The best camping and glamping on Phillip Island

Chloe Cann Chloe Cann
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There’s a plethora of different camping and glamping options on Phillip Island – here we explore some of the Bass Coast isle’s best.

Family favourite Phillip Island has long lured holidaymakers to its shores with the promise of sea, sand, surf and (sometimes) sun. Plot your escape to this summer playground with our guide to the best Phillip Island camping and glamping spots, most of which are pet-friendly outside of peak season to boot.

The Sheltered Glamping Co

an aerial view of The Sheltered Glamping Co, Phillip Island
Stay in an elevated tent surrounded by epic scenery. (Image: The Sheltered Glamping Co)

You won’t be left wanting with a stay at one of The Sheltered Glamping Co’s souped-up tents. The eco-conscious operator’s canvas bell tents come equipped with queen-sized beds, lighting, a heater, speakers, USB ports, power points, a kettle and a range of teas and coffee, plus access to a private outdoor heated shower and composting toilet, and a communal day tent.

Or you can opt for its super spacious, fully furnished safari tent, known as Emperor, home to a wood-fired hot tub that sits under the stars, an indoor wood-burning fireplace, a four-poster queen-sized bed and a king-sized bed hidden in a nook; it also has a fully equipped kitchen and Weber barbecue. Pitched on a tranquil and remote pocket of the island, you’ll find wallabies and echidnas roaming freely in these parts.

Address: Ventnor

NRMA Phillip Island Holiday Park

scenic sea views from a tent at NRMA Phillip Island Holiday Park
Soak up seaside serenity at NRMA Phillip Island Holiday Park. (Image: Supplied)

Not only is this NRMA Phillip Island Holiday Park situated just metres from the sea – with some of its powered camping sites located right on the waterfront – but it’s also only a 15-minute walk from the thick of the action in Cowes.

The pet- and family-friendly park is known to keep its facilities immaculately clean, and it has a few to offer: from a kid’s playground to a communal wood-fired pizza oven and fire pit, a barbecue area, a recreation room with arcade games and a TV, and even a herb garden that guests can use.

Glamping is also on offer here. The park’s handful of safari tents are just steps from Cowes Beach, delivering unobstructed sea views. And there’s perhaps no spot better to enjoy them from than the solitude of your own private, partially sheltered outdoor clawfoot bathtub. Other features include an electric fireplace, an en suite bathroom, and an outdoor deck with a barbecue.

Address: 164 Church St, Cowes

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BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Phillip Island

an aerial beach view of BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Phillip Island
BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Phillip Island offers direct beach access. (Image: Supplied)

Located at the far western edge of the isle, just minutes from the bridge that connects Phillip Island with the mainland, and adjacent to the sprawling bushland of the Phillip Island Coastal Reserve, this Ingenia Holidays park is great for those who want to get away from it all. There’s also direct access to one of Phillip Island’s many beaches. If you’re craving a bit more civilisation, the shops, cafes and restaurants of Newhaven lie just 500 metres away; or you can walk across the bridge itself, to spend the morning or evening exploring the bigger mainland town of San Remo.

In terms of facilities, you’ll find all the usual suspects here: an adventure playground, a basketball ring, a games room, a TV and recreation room, a modern camp kitchen and undercover electric barbecues. But over and above that, the BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Phillip Island also provides a seasonal outdoor cinema, a jumping pillow, and pedal cars for hire.

Address: 24 Old Bridge Dr, Newhaven

Amaroo Park Phillip Island

The holiday park located perhaps the closest to Cowes, just two blocks from the main street, Amaroo is in a prime position for those who like to be slap-bang in the centre of things. Unlike many of the other holiday parks on the island, this one boasts its own solar-heated saltwater outdoor pool, surrounded by chairs and loungers. A quiet site, with fewer facilities catering directly to kids than other parks, Amaroo is arguably aimed more at couples and friends, or those with older children rather than little ones.

Address: 97 Church St, Cowes

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Anchor Belle

an aerial view of Anchor Belle, Phillip Island camping spot
Anchor Belle is just a 100-metre stroll from the beach.

