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A first-timer’s guide to luxury camping holidays

18th April 2013 Print

Camping holidays are universally acknowledged as a wonderful way of having unforgettable fun with the whole family. But roughing it in the woods with a flimsy tent, fighting unexpected winds, dropping temperatures and food from a can? No, thank you.

Enter luxury holidays – a way to get back to nature, have one-on-one time with the family and not have to sacrifice necessities, like beds and proper meals. There are plenty of companies offering luxury camping services – check out Canvas Holidays for some of the available options.

Browse for some inspiration and then get down to planning it. Without the hassle of choosing and buying proper equipment and pre-planning food sources so you and your brood won’t starve, the planning process should be relatively stress-free. This article has been written to give you a rough guide to camping without having to rough it in the wilderness.

It isn’t all about the tent

In the twentieth century, camping meant hauling loads of equipment into the woods, pitching tents, building campfires, and waking up with insects buzzing around your head. Luckily, “camping” as a holiday destination has been updated in modern times…along with the accommodation.

You can, of course, choose to camp in a tent – but these aren’t just ordinary tents. Maxi Tents come with windows, a kitchen, and fully sprung beds with memory foam mattresses. There’s also proper separation between the living room and the bedrooms, giving you added privacy.

But modern campsites have options beyond tents. There are fully equipped mobile homes with multiple bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms, decked out kitchens, al fresco dining areas, fitted heaters and air conditioning units. At some campsites, luxury lodges are in vogue, where the living room can come with stereos and DVD players, and the bedrooms can come with balconies.

Destinations

Again, a camping holiday doesn’t have to be as banal as a trip to the woods in the United Kingdom – you can add the exoticism of a continental holiday to your camping trip.

France wins points year after year for being the most popular camping destination, featuring campsites dotted along the Cote D’Azur, perched in the Alps or cocooned in the Loire Valley. If you are in the mood for the country of Fellini and food, campsites in Italy often have organised excursions into the nearest city for a dose of Italian culture and cuisine.

Besides France and Italy, campsites are popular across Europe. You can find locations in Holland, Slovenia, Germany, Croatia, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland – you name it. If you have a destination in mind, there’s probably a camping site waiting.

Nutrition

The days of dinners of tinned-can tuna and baked beans are over. With on-site kitchens, you can cook your meal from scratch and serve a sizzling hot breakfast outside on your front porch. You can even hire a barbecue at some campsites, letting you make the perfect summer steak.

The benefits of staying at a campsite usually include an on-site restaurant where you can go if you don’t feel like cooking. Additionally, most campsites organise excursions to local towns or markets, where you can eat local fare in a café or pick up local ingredients for your next culinary adventure in the kitchen.

These excursions are great because they give you an opportunity to explore local culture while you stay in a place a little bit outside a chaotic city centre.