3am, Tidal River campground. A wombat the size of a beer keg has its head inside your kitchen tub, eating last night's leftovers. You hiss at it. It looks at you, takes another bite, and waddles off with the bread. Welcome to Wilsons Promontory — the southernmost mainland point of Australia, the prettiest national park in Victoria, and the most famously over-booked campground in the country.

This guide covers the booking ballot reality (book 12 months ahead, accept that you'll lose), the walk-in coast camps that are a quieter alternative, the must-do walks, when to visit (and when to avoid), what the wombat-and-fire-ban rules actually mean, and what to pack for a place that gets all four seasons in 24 hours.

Tidal River is the only drive-in campground at the Prom. 482 sites across drive-in tent, powered, unpowered, walk-in tent + cabin/lodge. Beach is 5 mins walk. Mt Oberon trailhead 8 mins drive. Bookings via Parks Victoria.

The booking system — read this carefully:

• Easter, Christmas + January peak — by ballot, opens August/September the year before. You enter the ballot, get allocated (or don't), pay if successful
• Other school holidays — book in person 6 months ahead the moment availability opens at 8.30am Vic time. Sites sell out within minutes
• Off-peak (May-September) — book online 1-3 weeks ahead. Often available a week out, especially mid-week
• Cabin lottery — separate process; the wilderness retreats + lodges have a different booking window

What you actually get: hot showers, flush toilets, gas BBQs, a small general store + cafe, beach access, mobile reception (patchy), an information centre. NO fires (year-round), NO generators after 9pm, NO drone use.

Site costs (peak): ~$60-75/night unpowered, $80-95 powered, $250-450/night cabin/lodge. Off-peak halves both. Vehicle entry fee separate.

Booking link: parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/wilsons-promontory-national-park — search "Wilsons Prom Tidal River booking" + you'll find the current portal.

Tidal River is the easy option. The Prom's real magic is the four overnight walk-in coastal camps — fewer people, no cars, you wake up on a beach.

• Sealers Cove (10km, 3-4hrs from Telegraph Saddle) — the busiest walk-in. Beach + creek, no facilities except long-drop toilets. Pristine. Sleeps ~50.
• Refuge Cove (12.5km from car park) — the iconic Prom camp. Two beaches, sheltered cove, popular with overnight walkers + sailors anchored in the bay.
• Roaring Meg (16km, 5-6hrs in) — inland forest camp on the southern circuit. Quieter, no beach access from camp. Toilet only.
• Little Waterloo Bay (15km in) — small beach camp, very limited capacity. Sometimes booked years ahead.
• Lighthouse Keepers Cottages — historic accommodation at the lighthouse (5-6hr walk in). Books out 12+ months for peak.

Walk-in booking: via Parks Vic same portal. $20-35 per person per night for camps. Limited spots; book at the same time as Tidal River. Permits checked by rangers.

What to take: proper pack (60L+), 2L water/person/day (creeks unreliable), tent, fuel stove (NO fires anywhere in the Prom), sleeping bag rated to 0°C even in summer (coast gets cold).

Best multi-day route: Tidal River → Sealers Cove (1 night) → Refuge Cove (1 night) → Lighthouse → back via Roaring Meg → Tidal River. 4-5 days, ~50km, mostly graded coastal track + some beach walking.

Browse our hiking tents + packs + bags for walk-in essentials.

The bucket list, in order:

• Mt Oberon Summit (6.8km return, 2-3hrs, moderate) — the iconic Prom view. Granite-boulder summit, panoramic views over Tidal River, Squeaky Beach, the entire southern coast. Best at sunrise; worst at midday in summer.
• Squeaky Beach (10 min drive from Tidal River + 200m walk) — quartz-grain sand that literally squeaks underfoot. Body-surfing, photogenic granite. Always busy in summer.
• Lilly Pilly Gully (5.4km circuit, 2hrs, easy) — temperate rainforest, perfect for a hot-day walk in dappled shade. Boardwalk much of the way.
• Pillar Point (3.4km return, 1hr) — short walk to dramatic granite outcrop, big sea views. Great for kids/older walkers.
• Tongue Point (5.6km return, 2.5hrs) — coastal cliffs, windswept granite. Less crowded than Mt Oberon. Whales in season (June-Oct).
• Big Drift sand dunes (3.4km return) — inland sand dunes 30 min drive north of Tidal River. Surreal, Sahara-like. Sunrise/sunset for photographs.
• Sealers Cove + return (20km day return) — long, beautiful, doable as a day walk if you're fit + start early.