Located just on the edge of Cowes, and only 100 metres from the beach, family-owned and operated Anchor Belle ticks a lot of boxes and proves a big hit with kids: there’s an indoor heated swimming pool that’s perfect for Victoria’s unpredictable weather, plus a jumping cushion, a multi-purpose ball court, a playground, a recreation room, and a games room. Adults, meanwhile, will love the gas pizza oven, the park’s two hectares of greenery and bushland, the shady grassed sites, the accommodating and amiable staff, the clean facilities, and the good water pressure in the showers.

Address: 272 Church St, Cowes

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Chloe Cann
Chloe Cann is an award-winning freelance travel and food writer, born in England, based in Melbourne and Roman by adoption. Since honing her skills at City St George's, University of London with a master's degree in journalism, she's been writing almost exclusively about travel for more than a decade, and has worked in-house at newspapers and travel magazines in London, Phnom Penh, Sydney and Melbourne. Through a mixture of work and pleasure, she's been fortunate enough to visit 80 countries to date, though there are many more that she is itching to reach. While the strength of a region's food scene tends to dictate the location of her next trip, she can be equally swayed by the promise of interesting landscapes and offbeat experiences. And with a small person now in tow, travel looks a little different these days, but it remains at the front of her mind.
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a farm-style cabin at Five Acres, Phillip Island
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Unforgettable First Peoples tours and experiences in Victoria

    Angela Saurine Angela Saurine
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    From ancient aquaculture systems to sacred rock art shelters, Victoria’s First Peoples cultural experiences offer a powerful connection to one of the world’s oldest living cultures – where every site, story and smoking ceremony invites a deeper understanding of the land beneath your feet. 

    Victoria’s sweeping landscapes hold stories far older than any road map can trace – stories etched into stone, sung through generations and woven into every bend of river and rise of hill. From the lava flows of Budj Bim to the ancient middens of Moyjil/Point Ritchie and the volcanic crater of Tower Hill, the state is home to some of the most significant First Peoples cultural sites in Australia. These places, along with other immersive experiences, offer not only a window into a 60,000-year legacy, but a profound way of understanding Country itself. As more travellers seek connection over checklists, guided tours by Traditional Owners offer respectful, unforgettable insights into a living culture that continues to shape the land and the people who walk it. 

    Budj Bim cultural landscape  

    Budj Bim Cultural Landscape
    Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is on Gunditjmara Country. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Venture beyond the surf and sand of the Great Ocean Road to discover a deeper story etched into the volcanic landscape. At Budj Bim, ancient aquaculture channels built by the Gunditjmara people to trap, store and harvest kooyang (short-finned eel) reveal one of the world’s oldest living cultures. While you’re in the area, head over to the state-of-the-art Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre, where you can observe the eels in a special tank, wander the shores of Tae Rak (Lake Condah), and enjoy a bite at the Bush Tucker Cafe. Also nearby is Tower Hill, a dormant volcano reborn as a wildlife reserve, offering trails through bushland teeming with emus and koalas. 

    eel tank
    The kooyang (eel) tank at Tae Rak. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Dumawul Kooyoora Walking Tour 

    Dumawul walkingtour
    Guests are guided through Kooyoora State Park on the Dumawul walking tour. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Step into a timeless landscape with Dumawul’s guided tour through Kooyoora State Park, around an hour’s drive west of Bendigo in north-central Victoria. Led by Djaara guides, this immersive half-day journey breathes life into Country, weaving together stories, bush tucker and ancient rock art. Known to the Dja Dja Wurrung people as Guyura – the ‘mountain of light’ – this dramatic granite range is rich with cultural and spiritual significance.  The adventure begins with a meet-up at the Bridgewater Hotel on the banks of the Loddon River, before guests are welcomed onto Country with a traditional Smoking Ceremony – a powerful ritual that honours ancestors and cleanses those who walk the land. From there, it’s a gentle wander through rugged outcrops and open bushland, with sweeping vistas unfolding at every turn. Along the way, guides share their knowledge of how the Dja Dja Wurrung peoples have cared for and adapted with this land for generations, offering a rare and moving window into an ancient way of life that continues to thrive today.  

