Jervis Bay Camping Guide: Everything You Need to Know

Camping at Jervis Bay

Waking up in a tent to the sound of kookaburras, walking thirty metres to a beach with water so clear it looks photoshopped, and making coffee while kangaroos graze on the grass beside your campsite — that’s camping at Jervis Bay.

The camping here is exceptional, and the competition for sites reflects it. Booderee National Park’s campgrounds are some of the most sought-after in Australia, and the ballot system for peak periods catches a lot of people off-guard.

Here’s how to make it work.

Booderee National Park Camping

The three campgrounds inside Booderee are the main event. They’re bush camping in a national park — no powered sites, no camp kitchens, no glamping — but the locations are extraordinary. For full park information, see our Booderee National Park guide.

Green Patch

The most popular campground, and the one most people picture when they think of Jervis Bay camping. Green Patch sits right on the bay, with calm, clear water perfect for swimming and kayaking. The sites are set back from the beach on grassy clearings between paperbark and eucalypt trees.

Eastern grey kangaroos are permanent residents of the campground and will be grazing on the grass when you arrive. They’re used to humans but remain wild — keep your distance, especially from mothers with joeys.

Sites: Around 80 sites, a mix of small and large. Most will fit a tent and car comfortably. A few can accommodate larger setups. Facilities: Flushing toilets, cold showers, fire rings (when fires are permitted), picnic tables. No: Powered sites, hot showers, camp kitchens, mobile reception (mostly). Best for: Families, first-time Booderee campers, swimming and snorkelling. Green Patch is one of the best beaches in Jervis Bay for calm water.

Bristol Point

Smaller and quieter than Green Patch, Bristol Point is also on the bay side with calm water access. It has a more intimate feel — fewer sites, less foot traffic, and a sense of seclusion that Green Patch loses during peak periods.

The beach here is small but lovely, and because there are fewer campers, you’ll often have the waterfront to yourself in the early morning.

Sites: Around 30 sites. Similar setup to Green Patch. Facilities: Flushing toilets, cold showers, fire rings, picnic tables. Best for: Couples, smaller groups, people who want the bay experience without the Green Patch crowds.

Cave Beach

On the ocean side of the park, Cave Beach campground is a different proposition entirely. Instead of calm bay water, you’ve got the Tasman Sea — proper surf, a wider beach, and a wilder feel. The campground is set back in coastal bush, and you walk through trees to reach the sand.

Sea caves at the southern end of the beach are worth exploring at low tide. The surf can be excellent but it’s unpatrolled, so swim within your limits.

At night, Cave Beach is darker and quieter than the bay-side campgrounds. The stars here are remarkable — minimal light pollution, and on a clear night the Milky Way is vivid enough to cast shadows.

Sites: Around 30 sites. More sheltered in the bush than the bay-side campgrounds. Facilities: Flushing toilets, cold showers, fire rings, picnic tables. Best for: Surfers, couples, people who prefer wild coastline to sheltered bay.

The Ballot System

This is the part that trips people up. During peak periods — school holidays, long weekends, and the December-January summer block — Booderee campground bookings operate through a ballot (lottery) system.

How it works:

1. Parks Australia announces the ballot opening date, usually about four months before each peak period. This is published on the Booderee website and their social media channels.
2. During the ballot window (typically open for a couple of weeks), you submit your preferences — which campground, which dates, and how many sites.
3. After the ballot closes, successful applicants are drawn at random and notified by email.
4. Successful applicants have a set period to confirm and pay. If they don’t, the site goes to a waitlist or back into the pool.

The reality: Demand massively exceeds supply, especially for Green Patch over Christmas and January. Being unsuccessful is normal. Don’t take it personally.

Outside peak periods, bookings are first-come, first-served through the Parks Australia website. The shoulder seasons — March to May and September to November — are much easier to get, and honestly, the camping is arguably better. Fewer mozzies, milder temperatures, and campgrounds that aren’t at maximum capacity.

Tips for the Ballot

• Set a calendar reminder for when the ballot opens. It fills fast, and while submitting early doesn’t improve your odds (it’s random), the ballot window does close and you don’t want to miss it.
• Be flexible on dates. Midweek blocks are easier than full-week bookings spanning weekends. Tuesday to Thursday in January is more attainable than Saturday to Saturday.
• Try all three campgrounds. If your heart is set on Green Patch, submit for that. But also consider Bristol Point or Cave Beach — they’re less popular and your odds are better.
• Check for cancellations. In the weeks before your preferred dates, sites often open up as people change plans. Check the Parks Australia website regularly — released sites go fast but they do appear.

Booderee Camping Essentials

The campgrounds are in a national park with limited facilities. Come prepared.

