The 6 Best Mungo National Park Accommodation Options (2024)

Mungo National Park is an extraordinary place to visit in Outback NSW. When it comes to accommodation in Mungo National Park, there are only a few options. Undoubtedly, Mungo Lodge is the best accommodation on offer in Mungo National Park, whilst camping is also possible. Otherwise, many visitors find accommodation in nearby towns such as Mildura or Wentworth.

In this guide, we’re going to tell you about the six best accommodation options in and near Mungo National Park.

Where Should I Stay When Visiting Mungo National Park?

Where you stay in Mungo National Park really depends on your itinerary and plan.

If you want to really immerse yourself in Mungo National Park, spending more than a day exploring, then you’ll want to find accommodation in the park itself. If you’re looking for the best accommodation in Mungo National Park, then you’ll want to stay at Mungo Lodge. Otherwise, the next best accommodation in Mungo National Park is the Mungo Shearers’ Quarters. Whilst, camping is also possible in Mungo National Park. There are two campsites – Main Campground and Belah Campground.

Alternatively, you may just want to visit the national park on a day trip. With that in mind, you’ll want to find accommodation in a town near Mungo National Park. You’ll find the national park is located in the Willandra Lakes region (a world heritage site) in Outback NSW, which is located near the NSW-Victoria border.

Essentially, the most sizeable town near the national park, which has plenty of accommodation options, is Mildura in Victoria. So, you may end up booking accommodation in Mildura. Otherwise, Wentworth in NSW is located slightly closer to the national park. Despite being a much smaller town with fewer accommodation options, many people still choose to day trip to the national park from Wentworth given it’s slightly closer. With that said, we’ll also cover information about the best accommodation in Wentworth.

Read our Mungo National Park Guide

The 6 Best Mungo National Park Accommodation

Without further ado, let’s look at the six best accommodation options in and near Mungo National Park. Let’s start with Mungo Lodge, which is hands-down the best accommodation in Mungo National Park.

1. Mungo Lodge: The Best Mungo National Park Accommodation

Also known as Lake Mungo Lodge, Mungo Lodge at Mungo National Park, is by far the best accommodation option. Mungo Lodge is an excellent four-star lodge located in the heart of the national park. By staying at Mungo Lodge, you’ll enjoy a great combination of a rustic outback stay with a touch of luxury. Indeed, when it comes to luxury Mungo National Park accommodation, Mungo Lodge is really your only option.

Whether you’re after self-catering Mungo National Park accommodation or Mungo National Park cabins, Mungo Lodge has you covered. The lodge offers four principal accommodation types including King Deluxe Cabin, King Twin Cabin, Self-Contained Deluxe Cabin and King Deluxe Accessibility Cabin. Whilst, Mungo Lodge also offers glamping and bunk houses for families.

On-site, you’ll find an excellent restaurant called the Mungo Bar and Bistro. Whilst, Mungo Lodge can help to organise your guided tours of the national park. With this in mind, Mungo Lodge also offers Mungo National Park accommodation packages, which means the guided tours are cheaper. Without a doubt, Mungo Lodge has been helping visitors explore Mungo National Park for years and they do a great job of it!

2. Mungo Shearers’ Quarters

Other than camping, the most budget-friendly accommodation in Mungo National Park is at the Mungo Shearers’ Quarters. Certainly, if camping isn’t your thing; but, you’re looking for a cheaper option than Mungo Lodge, then the Mungo Shearers’ Quarters will suit you perfectly. Better yet, it’s a unique heritage accommodation, as you’ll stay in an authentic former shearers’ quarters!

Sure, the Mungo Shearers’ Quarters doesn’t have the luxury of Mungo Lodge, but it has all of the necessary amenities and facilities. There are five private rooms with a shared amenities block with hot showers and a shared kitchen. You’ll need to take your own bedding and food supplies.

Similar to Mungo Lodge, the Mungo Shearer’s Quarters are located near some of the main attractions in the national park. In particular, Mungo Shearer’s Quarters are located near the Mungo Woolshed.

You can book a stay at the Mungo Shearers’ Quarters on the NSW National Parks website.