    Kooyoora walking tour
    Knowledge of the Dja Dja Wurrung is shared on the trail. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Kingfisher Cruises  

    Kingfisher Cruises
    Cruising the Murray with Kingfisher Cruises. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Glide quietly through the Barmah-Millewa forest – the nation’s largest river red gum ecosystem – on a scenic journey along the Murray River and into the Barmah Lakes with Kingfisher Cruises. Led by passionate guides who share stories of the cultural significance of this ancient landscape, these cruises reveal the stories, totems and traditional knowledge of the Yorta Yorta people. As you navigate narrow waterways and spot native birds, you’ll gain a richer understanding of how First Peoples have lived in harmony with this floodplain for tens of thousands of years. It’s a gentle, immersive experience that leaves a lasting impression – one where every bend in the river carries echoes of culture, connection and Country.  

    wawa biik 

    Taungurung leaders
    Exploring Nagambie with Taungurung leaders. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Translating to ‘hello, Country’ in the language of the First Nations People and Custodians of the rivers and mountains of Taungurung Country in Central Victoria, wawa biik guides a range of authentic and deeply immersive experiences. Leaving from either Nagambie or Euroa, the tours are woven with ancient stories of the Taungurung, telling how a sustained connection and responsibility ensures the continued health of biik – benefitting the people, animals and plants that live in and around the Goulburn River. During the wawa Nagambie experience, guests participate in a Welcome Smoking Ceremony, and enjoy lunch and conversation with two Taungurung leaders as they cruise through the wetlands of tabilk-tabilk (place of many waterholes). The 4.5-hour tour begins at Tahbilk Winery, which is set in the wetlands of Nagambie on Taungurung Country and collaborates with Taungurung Elders to share knowledge of biik. 

    Bataluk Cultural Trail  

    Bataluk Trail
    Cape Conran on the Bataluk Trail. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    The Bataluk Cultural Trail winds through East Gippsland like a thread stitching past to present, tracing the deep connection between the Gunaikurnai people and their land. Starting at the Knob Reserve in Stratford, visitors walk among scarred trees and ancient stone tools once used for survival and ceremony. At the Den of Nargun near Mitchell River, the earth holds stories of women’s sacred spaces, cloaked in myth and legend. Further along, Legend Rock at Metung tells of greed and consequence, its surface etched with ancient lore. At Cape Conran, shell middens lie scattered like breadcrumbs of history – 10,000 years of gatherings, stories and saltwater songs still echoing in the wind.  

    Healesville Sanctuary  

    echidna at Healesville Sanctuary
    Get up close with a resident echidna at Healesville Sanctuary. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Set on the historic grounds of Coranderrk Aboriginal Station, Healesville Sanctuary honours the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation through immersive storytelling and connection to Country. Along Wurundjeri Walk, visitors are invited to reflect on the land’s rich First Peoples history, with native plants revealing their traditional uses. Wurundjeri Elder and educator Murrundindi shares culture in-person with the Wominjeka Aboriginal Cultural Experience every Sunday, and most days during Victorian school holidays. Murrundindi’s smoking ceremonies, storytelling and bush tucker knowledge reveal the sacred relationship between people, animals and the environment. Bird-lovers can’t miss the incredible Spirits of the Sky show featuring native birds daily at 12pm and 3pm. 

    The Grampians 

    Rock art at Bunjil Shelter in The Grampians
    Rock art at Bunjil Shelter in The Grampians. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Known as Gariwerd to Traditional Owners, the Grampians is a place of immense cultural and spiritual significance. This rugged landscape holds more than 80 per cent of Victoria’s known First Peoples rock art, offering a powerful window into the region’s deep heritage. Visitors can respectfully explore five remarkable rock art sites: Billimina and Ngamadjidj in the Wartook Valley, Manja Shelter near Hamilton, Gulgurn Manja shelter near Laharum, and the Bunjil Shelter near Stawell, where the creator spirit is depicted. Each site tells a unique story of connection to Country, shared through ancient handprints, dancing figures and Dreaming narratives etched into stone.