Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
154 Balnarring Beach Rd, Balnarring, Victoria 3926 Australia
Balnarring Foreshore Parks and Reserve
10 reviews
Getting there
Car recommended
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We visited Campground A in September and it was in a great bush setting only a minute walk away from the beach and the sites were spread apart but the amenities stank. We visited Campground B in February and it was really far away from the beach and the camp sites were really close together. We have not yet visited Campground C.
Read more
Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Would not recommend Campground B
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nice positioned powered pitch next to the beach. Shame the beach was covered in seaweed. After visiting miles of beautiful golden beaches along the coast from Sydney it was a bit of a disappointment. But It did have views of Phillips island and was a nice safe beach for swimming in the sea, good for children. It is a couple of hours drive from Melbourne so conveniently situated. A little oasis of trees surrounded by a built up area. Lots of wildlife especially birds. Two Kookaburra's sang beside us while we were having tea, first we had seen up close in the wild during a three week tour of Australia. Quiet sandy pitch. Shame the sand is black dust. Access to a clean Barbi which was useful. What let this camp site down was the dirty facilities. Toilets ,sinks, shower block and camp kitchen were cleaned half heartedly!
Read more
Date of stay: December 2019
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Victoria in the slow lane … and why not; you come for that break from routine, for access to one of the most attractive beaches in the state and, not least, because the township and beach are little more than an hour from the SE suburbs of Melbourne – straight down the Mornington Freeway and turn left. What you do have to do, however, is to schedule your travel clear of the main commuter times morning and late afternoon. For the moment there’s also a considerable level of congestion where the freeway meets Springvale Road – where there’s a 9 km extension in construction linking into the Dingley Village bypass and then to South Road. For all that, however, this is an easy run. Balnarring Township is home to an estimated 3,000 people around the junction of the Hastings-Flinders Road and the Mornington-Balnarring Road – lifestyle people, retirees and those providing the services for the community. A not inconsiderable commercial centre has established in recent years to accommodate the inflow of second home-owners, holiday makers and day trippers. This is a pleasant place to live. Balnarring Beach is a further 2 km from the township and located next to and above the beach – one of the adjoining beaches making up the Western Port Bay that envelopes French Island to the east. French Island is hidden around the headland, but immediately opposite – say 10 km away - is Phillip Island. Of a clear night the lights of Cowes beckon. The shallow sweep of the bay shows the beach at it’s best. There’s no lifeguard available notwithstanding the seemingly benign images that most people find. During our long w/e the water was … well … COLD; definitely wetsuit swimming. We were camping in the small Foreshore Reserve 60 m back from the beach, adjacent to the Merricks Creek and hemmed in on three sides by low-density mainly second homes, holiday homes or the haunt of the retiree brigade. There was sense of suburban gentility about the place – the place to be. The host reserve – estimated 1.5 ha in area - provided that mix of semi-managed bushland wherein you could hardly see from one campsite to the next such was the provision of cover, mature trees, undergrowth and more; you could see where the local ‘volunteer brigade’ had made effort to augment and replace plants and trees in recent times – holes dug, plastic/stick shelters, etc. Excellent, except that many of the plants had failed … as if there had been no/little follow up, which was unfortunate given the original effort involved. The prolific and varied birdlife on site was testament to the success of reserve management – we easily counted a couple of dozen species with the kids – including the leading scavengers - sneaky to a fault. We looked for koala but without success. We’d seen them a couple of years back, and others have reported them. This time round … zilch. There were five families in our group and we’d booked adjacent sites around the #50 site in Area B (one of three) just 30 m from the children’s playground in the neighbouring Robertson’s Park – facilities had been upgraded since we were last here. The kids could run back and forth and remain within call. Facilities in the campsite were limited – just the one unit with toilets, showers, laundry and washing-up facilities. Plentiful hot water which tended to fluctuate. Separate shower/toilet en suite for people with disabilities and/or families with little kids. We saw no one using the laundry (for which you need a token from the office) but limited washing up facilities typically brought that short queue – just the one dedicated twin-sink/room, but with a couple of sinks in the laundry. We saw the one rooved BBQ unit – next to, but separated from, the other facilities. Minimalistic sure, but the campsite was only around one third full – we figured - and facilities were sufficient. The early critique on TripAdvisor for lack of cleanliness had clearly been noted – the place was clean, presentable and well-provisioned – liquid soap in dispensers, toilet paper in holders, etc. Sure, there were still spider webs hanging from the ceiling but the floors, cubicles, surfaces were clean. Shower in the morning at around 09.00 after breakfast, and it always looked as if the place had just been cleaned. And the pièce de resistance of being there during the w/e - the walk along the beach between Balnarring and Somers – a distance of just 4 km. Take in the changing cloud cover over Phillip Island, the constant wave play on the shallow slope of the beach and the emptiness of the immediate hinterland – 70 ha of reserve followed by wetlands and then the steep climb through Somers Foreshore Reserve before heading to Somers General Store/Restaurant for lunch - it’s right opposite the beach access path/stairs. Across Library Road from the children’s playground there was Tulum Store – typical everyman/woman provider; stagger out of the tent of a morning and, across the road, and there’s this delightful place to sit under cover out front for the first caffe e brioche of the day. We paid $19 for two. The place comes highly recommended. And too camping in the foreshore reserve.
