Wanderer Festival 2027 Campervan Hire and Camping Guide

Which rental brands suit Wanderer Festival?

All 11 brands we compare returned campervans or motorhomes from Sydney in our live search for 29 September to 6 October 2027: Apollo, Auto Sleepers, Britz, Camperman, Campervan Village, Jucy, Maui, Mighty, Spaceships, Star RV and Travellers Autobarn. We found no festival-specific rental rules, so the festival's own camping rules decide which van makes sense. Wanderer's on-site campground has a separate Live in Van area, but the festival says caravans, camper trailers, towed trailers, large buses and other large or heavy setups cannot camp on site, and it publishes no length limit.

• Compact two to four sleepers for the Live in Van area: Spaceships (Alpha, Beta 2S, Beta 4 Berth), Travellers Autobarn (Budgie, Chubby, Hitop, Kuga, Hi5), Campervan Village (Aventus, Johnny Feelgood, Alice Chillgood), Jucy (Chill'd Cloudbreak, Crib Plus, Condo), Camperman (Juliette, Maxie 3), Auto Sleepers Hitop and Mighty HiLITE, DeLITE and Highball suit couples and small groups who will use the festival showers and toilets.
• Self-contained with shower and toilet: Camperman Maxie 4, Auto Sleepers Kea Nomad, Mighty Duo, Deuce and Deuce Plus, Apollo Euro Mini, Euro Tourer and Euro Plus, Britz Trailblazer, Maui Ultima and Ultima Plus and Star RV Polaris 2 add a bathroom for the shoulder nights in holiday parks.
• Four to six berth motorhomes: Mighty Double Up and Big Six, Apollo Euro Quest, Euro Camper and Euro Deluxe, Jucy Chill'd Big Kahuna, Maui Beach and River and Star RV Polaris 6. Because the festival turns away large or heavy setups, ask Wanderer before you buy a Live in Van ticket for one of these, or plan to stay at Discovery Parks Pambula Beach.
• Rooftop tents: the Campervan Village Mini Camper ($65 a day in our search) sleeps three with a rooftop tent. The festival rules do not mention rooftop tents, so check with Wanderer which campsite ticket it needs.

Pambula Beach sits about halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, so a one-way hire works well. A one-way Sydney to Melbourne search for the same dates also returned vans from all 11 brands, with totals for the same van higher than a Sydney return, for example $2,270.92 against $2,065.92 for a Britz Hitop and $992.23 against $727.77 for a Campervan Village Mini Camper. Change the drop-off city in our Sydney search to compare.

How much does campervan hire for Wanderer Festival cost?

Prices below are in Australian dollars per day from our live Sydney search on 19 October 2026, picking up Wednesday 29 September 2027 and returning Wednesday 6 October 2027 (7 nights). Almost every vehicle showed Available Now with instant confirmation, and three were on request. The results page also shows a total for the hire, for example $610.32 for a Spaceships Alpha and $2,018.96 for a Mighty Duo.

• Two sleepers without a toilet: about $68 to $258 a day (Travellers Autobarn Modern Budget Touring Wagon to Britz Hitop).
• Three to four sleepers without a toilet: about $65 to $270 a day (Campervan Village Mini Camper, Camperman Juliette, Spaceships Beta 4 Berth, Jucy Crib Plus, Auto Sleepers Kea Navigator, Britz Voyager).
• Two or three sleepers with shower and toilet: about $191 to $396 a day (Auto Sleepers Kea Nomad, Mighty Duo, Apollo Euro Mini, Britz Trailblazer, Maui Ultima, Star RV Polaris 2).
• Four sleepers with shower and toilet: about $177 to $420 a day (Camperman Maxie 4, Mighty Double Up, Apollo Euro Quest and Euro Camper, Maui Beach).
• Five and six sleepers: about $219 to $429 a day (Campervan Village Grip 4x4 and Desert Sands without a toilet, Mighty Big Six, Apollo Euro Deluxe, Jucy Chill'd Big Kahuna, Star RV Polaris 6, Maui River).

