Turn Your Camping Trip Into a Glamping Trip

Glamping or glamorous camping is a fairly new trend in camping in the outdoors where people sleep in a yurt or teepee at a resort. These buildings usually have running water some have fireplaces and are can be very luxurious. A glamping trip is usually provided by adventure groups, such as hiking, safaris and rafting, but the focus is on the comfort of the guests. This kind of camping is big all over the world and can be quite expensive. DIY glamping or do it yourself glamping is becoming more popular especially with the baby boomers; they are ready for a little luxury when they go on a camping trip.

Your bedroom is a good place to start. My bedroom is a 222 sq.ft, 13 person tent with 4 divided rooms, I have a queen size raised air bed that goes in it. This is a good size tent for a family of 4, but of course you will have to use a smaller air mattress if it is to sleep 4 people, unless you have young children, most kids would rather their own tent anyway. Don’t forget you need room for everyone’s gear. Keep one section of the tent for the bathroom, bring along a portable toilet and a folding camp kitchen to use as a vanity, no more running outside in the middle of the night. My tent is only for two people so I have a sitting area beside the bed with inflatable chairs, great for reading or watching a movie on the laptop should the weather turn ugly.

The kitchen is another important factor as there is usually a lot of stuff associated with the kitchen. I have a 10×10 gazebo with a tent insert, it has large windows on all sides and the roof is mesh so there is plenty of air circulation. Everything stays dry and contained to that tent. I only cook in the kitchen tent if absolutely necessary, most of my cooking is done outside, after all, that is the main purpose of camping is the great outdoors. Inside I have 2 tables placed in a L shape. The first table will have the stove and oven and the other table is for food prep and dish washing,coolers fit underneath.

Another fairly small tent for your garage is useful to keep your lawn chairs, games and tools. A 3 person pop-up tent is usually big enough. You will want to be prepared for rain so keeping everything as dry as possible is a good idea, it takes a long time to dry things when you are camping. A living room tent is not necessary but in case of rain it makes a good gathering place for everyone games. I have an 11×11 tent for this.

These are some suggestions to glam your camp, but depending on where and how long you will be going on your trip will depict what you will want to bring. If you are just going for the week-end you will not want to bring everything here. I can set up camp in about 3 hours and everything fits in my van with a small trailer. It does take a little work but it is well worth the effort.