Peter Steele 01March21
Read more
Date of stay: February 2021
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Book adjacent to to site #50 in Block B and the kids will have easy access to the playground.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Spectacular playground in a beautiful setting. The elements are simple but kids will still enjoy them. Seating available to watch kids in the shade on a sunny day. Close to beach, good parking, nearby toilets and the opportunity to explore the park which campers use in high season. Bins provided but if full, take home your rubbish. A rotunda is nearby (in front of toilets) with bbq and plenty of seating by plus a tap to fill your water bottles. Across the road is a small shop “Tulum” but didn’t have time to explore. Plenty of picnic tables in the park. Please read the signage on what you can and can’t do, about local wildlife and parking restrictions. Fabulous place to enjoy the local environs.
Read more
Date of stay: October 2022Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
They placed my family next to rubbish bins. I felt ashamed and dirty. The bins smelt horrific and made the loudest noise when people added to the pile of pure stench. My children had to play next to the mess while my wife cooked our dinner. Other children would not play our children because we must have appeared filthy. Shame on council
Read more
Date of stay: December 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The location is very nice, the camping has a lot of trees and close to the beach, great for nature lovers, we saw some ibis and possums. Unfortunately the camping is not well-maintained, showers and toilets were dirty and with a lot of spiders webs and there was no camp kitchen (just barbecues). We had a site just in front of the rubbish bins...this was not very pleasant. The ground is kind of sandy, so can get quickly muddy when it's raining. I think this camping has a lot of potentiel, I was a bit disappointed to see it was not well maintained.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2019
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The campsite was very quiet which is great for families but not if you are with a group of friends with kids. The campsite was very sandy which is expected near the beach but you come away covered in a film of black dust. Shower block was pretty good with very hot water and good bbq facilities.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2017
Value
Cleanliness
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Our week-long stay before Christmas was really enjoyable. Only 50 mins drive from the south of Melbourne and right on the beach, the A Reserve campground had plenty of trees for shade, great amenities inc camp kitchen with stove and 4 sinks plus laundry - a bonus was the family shower in the girls bathroom!). Our powered campsite was large enough to spread out in and there was plenty of birdlife and even a koala for our kids to admire. There is loads to do in the local area: Red Hill wineries and Flinders are an easy half hour drive. The shopping centre is 5 mins drive away and has everything you need, and the little corner store around the corner serves coffees, nice lunches and ice creams until 5pm. Only con was our powered campsite's #11 entrance was facing the wrong way and very tight (entry is one way) to reverse a pop-top camper into (so we did a loop and came in the wrong way), and we needed two long power cords to reach the power box. These didn't worry us too much - only mention them to advise others to prepare. Definitely recommend.
Read more
Date of stay: December 2016Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Had a great weekend in A. B is very similar, lots of space and pretty good privacy between sites. BBQ's etc were great and we loved the beach access. The only downside was the sand. No grass, and it was pretty dark sand. It is super sheltered. So bring a good tarp for the ground! So much to see around the area.
Read more
Date of stay: February 2019
Value
Rooms
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stumbled across this little camp site last year and it's a gem - been several times since. Shower block pretty good and bbq site works well.
Beach for kids is perfect for sand castles and rock pooling!
Read more
Date of stay: March 2016Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Balnarring area.
LOCATION
AustraliaVictoriaMornington PeninsulaBalnarring
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.