Mungo National Park Camping

When it comes to other Mungo National Park accommodation, camping is another option. If you want to experience some Outback NSW camping, then look no further than camping in Mungo National Park. As mentioned, there are two campgrounds in the national park. Let’s start with the Main Campground, which is the most popular camping option.

3. Main Campground

As the name suggests, the Main Campground is the main camping option at Mungo National Park. Indeed, it’s the biggest and best campsite in the national park.

The campground has 33 sites and accommodates caravans, trailers and tents. It’s located around 2km from the Mungo Visitor Centre, where you’ll have access to hot showers and flush toilets. Otherwise, the Main Campground has picnic tables, BBQs and an amenities block with non-flush toilets. You’ll need to bring your own drinking water and firewood.

4. Belah Campground

The other camping option at Mungo National Park is Belah Campground. This Mungo National Park camping spot is much more remote, located halfway along the 70km circular Mungo Track, near the Mallee Stop Walking Track.

This campground has 12 sites and only accommodates tents. Whilst, its facilities are very basic with only picnic tables and non-flush toilets. So, make sure you arrive well-prepared. If you really want to get away from it all and enjoy the dark sky, this Mungo camping spot could be just right for you!

Accommodation Near Mungo National Park

If you’re visiting the national park on a day trip or simply don’t wish to stay in the national park itself, you’ll want to find accommodation in either Mildura or Wentworth. Let’s start with the best accommodation options in Mildura.

5. Mildura Accommodation

Mildura is the most popular place to stay near Mungo National Park. Because Mildura is the most sizeable town near the national park, many people choose to use it as a base. Certainly, you’ll find plenty of accommodation options in Mildura. Below, we’ll look at the best budget accommodation option as well as the best motel and hotel in Mildura.

• Budget – Mildura Stopover: this is one of the most budget-friendly accommodation options in Mildura that offers private rooms. Guests rave about the price, shared kitchen and friendly staff.
• Motel – Mildura Plaza Motor Inn: Mildura has loads of mid-range motel and motor inn accommodation options. Mildura Plazza Motor Inn is one of the most highly-rated motels in Mildura and is our pick of the bunch.
• Hotel – Mercure Hotel Mildura: if you’re after a hotel in the area, it’s hard to beat the Mercure Hotel Mildura. Offering hotel rooms as well as apartments, all with access to the shaded swimming pool, you’ll enjoy an excellent stay at Mercure Hotel Mildura.

6. Wentworth Accommodation

Compared with Mildura, Wentworth is a much smaller town with far fewer accommodation options. So, most people will tend to stay in Mildura instead of Wentworth, even though Mildura is located further away from Mungo National Park. On the flip side, some people choose to stay in Wentworth because it’s closer to the national park.

With this in mind, let’s look at the best accommodation options in Wentworth. Admittedly, when it comes to accommodation in Wentworth, you’ll mostly find motels.

• Wentworth Central Motor Inn: this is the most highly-rated accommodation option in Wentworth. Guests rate the comfortable, clean and cosy rooms. Whilst, there’s an outdoor swimming pool to enjoy.
• Darling Junction Motor Inn and Two Rivers Motel: these are two other decent accommodation options in Wentworth. Certainly, if Wentworth Central Motor Inn is booked out, we recommend either the Darling Junction Motor Inn or the Two Rivers Motel.

How to Get to Mungo National Park

Despite being located in NSW, Mungo National Park is actually much closer to Adelaide in South Australia (6 hours drive away) and Melbourne in Victoria (7 hours drive away), compared with Sydney (11 hours drive away).

The quickest and easiest way to get to Mungo National Park is to drive there yourself. Although it’s possible to drive there in a 2WD (which is what Beck and I did), it’ll be much more comfortable in a 4WD. That’s because all of the sandy roads in the national park are corrugated, which means they’re very bumpy. Also, the roads are prone to flooding (and closing). So, again, a 4WD is by far a better option, as you’re less likely to damage your vehicle, get stuck or need assistance.

If you need a car, we recommend using DiscoverCars.com. It’s a fantastic search engine for finding the cheapest car hire.

To find out more about renting a car with Discover Cars, read our Discover Cars review and Discover Cars Insurance review.

