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The traditional caravan park is going through a renaissance. Powered sites with ensuite-adorned slabs are being joined by umbrella-edged pools, dog-friendly cabins (with fenced turf), and mini golf, as camping and caravanning shifts up a level.
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Watch episode 19 of the Horizons by RAC Podcast exploring the rise of holiday parks in WA.
As a state, we can’t get enough of camping. Just look at the most recent figures: Western Australians set out on 1.6 million local trips in 2024. That’s an increase of 150,000 trips compared to 2022 data, according to peak body, Caravan & Camping Western Australia.
Recreational vehicle registrations are also on the rise, with 113,953 registrations recorded in WA in 2024 – a jump of 21 per cent since 2021. We’re travelling to various corners of the state in search of space, simplicity and serenity. And while we want calm, it seems we also want creature comforts, heralding a significant change in what caravan parks look like.
No more is a simple powered or unpowered square of grass under trees enough. We want water parks, BMX tracks, and mini golf. We look for SUP boards, in-house cafes, and dawn yoga. Hunger is rife for huge, stainless-steel rangehoods over multiple-burner stoves in vast communal kitchens, cushy cabins with designer touches, and even high-end private retreats. Roughing it has been exchanged for hotel-level polish with entertainment on the side.
A swing away from traditional tents is also being observed. Nationally, the occupancy rate for cabins in caravan parks sits at 61 per cent, compared to 49 per cent for powered sites, and 22 per cent for unpowered. Operators are taking notice and responding.
It’s a trend RAC has been a part of ever since 2013, when it adopted a strategy to invest in caravan parks and resorts.
“We conducted a lot of surveys to get the feel from our members,” says Dean Massie, general manager of operations for RAC Parks & Resorts.
“Members gave the feedback that they wanted something with travel and a holiday experience in WA. The plan was to buy up caravan parks and resorts in iconic locations, bring them up to an excellent standard, and provide our members with a generous discount and a great holiday experience.”
Since that time, RAC has acquired 10 existing properties across WA, reimagining them from basic 1950s idylls to slick holiday parks and resorts with pools and playgrounds.
RAC Cervantes Holiday Park was the very first to be purchased, while last year the long-held goal of an Albany property was achieved with the purchase of Acclaim Rose Garden Beachside Holiday Park. Meanwhile, some $70M has been put into a significant expansion of RAC Ningaloo Reef Resort, which is due to open late 2026.
“Every time we build something, we learn something and we make improvements again,” says Dean. “Things have been really well received. We’ve had more than 250,000 people staying in our holiday parks in the past 12 months.”
A widened footprint is within the organisation’s sights, following a refreshed round of membership surveys. “The general feel we’re getting back reiterates that people do want quality and they’re willing to pay for it,” says Dean. “We see that in our occupancies.”
Dean is adamant that you get what you pay for. “We think it’s value for money. We’re providing a higher quality and we’re reinvesting that money back into our assets. We put 10 per cent of our total revenue into our capital investment program. The industry standard is about three per cent.”
So what hotspots are next on the cards? “We’re looking to further invest in the South West and Mid West of WA,” he says, with a confident forecast that demand will only rise. “Since COVID, when people had to discover what was in their own backyard, things have really taken off in the WA tourism sector,” he says. “We didn’t know if it was just that time, and people would just go back to travelling overseas again, but the growth has continued. People love exploring WA. It’s affordability, reliability and less risk.”
Mini golf, two pools and a playground crown this sprawling beachfront resort, taken over by RAC in 2015. It sits in a prime position along the shallows where Parks and Wildlife rangers introduce visitors to Monkey Mia’s famous bottlenose dolphins. It’s also an easy drive to UNESCO World Heritage-listed Shark Bay’s sights, such as Little Lagoon’s placid waters, 60km-long Shell Beach and the Hamelin Pool stromatolites. The resort combines 120 camping and caravanning sites with 12 villas, 84 hotel-style rooms, and 16 budget rooms, catering to multiple price brackets. A general store supplies basic needs, while the beer garden is a popular evening get-together space and the restaurant offers a refined night off from cooking. A tour desk helps with travel plans, and airport transfers are available (extra fee).
Nature play is at the heart of this karri tree-lined resort facing the reflective waters of Lake Beedelup. Acquired in 2017, it has been expanded beyond the 30 renovated, self-contained log cabins and 32 standard lakeside rooms to include 72 caravan and camping sites just off Vasse Highway.