Bring:

• All drinking water (there is no potable water supply)
• All food — the nearest shops are 15-20 minutes drive in Vincentia or Huskisson (see where to eat for supply and dining options)
• Firewood if you plan to have campfires (and check fire restrictions before you arrive — total fire bans prohibit all fires)
• Insect repellent — mosquitoes and march flies can be fierce, especially in summer
• Sealed food storage containers — cockatoos and lace monitors will raid anything left out
• Torch/headlamp for navigating the campground at night
• Warm layers for evenings, even in summer — it cools off near the water

Leave behind:

• Dogs (not permitted in Booderee, no exceptions)
• Generators (not permitted)
• Expectations of mobile reception (it’s patchy at best, non-existent at worst)

Holiday Parks Around Jervis Bay

If Booderee is booked out or you prefer powered sites, hot showers, and a camp kitchen, several holiday parks operate around the Jervis Bay area.

Huskisson Beach Tourist Resort is the closest to town — walk to restaurants, the wharf, and the beach. Powered and unpowered sites, plus cabins if you want a roof overhead. It books out well in advance for peak periods.

Jervis Bay Holiday Park (Woollamia area) has a quieter bush setting, a pool, and good facilities. Popular with families.

Shoalhaven Heads Holiday Haven is slightly further from the bay but larger, with more facilities and often better availability. Good option if everything closer is booked.

Holiday parks typically cost $40-$70 per night for unpowered sites and $50-$90 for powered, depending on the season. Cabins range from $120 to $300+ per night in peak season. Book early for December-January — months in advance is not overkill.

Free and Low-Cost Camping Nearby

If everything at Jervis Bay is booked out, or if you’re on a tight budget, there are basic campgrounds within driving distance.

Honeymoon Bay (in Morton National Park, near Nowra) is a bushland campground on the Shoalhaven River, about 40 minutes from Jervis Bay. Vehicle access, basic facilities, $12 per adult per night booked through NPWS. Not on the coast, but a peaceful spot.

Bendalong and Manyana (about 30 minutes south of Jervis Bay) have holiday parks with camping at various price points.

Red Rocks Tidal Pool area and various spots along the Shoalhaven have informal camping options, but check current regulations — free camping spots in NSW are increasingly regulated and what was open last year may not be this year.

For genuine free camping, you’ll need to head further from the coast. Apps like WikiCamps and the Camps Australia Wide book list current free and low-cost options in the broader Shoalhaven region.

If You Miss the Ballot

Don’t despair. Missing the Booderee ballot doesn’t mean missing Jervis Bay. Your options:

1. Book a holiday park — less romantic than bush camping in a national park, but you still wake up near the bay with everything you need. See our accommodation guide for all the options.
2. Try shoulder season — Booderee camping outside peak periods is first-come, first-served and much easier to get. March, April, May, September, October, and November are all excellent times to visit.
3. Day visit Booderee — pay the $13 entry fee and spend the day in the park. You get the beaches, the walks, the wildlife — just not the overnight experience.
4. Camp nearby and drive in — stay at a campground in the broader Shoalhaven area and drive to Jervis Bay for the day.
5. Check for cancellations — sites do open up. Check the booking website regularly in the weeks before your trip.

General Camping Tips

Arrive in daylight. Setting up camp in the dark in an unfamiliar bush campground is nobody’s idea of fun. The kangaroos look a lot more charming at sunset than they do looming out of the darkness when you’re fumbling with tent poles.

Ticks are real. Paralysis ticks live in the bush around Jervis Bay. Check yourself and your kids thoroughly after spending time in the scrub. Behind ears, hairline, armpits, groin. If you find a tick, don’t squeeze or burn it — use fine-tipped tweezers or a tick removal tool and pull it straight out.

Store food properly. Sulphur-crested cockatoos will open zips, unclip buckles, and shred packaging to reach food. Lace monitors (large goannas) will walk straight into your campsite and help themselves. Keep everything sealed and stored in your car when you’re not actively eating.

Respect quiet hours. Campgrounds in Booderee have quiet hours from 9pm to 7am. Enforce them on yourself before the ranger enforces them for you.

Leave no trace. Pack out everything you bring in. No food scraps left at the campsite, no rubbish, no tent pegs forgotten in the grass. The reason these campgrounds are special is because people before you left them that way.

Camping at Jervis Bay — particularly inside Booderee — is one of the best camping experiences on the NSW coast. The water, the wildlife, the bush pressing in around your tent. It takes a bit of planning and sometimes a bit of luck with the ballot. But waking up to that bay, stepping out of your tent onto sand still cool from the night, walking into water that’s already turning turquoise in the morning light — that’s worth the effort.