Although Mildura (in Victoria) is geographically closer and a shorter drive (118km) to Mungo National Park, 88km of this route is on unsealed roads. So, even in a 4WD, it’s much slower. In a 2WD, you wouldn’t even consider this option! The slightly longer drive (129km) from Wentworth (in NSW) has only 59km on unsealed roads and is the best route option.

To follow this route, from Wentworth, you’ll drive towards Pooncarie. At 22km south of this town, you’ll find the turnoff to the Mungo National Park. So, if you have a 2WD and are staying in Mildura, it’s still best to drive this route via Wentworth to maximise your time on sealed roads. This will make the overall time shorter even though you end up driving further.

Public Transport

Although most people drive to Mungo National Park, it’s still possible to visit without a car. That’s because it’s possible to get public transport to Mildura using V-Line from Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide. Whilst, Mungo Guided Tours include roundtrip transportation from Mildura. So, by combining public transport to Mildura and doing a guided tour from Mildura, you don’t need a car to visit the national park.

Although, using public transport is much slower than driving yourself. And, given it’s already a very long drive from the major cities around it, you’d be wise to drive yourself!

Things to Do in Mungo National Park

Whether you choose accommodation in or outside of Mungo National Park, there are plenty of incredible things to do and see in the national park. Let’s take a look at the highlights of the area below!

• Mungo Track Self-Guided Drive: you can do a self-guided drive along the 70km Mungo Track to explore most of the national park’s attractions.
• Mungo Lookout: enjoy far-reaching views of the national park from this viewpoint, located near the Mungo Visitor Centre.
• Mungo Woolshed: the woolshed was built in 1869 and has been well maintained. So, your visit here will be an authentic one!
• Walls of China: the 30 km-long crescent-shaped lunette is the star attraction of the national park. See the uniquely shaped landforms, which have made the Walls of China famous! Keep in mind, you can only explore the Walls of China with a guide. Otherwise, you can view the site from quite a distance at the Walls of China Viewing Platform.
• Red Top Lookout: this boardwalk explores equally impressive landforms and lunettes as the ones you’ll see at the Walls of China.
• Mallee Stop Walking Track: a short 1km loop along a flat and dusty orange desert floor.
• Vigar Wells Picnic Area: explore large sand dunes and surreal clay formations.
• Zanci Homestead: the homestead offers insight into the pastoral history of the area.
• Guided tours: by doing a guided tour, you’ll not only get to wander around the Walls of China, but you’ll learn a great deal about the Aboriginal people and their culture. Indeed, day tours to Mungo National Park are a great idea!

Read this article: Mungo National Park – Everything You Need to Know About Visiting

What to Wear and Pack

Bear in mind that during winter, even during the day, it can be really cold in the outback. So, you’ll need some warm layers. But during summer, it can get stinking hot! So, you’ll need to dress accordingly! Anyway, here are some travel essentials for your road trip.

To find out more about all of the gear that we use and recommend, read our guides about our favourite travel gear, camera gear and hiking gear. Otherwise, read our comprehensive travel packing checklist.

FAQs

Below, we’ll answer some of the most frequently asked questions about visiting Mungo National Park.

Can You Camp at Mungo National Park?

Yes, there are two campgrounds – Main Campground and Belah Campground.

How Long Should I Stay at Mungo National Park?

This all comes down to personal preference. It’s possible to see all of the major highlights in a day trip by doing the self-guided drive tour around the Mungo Track. But, it’s a fairly exhausting day, especially if you’re driving to and from Mildura or Wentworth. If you want a more relaxing time and want to do all the available tours on offer, you may want to spend 2–3 nights in the national park.

What Is the Closest Town to Mungo National Park?

Although Pooncarie and Wentworth are closer, certainly, the closest sizeable town is Mildura.

Do You Need a 4WD For Mungo National Park?

No, but it’s much more comfortable and faster to drive the corrugated roads with a 4WD than with a 2WD.

Are Dogs Allowed in Mungo National Park?

No, most NSW national parks are pet-free spaces.

Is Mungo National Park Open?

The roads leading to the national park are often closed due to flooding. Make sure to check the local alerts or call NSW National Parks the night before or the morning of your visit to ensure the roads are open.

We hope this guide has helped you choose your Mungo accommodation. Also, feel free to read our Perry Sandhills Guide.