A Melbourne return search for the same dates started a little higher, at about $73 a day. These rates leave out insurance excess options, one-way fees, extras such as camping kits, and fuel. They also leave out festival costs: at the 2025 festival a 2 day adult ticket was $240 plus booking fee, a Live in Van campsite was $130 per site and a Tent/Car site was $160 per site. Wanderer has not yet published 2027 ticket or camping prices, so check the official tickets page.

Wanderer Festival camping in a campervan: tickets, rules and holiday parks

Wanderer is a camping festival, and you can sleep in a campervan right on the festival grounds. The details below come from the official tickets, camping and FAQ pages, checked in October 2026. Those pages still describe the 2025 festival, so treat prices and gate times as a guide until 2027 details are released.

On-site Live in Van camping

• Tickets: camping and festival entry are separate tickets, and you need a 2 day festival ticket to buy a campsite. Single day ticket holders cannot use the on-site campground, and there are no one night camping tickets.
• 2025 prices: General Live in Van $130 per site, General Tent/Car site $160 per site and Family Tent/Car site $160 per site, each covering 2 to 3 nights plus booking fees. Sites are sold per site, not per person, with up to 4 people in general camping and 5 in family camping.
• Where: the campground is on the Pambula Beach Community Fields at the festival site. Live in Vans are parked separately from tent camping, so mixed groups of vans and tents are better off at Discovery Parks.
• Vehicle rules: one vehicle per group booking, and caravans, camper trailers, towed trailers, large buses and other large or heavy setups cannot camp on site. Sites are not marked or pre-allocated, you are parked in order of arrival, and you cannot hold space for friends, so arrive together.
• No vehicle pass-outs: once parked, your van stays put until you go home. Leaving on Sunday night is possible if you tell the parking team on arrival.
• 2025 gate times: the campground opened at 4pm on Friday and closed at 12pm on Monday, with Friday arrivals until 9pm. 2027 times are not yet published.
• Facilities: showers, toilets, drinking water stations and a camp hub staffed 24 hours. No powered sites are listed. Generators, fires, gazebos, glass, pets, drones and BYO alcohol are banned, and the festival suggests solar panels instead of a generator.

Sapphire Coast holiday parks near the festival

• Discovery Parks Pambula Beach: beachfront, 1 km from the festival and on the festival bus route. It has powered and unpowered ensuite sites, a dump point, a camp kitchen and a store, and it is the festival's pick for caravans and large vehicles.
• Millingandi Station: grassy waterfront farm sites for campervans and motorhomes between Pambula and Merimbula, about 8 minutes' drive from the festival.
• Merimbula: about 10 minutes away. Wanderer names Tween Waters Holiday Park, Sapphire Valley Caravan Park and Merimbula Lakes Holiday Park, and suggests calling them for a festival deal. NRMA Merimbula Beach Holiday Resort at Short Point also has caravan sites.
• Further afield: Reflections Eden Holiday Park to the south, and Tathra Beachside and BIG4 Tathra Beach Holiday Park to the north.

National park campgrounds and free camping rules

Hobart Beach campground on Wallagoot Lake in Bournda National Park has 66 unpowered sites for caravans, camper trailers and camping beside your vehicle, with showers and toilets but no mobile coverage, and Bournda charges $8 per vehicle per day for park entry. Mimosa Rocks National Park further north has Gillards (40 sites) and Aragunnu (30 sites) with free park entry. Book through NSW National Parks. Bega Valley Shire Council does not list any free camping areas, and its rangers patrol reserves, beaches and car parks for unauthorised camping. Vehicles 7.5 m or longer, or over 4.5 tonnes, generally cannot park on a street in a built-up area for more than one hour, so plan to stay in a park. More on the official camping page.

How to get from Sydney to Wanderer Festival

The festival site is at 190 Pambula Beach Road, Pambula Beach, about 10 minutes south of Merimbula and 20 minutes north of Eden. Wanderer describes it as a 6 to 7 hour drive from Sydney or Melbourne and 3 hours from Canberra. From Sydney the drive is about 450 km down the Princes Highway through Wollongong, Nowra, Batemans Bay, Narooma, Bega and Merimbula, then east from Pambula on Pambula Beach Road.

