Shady, council-run camping by the lagoon, with fire pits, showers, toilets and a nifty BBQ hut. Pay via self-registration.

Up-to-scratch motel suites overlooking either the pool or lagoon (the rammed-earth wing has the best rooms). The restaurant plates up buffet breakfasts and dinners featuring lots of local seafood (mains $20 to $30, serving 7.30am to 9am and 6pm to 8.30pm).

A low row of basic one- and two-bedroom motel-style units among trees opposite the foreshore, plus four beautiful self-contained cabins with solar hot water, gas cooktops and air-con (pay the extra $20!). Minimum two-night stay.

Run by a local oyster farm, this little shack acts as an outlet for sustainable seafood producers from all over KI. Oysters, marron, abalone, King George whiting…even barramundi, cooked into meals or takeaway uncooked. Get change from $10 for a dozen fresh unshucked oysters.

Just a couple of blocks from Kingscote's main strip, this small, innocuous hostel is clean and affordable, and has a cosy lounge, lush lawns and a beaut en suite double cabin out the back. It feels like staying at someone's house − good or bad, depending on how sociable you're feeling.

You'll find the standard gamut of caravan park delights behind the dunes in Brownlow, 3km southwest of Kingscote. You can walk back to Kingscote via a coastal walking trail. Better for camping than cabins.

Opposite the foreshore with killer views, the 100-year-old Ozone pub has quality pub rooms upstairs, motel rooms, and stylish deluxe apartments in a new wing across the street. The eternally busy bistro (mains $20 to $48) serves meaty grills and seafood, and you can pickle yourself on KI wines at the bar.

It seems like this place is always full − a good sign! Choose from older-style 1929 guesthouse rooms with shared facilities (no air-con), or refurbished '80s motel rooms. Family-owned, and affordable by KI standards.

This unassuming place attached to a petrol station has some of the best seafood you're ever likely to taste. Fat oysters go for around a dollar each, then there are all manner of cooked and fresh KI seafood packs and combos. Superb!

Sit inside or on the pavement, al fresco, at Bella, a cheery Italian cafe/restaurant/pizza bar. Pizzas start around lunchtime (eat in or takeaway); dinner is à la carte, featuring American River oysters, Spencer Gulf king prawns, local roo and whiting.

It's a steep drive into this self-registration camp site, just a short walk from the beach and with a footbridge over the river (so tempting to dangle a line). There's a toilet block and a barbecue hut but no showers.

Great-value (if a little frilly) cabins and holiday homes in a large flower-filled garden on the hill above Emu Bay beach (great views!). The self-contained cabins (caravan-park cabins with a facelift, sans air-con) sleep four or six; the holiday homes sleep six or 10.

This phalanx of trim, tidy, newish cottages (built 2006) marches down a grassy hillside above Stokes Bay (love the tunnel and the rock pool!). There are one- and three-bedroom configurations, with full kitchens, sweeping views and kangaroos hopping around at dusk. Linen charges and minimum stays apply, but it's still good bang for your buck.

Pricey but worth every penny, these four gorgeous self-contained stone-and-timber houses dot the hillsides above beautiful Snelling Beach (…actually, they're not that pricey if there's a few of you: from $510 for six people in three bedrooms). Expect decks, big windows, quirky artworks and knock-out views.

Don't worry about sandy feet at this casual, al fresco joint in Stokes Bay. 'What's the house special?', we asked. 'Whatever I feel like doin'!', said the chef (usually seafood, washed down with local wines and decent espresso).

A few minutes' drive east of Flinders Chase National Park, this friendly park has shady gums and resident roos. Check out the koala and lagoon walks, and the phone booth inside an old bakery truck. The shop sells groceries, homemade heat-and-eats and (for guests only) beer and wine.

A working farm with charm, a short drive from Flinders Chase National Park. Accommodation includes tidy dorms, a couple of cosy cabins and en suite rooms in a lodge. There's also a terrific camp kitchen, fire pits and 'tropical' outdoor showers.

A low-key, log cabin–style resort on the Flinders Chase doorstep, with resident grazing wallabies. Accommodation ranges from basic motel-style rooms to flashy spa suites. There's also a petrol pump and a bar, and a restaurant (breakfast $15 to $25, 7.30am to 9.30am) and dinner (mains $24 to $36, 6pm to 8.30pm).

Around 15km north of Vivonne Bay you can check out marron in breeding tanks, then eat some! It's a subtle taste, not necessarily enhanced by the heavy sauces issued by the kitchen. There are steak and chicken dishes, too, for the crustacean-shy. Last orders 30 minutes before closing.