I've driven more kilometres across Western Australia than I can honestly tally — dusty red tracks through the Pilbara, winding coastal roads along the Coral Coast, and long stretches of the South Western Highway with the caravan swaying gently behind. What strikes me every single time is just how varied this state is, and how well it rewards travellers who are willing to slow down, pull into a decent campsite, and actually stay a while.
This guide is my attempt to give you a working map of WA's major destinations — not a glossy overview, but the kind of region-by-region breakdown I wish I'd had on my first big lap. I've organised it roughly from south to north, because that's how most caravanners approach the state on an extended trip.
The South West: Wine, Waves and Tall Timber
Most people begin or end their WA adventure in Perth, and honestly, there's good reason for that. The city sits on the Indian Ocean with a relaxed, sun-drenched energy that makes it easy to sort your supplies, service the van, and steel yourself for the road ahead. Free and low-cost camps are sparse within the metro area itself, but head south down the Kwinana Freeway and within two hours you're in very different territory.
Margaret River and the Cape to Cape Region
Margaret River is the jewel of the South West, and I say that as someone who has camped there in every season. The region runs along a limestone ridge above a coastline of serious surf breaks, caves, and karri forests that take your breath away when you're standing at the base of a tree that's been growing since before European settlement. There are dozens of caravan parks spread across the region — from full-powered sites in the township itself to more bush-style camps in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. I'd recommend booking ahead between December and February; this stretch of coast draws enormous numbers of domestic holidaymakers and sites fill quickly.
The region's underground caves — Jewel Cave, Lake Cave, Mammoth Cave — are worth a half-day each. If you're travelling with kids, the combination of farm stays, chocolate factories, and beginner surf beaches at Yallingup keeps everyone occupied without anyone needing to be herded.
The Karri and Tingle Forests of the Deep South
Further east, the towns of Pemberton, Walpole, and Denmark reward slower travel. The Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk near Walpole is genuinely spectacular — tingle trees up to 400 years old, with a walkway suspended 40 metres above the forest floor. Camping here is well set up for caravanners, with sites at William Bay National Park and several good parks in Walpole township. The roads are fine for most rigs, though the tracks into some bush camps are better suited to smaller setups.
The Goldfields and the Southern Outback
Kalgoorlie-Boulder sits about 600 kilometres east of Perth on the Great Eastern Highway, and it's a genuine frontier town — loud, proud, and built entirely on gold. The Super Pit is the obvious attraction: a hole in the ground so large that the trucks working its floor look like toys. Free camping is limited in Kalgoorlie itself but there are several well-priced caravan parks in town, and the surrounding goldfields offer some remarkable free and low-cost bush camps for those heading further into the outback.
Wave Rock and the Wheatbelt
The Wheatbelt is often skipped by travellers in a hurry, which means it retains a quietness that's increasingly rare. Wave Rock near Hyden — a 15-metre-high granite formation that genuinely looks like a breaking wave — is a reliable stop on a loop from Perth, and the caravan park at the base of the rock is comfortable and well-managed. The drive through York, Merredin, and the surrounding farming towns has its own appeal, particularly in spring when the wildflowers are out across the paddocks.
The Mid West and Coral Coast
This is where WA starts to feel genuinely remote to most visitors, and it's the stretch of coast I return to more than any other. The Coral Coast runs from Dongara in the south up through Geraldton, Kalbarri, Shark Bay, and Carnarvon, and it rewards anyone willing to drive the distances involved.
Kalbarri National Park
Kalbarri is built around the mouth of the Murchison River, and the national park that surrounds the town has some of the most striking gorge country in the state. The Kalbarri Skywalk, which opened in 2020 above the Z-Bend gorge, is worth every step of the walk out to it. Caravanning into the gorges themselves requires a smaller or lighter rig — the tracks are corrugated and slow — but the main township has several good parks with full facilities.
Shark Bay World Heritage Area
Monkey Mia, within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, is the spot most people know from the famous wild dolphin interactions, but there's much more to the region. Hamelin Pool has the world's most extensive living stromatolites — ancient microbial mats that have been building for 3,500 years and represent some of the earliest life forms on Earth. Shell Beach is exactly what it sounds like: kilometres of shoreline composed entirely of tiny cockle shells rather than sand. The caravan parks at Denham are reliable, and the whole peninsula feels like it's operating at a slower frequency than the rest of the country.
Just north of Carnarvon, Coral Bay sits at the southern gateway to the Ningaloo Reef — one of the longest fringing reefs in the world and one of the few places on Earth where you can swim with whale sharks from the shore, or very nearly so. I've spent two separate trips anchored to Coral Bay's caravan park for weeks at a time, snorkelling every morning before the day-trippers arrive, and it still doesn't get old. The park is well-run, the beach is directly accessible, and the town is small enough that you never feel like you're fighting for space in the water. This is, genuinely, one of the finest caravan destinations in Australia.
The Pilbara and the Kimberley
Once you push north of Exmouth and the Ningaloo Coast, you're into serious expedition territory — the Pilbara and then the Kimberley. These regions are not impossible for caravanners, but they require preparation: sufficient water capacity, solid tyres, recovery gear if you're going off-road, and the ability to be self-sufficient for multi-day stretches.
Karijini National Park
Karijini is one of WA's crown jewels and one of the most dramatic national parks in Australia. The gorges — Dales, Hancock, Weano, Knox — carve deep into ancient banded ironstone, and the water that collects at the bottom is cold, clear, and extraordinary. The main Dales Gorge campsite is suitable for caravans, though the access roads to the deeper gorge carparks are not. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions manages facilities here, and booking ahead during school holidays is essential.
The Kimberley
Broome is the obvious entry point to the Kimberley — a pearling town with a genuinely multicultural history, cable beach, and the extraordinary Staircase to the Moon phenomenon that occurs on full-moon evenings between March and October. From Broome, the Gibb River Road runs east through cattle station country to Kununurra, and it's among the most iconic 4WD drives in the country. Towing a large caravan along the Gibb is not advisable; most experienced travellers leave the van in Broome or switch to a camper trailer or rooftop tent setup. The reward — remote gorges, Aboriginal rock art, swimming holes at El Questro and Manning Gorge — is worth whatever compromise you need to make to get there.
Planning Your Western Australia Trip: Practical Notes
Western Australia is enormous — about four times the size of Texas, to put it in terms Americans sometimes find useful — and the distances between destinations are real. Perth to Broome is roughly 2,200 kilometres on the coastal highway; Perth to Kununurra is over 3,000 kilometres. Build in more time than you think you need.
When to Go
The south of the state is best visited between October and April; the north is best between April and September, when the wet season has ended and temperatures are manageable. If you're doing a full lap, most travellers leave Perth in autumn heading north, spend the dry season in the Kimberley, and loop back through the goldfields and south coast before summer hits the south.
Camping Booking and Passes
Many national park campgrounds across WA can be booked through the Parks and Wildlife booking system. A Holiday Parks and Campgrounds pass covers multiple stays and can represent good value on a longer trip. The Tourism Western Australia website maintains region-by-region itinerary suggestions that are worth scanning before you finalise your route.
My strongest practical advice is to carry more water than you expect to need, check road conditions before heading onto unsealed tracks (the Main Roads WA website is the most reliable source), and don't rush the south west on your way to the Coral Coast — there's genuinely enough in the Margaret River region alone for a two-week trip. WA rewards the patient traveller.