For proximity to Brisbane and stunning scenery, make North Stradbroke Island your pick. There are a stack of beachside campsites and among the best is Cylinder. Pack your board — there are waves. 

Tossing up between waves and still water? Go to Inskip Recreation Area — a 500-metre wide peninsula — and you won't have to decide. Spend all morning fumbling about on your board and all arvo doing nothing on your lilo. 

If you're on a beach camping safari, make World Heritage-listed Fraser Island your next stop after Inskip — boats for the biggest sand island in the world leave from Rainbow Beach and take just ten minutes. 

About halfway between Townsville and Cairns — and on the way up to Cape Trib — is the Mission Beach area. There are a number of campgrounds and caravan parks here, but head straight to Kurrimine Beach for a prime beachfront posi. 

Whitehaven's seven-kilometre-long perfect arc of white sand is The Whitsundays' poster girl. And, thanks to her handy campground, you can join her for a sleepover. 

To the west of Whitsunday Island lies South Molle Island, a laidback refuge that has managed to fly under the radar of commercialisation. Its most popular campsite is Sandy Bay, a peaceful stretch of sand on the west coast, with room for 36 campers.

Another convenient trip from Brisbane is Moreton Island, just north of Stradbroke. The Tangalooma Wrecks campground is a short walk or drive (via 4WD) from the ferry landing and, as the name suggests, is within view of a series of shipwrecks. 

If your camping vision involves starting your day with a swim and ending it with a three-course feast, then get out your pegs at Coolum Beach Caravan Park. You'll have direct access to patrolled surf, as well as to all the luxuries of bricks-and-mortar living.

Don't let the name deter you. This precious campsite, found within Conway National Park and 12 kilometres from Airlie Beach, has space for four tents only and incredible views of Daydream Island. 

Noah Beach campground, 80 kilometres north of Port Douglas, puts you smack-bang between the 130-million-year-old Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.