Everyone has access to the tennis court, BMX track, mini golf, animal farm, and archery field, as well as canoeing, SUPing, and lake trout fishing. Bush walking trails fan out from the restaurant and bar, which delivers arresting views over water. Order a marron dish to embrace local produce and book a truffle hunt on a nearby farm (May-August). Winter brings rushing cascades at nearby Beedelup Falls, while the forest-smothering Yeagarup Dunes need to be seen to be believed.
Staying a 300m walk from the beach on the Dunsborough side of Busselton is one drawcard, while two swimming pools, pedal kart hire, and a jumping pillow are others. Purchased in 2016, this holiday park also has a wildlife lake for picnics, a nature play zone for kids, 9-hole mini golf, outdoor table tennis, and a games room. There are 20 studio-style rooms, 18 cabins, and 154 camping and caravanning sites – including some pet-friendly powered sites. There’s also a camp kitchen, free-use barbeques, and a fish cleaning station. Visit Busselton Jetty and its underwater observatory, the Busselton foreshore playground, a nearby archery course, and the Ludlow Tuart Forest’s treetop zipline.
This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nature park is only 2km from Margaret River, found down a dirt road flanked by tall trees inside Wooditjup National Park. Known to mountain bike riders and keen campers, it teams an eco-lodge with a handful of cabins and safari tents, woven through plenty of shad-ed, powered and unpowered campsites. Bought by RAC in 2018, there’s a communal camp kitchen and barbeques, along with a covered area hosting table tennis, a nature playground, kiosk, seasonal camp-fire pits, and multiple bush walking trails.
The crayfishing hotspot of Cervantes – and gateway to the Pinnacles in Nambung National Park – has transformed from sleepy seaside town to holiday magnet since RAC took over its caravan park in 2013. A significant revamp has seen polished new facilities added to the mix, with a resort-style, heated swimming pool framed by poolside villas, studios, and campsites. Opposite the ocean, the grounds include a recreation room with pool table, movie projector and table tennis, a nature playground, fancy camp kitchen, and café.
A $9.5M expansion, with brand-new villas, studios and facilities, earned this holiday park a silver medal in the 2024 Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards.
Joining the RAC stable in 2019, its biggest drawcard is the huge, heated swimming pool. But the lure of Blue Haven Beach, Twilight Bay, and Cape le Grand National Park’s Lucky Bay ensures plenty of exploration happens, too. In all, there are 21 villas, 14 studios and one renovated heritage luxury lodge, as well as 176 camping and caravan sites. There are accessible villas and an accessible ensuite campsite, while pet-friendly cabins have an enclosed veranda and lawn for fur babies - plus a dog wash. A nature playground, rec room, and free barbeques join two flash camp kitchens. It faces the beach, and the town centre is only a three-minute walk away.
Staying right on Cable Beach is usually reserved for the well-heeled and deep-pocketed. Acquired in 2018, this property opens access to Broome’s famous stretch of beach for all budgets. A saltwater pool centres the park, with a tropical mini golf course just beyond. It’s beside a café and general store selling pre-made meals, for nights off in the camp kitchen. The park has self-contained cabins, studio rooms and camping sites – including pet-friendly sites - and is a seven-minute drive from central Broome town.
Within walking distance of Town Beach, this is the perfect base for accessing the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Coast, where whale sharks, manta rays, and turtles converge. It joined RAC’s accommodation collection in 2015. Some 314 camp and caravan sites spread out around two pools, 21 basic cabins, and 22 motel rooms. Some sites have ensuites, meaning a freestanding bathroom adjoins a concrete slab; some are also pet-friendly. The camp kitchen is a highlight, plus there’s a recreation room, pedal cars, and a tour desk for arranging adventures to Yardie Creek Gorge and Cape Range National Park.
Coral Bay is about to be transformed, as a $70M project creating RAC’s newest resort prepares to open. Within a short stroll of the world-famous reef, RAC Ningaloo Reef Resort will replace the Ningaloo Reef Resort, bought in 2015 with facilities that were more than 50 years old. After a major redevelopment - while barely increasing the property footprint - the resort will accommodate an additional 170 people, from its original capacity of 100 people.
Its horseshoe-shaped design will deliver ocean views to the 90 studios, units, and villas, linked to a clubhouse combining a restaurant, beer garden, and social areas. RAC’s Dean Massie says there should be no fears of an overcrowded Coral Bay. “The resort’s 34 original rooms meant people had limited stays. There’ll be additional people visiting the new resort, but they’ll have longer stays, we envisage."