• Break the drive: with 6 to 7 hours of driving, most people stop a night on the way, for example around Batemans Bay or Narooma.
• Coming from Melbourne: the trip is about 580 km along the Princes Highway through Gippsland and the Victorian border, which is 1 hour south of the festival. Compare prices on our Melbourne campervan hire page.
• Parking: on-site campers park one vehicle with their camp. Day parking for ticket holders is opposite the festival on the Pambula Beach Road Reserve, with further car parks in Pambula and Pambula Beach.
• Festival buses: in 2025 a user-pays shuttle ran from Discovery Parks and Pambula (adult 2 day pass $15) and from Merimbula, Short Point and Tura Beach (adult 2 day pass $30). Bus tickets had to be bought in advance.
• Flying in: Merimbula Airport has flights to Sydney and Melbourne with Regional Express and QantasLink, but there is no campervan pickup city on our site closer than Sydney or Melbourne.

Collect your van early in the day so you have daylight for the drive, and check each brand's depot hours for your pickup and return days. Start from our Sydney campervan hire page and see the official getting here page.

An 8 day Wanderer Festival campervan trip from Sydney

This plan matches our search dates, collecting on Wednesday 29 September and returning on Wednesday 6 October 2027. Monday 4 October is the NSW Labour Day public holiday, so book festival tickets, camping and holiday parks early.

Day 1 (Wednesday 29 September): Sydney to the South Coast

Pick up your campervan in Sydney, stock up on food and water, and head south on the Princes Highway. Stay the night in a holiday park around Jervis Bay or Ulladulla.

Day 2 (Thursday 30 September): Down to Narooma

Continue through Batemans Bay to Narooma. Short drives today leave time for beaches and lunch on the way.

Day 3 (Friday 1 October): Bermagui, Tathra and Pambula Beach

Leave the highway for the coastal Tathra to Bermagui Road, then continue to Pambula Beach. In 2025 the on-site campground opened at 4pm on Friday, with arrivals until 9pm. Buy ice and supplies in Pambula first, as there are no vehicle pass-outs once you park.

Day 4 (Saturday 2 October): Festival day one

Music across the Wanderer, Drifter and Lost spaces, plus circus, comedy, theatre and workshops, with Pambula Beach a short walk away.

Day 5 (Sunday 3 October): Festival day two

The second and final festival day. If you must leave on Sunday night, tell the parking team when you arrive on Friday.

Day 6 (Monday 4 October): Pack up and visit Eden

Pack up before the campground closes (12pm in 2025), then drive 20 minutes south to Eden. The festival falls in peak whale season, and the Sapphire Coast is known for whale watching from headlands and on charters. Stay at a holiday park in Eden or back near Merimbula.

Day 7 (Tuesday 5 October): Head north

Drive back up the coast and break the trip around Batemans Bay or Ulladulla.

Day 8 (Wednesday 6 October): Return the van

Finish the drive to Sydney, empty the toilet and grey water at a dump point, refuel and return the campervan before the depot's last return time. Prefer a one-way trip? Continue south from Eden to Melbourne instead.

Tips for Wanderer Festival in a campervan

• Book tickets the day they open: the 2025 presale sold out fast and was the festival's biggest yet. Subscribe on the official site to hear when 2027 festival and camping tickets go on sale.
• Buy the right campsite ticket: a Live in Van ticket for sleeping in your van, plus a 2 day festival ticket for everyone. Camping and entry are separate tickets, and campsite tickets are not refundable.
• Choose the van size for the campground: compact campervans suit the on-site Live in Van area, but large or heavy setups cannot camp on site. For a big motorhome, book Discovery Parks Pambula Beach early.
• Arrive fully stocked: there are no vehicle pass-outs, so bring food, water and gas for the weekend. BYO alcohol and glass are not allowed, and ice was sold at gate 1 for $5 cash in 2025.
• Power without a generator: generators are banned and no powered sites are listed on site, so charge everything before you arrive, bring a solar panel or power bank, or use the festival charging stations.
• Skip free camping: Bega Valley Shire Council lists no free camping areas and rangers patrol for unauthorised camping, so book holiday parks or national park campgrounds for the nights before and after.