't many spots available, so get it early. Oh, and I don't think you are actually supposed to take caravans down there because when we were leaving we saw a "no caravans" sign... Whoops! But, there is other caravan-friendly spots in the area though - Bettys Beach is one of them.
5. Waroora Station, WA - $10 per person/night
Not gonna lie, this place was difficult to get to - there are some major corrugated roads and soft sand tracks to drive through. Once you got there though it was a little slice of paradise - white sand and turquoise sea. It was quite busy and all the beachfront spots were taken when we arrived, but we scored a nice quiet spot in the dunes.
6. Barn Hill Station (Near Broome), WA - $28/night (unpowered) $35/night (powered)
This caravan park is at a cattle station where the camp spots are located up above the dunes overlooking the ocean. There is heaps of exploring to do on the beach - lots of cool rock formations and caves. It was quite a popular spot, we loved our stay here!
7. Inskip Point, QLD- $6.65 per person/night
Inskip has lots of beachfront camp spots to choose from. There so much beach to explore in the area (by foot, or you can take your 4-wheel drive). It can get really busy though, especially on weekends.
8. Workman's Beach (Agnes Water), QLD - $9.20/ night
Such a beautiful spot, and really affordable camping. The sites are located in the bush above the beach - It's a few minutes walk to the beach down a steep path. It was so busy here when we went (it was school holidays though) and all spots are a first come first serve basis, so get in early.
9. Mataranka Homestead, NT - $26/night (unpowered), $30/night (powered)
Ok, So the next two aren't technically beaches, but they are bodies of water and we absolutely loved them, so we had to include them in the list. Mataranka is an amazing hot spring in the rainforest. It was just such an amazing spot - can't be missed!
10. Bushman's Rest Caravan Park (Lake Cullulleraine), NSW - $30/night
This caravan park is on a lake that the Murray River feeds into. It was just such a lush campground - all the grass was so green and the water was super refreshing. There wasn't that many people there either - definitely a hidden gem.