Insider tip: the Mt Oberon car park (Telegraph Saddle) fills by 7.30am most summer days. There's a bus shuttle from Tidal River that runs December-Easter — use it; saves the 6km road walk if the carpark's closed.

The Prom has more visible native wildlife than almost anywhere else accessible by 2WD in southern Australia. It's also home to some serious troublemakers:

• Wombats — Tidal River's apex problem. They're protected, they're nocturnal, they will demolish your kitchen tub looking for food. Lock all food in the car overnight, including dishwashing sponges + butter (yes, really). Don't feed them — fines are $300+.
• Emus — confident enough to walk through camp at lunch. Don't feed; don't approach. They're surprisingly fast + can kick.
• Kangaroos + wallabies — common, mostly chill. Especially around dawn/dusk on the Tidal River roads.
• Echidnas — common in the bush around Lilly Pilly Gully. Slow + cute; give them space.
• Snakes (tiger, copperhead, white-lipped) — present October-April. Wear closed shoes off-track; carry a snake bandage. Tiger snakes especially around Tidal River creek.
• Whales — humpback + southern right migration June-October. Visible from Lighthouse Cottages, Tongue Point, Mt Oberon.
• Wedge-tailed eagles — soaring above Mt Oberon most days.
• Penguins — small colony at the southern coast (rarely seen).

The wombat rule, repeated: NEVER leave food, esky, dishwashing supplies or scented anything outside the car overnight. They will work it out. Park rangers + camp neighbours have stories.

• Best for warm-weather camping: February-late April. Water still warm, kids back at school = quieter, weather mostly stable, summer crowds gone. Mid-week perfect.
• Best for walks: March-May or September-November. Cool to cold; spectacular wildflowers in spring; fewer biting insects.
• Best for whales: June-October from coastal viewpoints (Tongue Point, Lighthouse).
• Avoid: Christmas-New Year + Easter — booked solid 12 months ahead; wall-to-wall families; 2-3hr queues at the Tidal River store.
• Avoid: July-August in tents — overnight 0-5°C, persistent rain, walk-ins miserable. Cabins only.
• Mixed: January — beautiful but crowded; mosquitoes can be nightmare in still nights.

The fire-ban reality: NO fires year-round in the Prom. Total Fire Ban days (declared often Nov-Apr) ban ALL flame, including gas stoves at exposed sites. Check the day's TFB status at the Tidal River info centre. Plan around it; bring no-cook backup meals (cured meats, cheese, wraps).

Weather warning: the Prom is exposed to Bass Strait storms. 4-season weather in 24 hrs is normal. Pack a proper rain shell, warm layers + windproof tent regardless of forecast.

• Last fuel — Yanakie (small servo, expensive) or Foster (full servo, 30km out). Fill up at Foster.
• Last full supermarket — Foster (Coles) or Wonthaggi if you're coming through Inverloch. Tidal River store is cafe-style + small, expensive, limited.
• Mobile coverage — patchy. Telstra works at Tidal River + the main road; nothing on most of the walks. Download offline maps.
• The drive in — winding 30km from Yanakie. Allow 45-60min from Foster, longer with caravan. NO caravan access past the Tidal River bend (8km before Tidal River) — leave caravan at the unhitching area or use a small rig only.
• Day trip from Melbourne — possible but tight. 3-3.5hr drive each way + 6hrs in park. Better as overnight at Yanakie or Inverloch + day trip in.
• Showers (cold) at Tidal River — included with site fee. Hot showers via coin-op (carry $2 coins).
• Generator rules — banned in tent areas + walk-ins. Allowed limited hours in caravan zone. Most prefer to do without.

If Tidal River's booked, our Campsite Explorer shows alternative VIC campsites — Yanakie, Toora, Foster, Inverloch, Cape Liptrap area + bush camps.

Browse all VIC campsites →

• Bookings + permits: parks.vic.gov.au
• Weather + marine: bom.gov.au/vic
• Fire bans (CFA): cfa.vic.gov.au
• Leave No Trace Australia: lnt.org.au

The Prom is the best camping in Victoria + arguably the most reliable beach-and-bush combination on the southern Australian mainland. Book a year ahead for peak; turn up mid-week off-season + you'll have it largely to yourself. Walk in to Sealers or Refuge for one night minimum — you'll come back understanding why the Bunurong + Brataualung people called this place home for 18,000 years.

Pack for four seasons, lock your food away from the wombats, climb Mt Oberon at sunrise, walk to Sealers for an overnight. That's the Prom.