Point Plomer; brilliant but busy NSW coastal camping
I was very curious to see what the NSW coastline would be like, after doing Queensland and Victoria. Point Plomer was one of our first experiences, and it set a very high bar. The NSW coastline is nothing short of staggering, and we really enjoyed our stay at Point Plomer, but its seriously busy.
Where is Point Plomer?
You’ll find this stunning piece of coastline between Crescent Head and Port Macquarie. The camp site itself is literally just up from the beach, on a mostly grassy/dirt camp ground.
What are the alternative camping options?
There’s actually quite a few places you can camp at from Crescent Head down to Point Plomer. We called in and checked them all out, and thought that the location of Point Plomer was best. That said, the Malaleuca camp site next to the river is beautiful, and doesn’t require you to have any gravel driving. We’d go there if we couldn’t get into Point Plomer.
What’s the road like to Point Plomer?
We’d read some comments about this road being rough, and were pleasantly surprised. It was in pretty good condition overall, and they started grading it as we were leaving, so its clearly well looked after.
I did let our tyres down, but only because we got bogged on the beach, and not specifically for this drive, which is easily doable with caravans and 2WD vehicles. In fact, there were a lot of 2WD vehicles at Point Plomer, and the road is fine as long as you take it slowly, and keep on the left side of the road, as its narrow in spots and you don’t want to meet another vehicle in the middle of the road!
Amenities at Point Plomer
This campground has flushing toilets, and cold showers. It’s also got rubbish bins, a dump point, and you can get some basic supplies from across the road. It’s set up really well, and given the number of visitors I’m not really surprised.
Cost and booking requirements for Point Plomer
Point Plomer is a National Park campground these days (it wasn’t always), and you need to book your camp site online. You can’t nominate a spot, and still have to find one when you arrive, but at least you are guaranteed a spot.
It’s got 90 camp sites available, but is often full because of how popular it is!
Prices start off at about $25 per night for one adult, or $37 a night for our small family of 4. Not cheap, but pretty normal given the location and how popular it is!
Can you have fires at Point Plomer?
Yep, and they’re pretty popular. Bring your own firewood in though; collecting is an absolute no no, and you wouldn’t find anything anyway.
Can you have dogs at Point Plomer?
No, given this is a national park, unless its a dog with an exemption, they’ll need to stay outside.
Point Plomer 4WD tracks
If you’re keen on 4WDing, you can head south on Point Plomer road, which deteriorates from a gravel road to a rough, rocky and lumpy track heading south. You can catch the ferry across from here to Port Macquarie at a cost, and we did a bit of this track before turning around.
Initially we’d considered taking our camper down this way out to save going all the way around, but its not a time saver, and is pretty rough.
Alternatively, you can get onto the beach near here, which would probably be the better way to get south, but expect it to be fairly sand. I cruised on with tyres at full pressure, and the moment I tried to turn around we sank like a rock. I just dropped to 20 PSI and crawled out, as it does with the right tyre pressures!
If you are doing any beach driving, you are supposed to purchase a NSW beach driving permit.
What’s it like at Point Plomer?
The coastline here is absolutely magnificent, and we really enjoyed our stay here. That said, it is really busy, and we quickly realised that this is what a lot of the camp sites are like along the coast of NSW. There’s a lot of people, and with magnificent coastline its no wonder they’re always busy, and full.
We did camp next to a couple who’d been coming to Point Plomer for more than 40 years, and they said its so much better now than it used to be. The sites are not marked, but they are limited to 90 camping areas, whereas before it was a case of if you could find a spot, you could have it.
They had people literally camp around their caravan on multiple occasions, and you dared not move your car as you’d never get it back in when you got back due to people camping there!
You can walk from Point Plomer up the hill to some pretty spectacular coastline, and we really enjoyed looking around the area.
Overall, even after staying at a dozen or more NSW coastal camp sites, Point Plomer is one of the better ones, and if you’re considering a visit, do it!