heading to the beach is THE most popular destination in Victoria for summer school holidays - BAD NEWS is: THEY WILL BE BOOKED OUT UNLESS YOU BOOK MONTHS IN ADVANCE and there are almost no free camps adjacent a beach in Victoria (with few exceptions such as Golden Beach)
you may have to resort to expensive accommodation such as an AirBnB
to save time planning, go to Parks Vic booking web site and enter your dates and check the map to see where vacancies may be
NB. bookings may not open for the summer period until the preceding July - then its a mad rush by everyone to book when it opens!
if you have young kids, they will probably have more fun at a commercial park with its kid-friendly facilities such as playgrounds, games room, swimming pool and other kids
PLAN A: get a beach camp
you will need to book months in advance!
even for weekends in Feb you may struggle to find a spot without booking in advance!
DO NOT rock up thinking you will get a spot without a booking - you probably won't!
beach locations are generally severely over-crowded often with long traffic jams and long queues for meals at shops
there is often very little shade at these beaches - bring sun protection, shade as well as insect repellents and plenty of water
there are no guarantees you will get “beach weather”
Do your beach camping in Feb-Mar, preferably mid-week
weekends can still be booked out in advance
no school aged kids mid-week except school camps
uni students can dominant sites in late Feb
there are the Chinese tourists along GOR for Chinese New Year in mid Feb to compete with
Labour Day weekend in March will be fully booked in advance
much more likely to have beach weather
water is at its warmest (~19degC in Bass Strait)
Do your beach camping in Oct-early Dec preferably mid-week
weekends can still be booked out in advance
no school aged kids mid-week except school camps and schoolies can take over some areas in last week or so of Nov
uni students can dominant sites last 2 weeks of Nov and early Dec as well as late Feb
there are much fewer march flies to annoy you but weather can be very fickle and the water is at its coldest (~12degC in Bass Strait)
east coast
free campgrounds - 1st in gets a site
90 mile beach:
unfortunately, you can't swim or surf there as the cross-currents are too strong, in summer, there tends to be lots of flies, mozzies and possibly sandflies and fishing is not great
best for young adults who want to camp with a fire (if permitted) and chill out, even better when its not summer
Golden Beach - camp sites are separated from beach by large dunes, nearby cafe, toilet and coin shower
The Honeysuckles
McGauran Beach - popular with campervans as they can get quite close to the beach
this is perhaps the number one destination in Victoria but it gets packed with its 450 camp sites
Bear Gully, Walkerville
Paradise Beach
unfortunately, you can't swim or surf there as the cross-currents are too strong, in summer, there tends to be lots of flies, mozzies and possibly sandflies and fishing is not great
Corringle Slips near Marlo
as for Paradise Beach but there is an estuary of the Snowy River there for additional options
Far eastern Vic:
these are more remote, have more wild life such as large goannas and unlike most other parts of Victoria, has paralysis ticks as for the rest of the east coast of Australia
Banksia Bluff, Cape Conran (does have a dog area)
Thurra River
Mueller inlet
Shipwreck creek
Council camp grounds
Mornington Peninsula
Commercial campgrounds
lots of these
Mornington Peninsula: Rosebud, Sorrento, etc
Phillip Island - Cowes, etc
Westernport Bay - Lang Lang
Bass Coast - Kilcunda, Cape Paterson, Inverloch, Venus Bay, Walkerville
check for flooding and access issues after severe rainfalls and don't camp under river red gums which may kill you
many of these sites can be booked out in advance or full if a free camp unless you get there early before the peak or after the peak has resolved such as by 2nd or 3rd week of Jan
northern Victoria
Murray River camping is very popular, mainly free camps, ideally need to find a camp with a “beach” and note that many are bush camps with no toilets