To wonder why people enjoy camping

[SirJamesTalbotAndHisSpeculum]

I can't think of anything worse. I know people enjoy it but I can't understand why anyone would want to be nowhere near a bathroom or kitchen. or anywhere comfortable to sit. Not only that, if the weather is awful you get cold. Or wet. Or far too hot. I just don't get it.

Tell me why I'm wrong.

I always said that, because of the reasons the OP stated. Then we got dogs and hated leaving them, so last year, we bought a large motorhome, with every facility needed, no not camping to many, but as near to camping as we would get, and we love it, to go literally anywhere, at the drop of a hat...
So....still couldn't do the tent thing, but it's great to glamp. Lol.

We camped when the DC were little as we couldn’t afford anything else. Now we have all the kit and know what we like in a site so carry on as it suits us. We are currently on a site with EHU so cold beer, BBQs and fires allowed, 1 mile from the beach, big play area, immaculate facilities all for less than £200 in August. I have a porta potty for night time wees. Kids are bombing about on their bikes with gangs of kids. Dead quiet past 10 pm. It’s a break from everyday life and a chance to reconnect as a family. We could stay at home as we live in Devon and live close to beaches and tourist attractions but we needed a complete change of scenery.

I love a nice cottage in the highlands but all my best hols have been camping. Am not a big fan of hotels - don’t get what you are meant to do but camping makes sense to me. I love cooking one out on an open fire or at my table with the stove, like seeing the kids on and off bikes all day, in and out of the pool and off to the bread shop. We do three nights in the UK with friends and go for longer in Europe. I could spend more but it’s not as much fun - the easy sociability if a campsite isn’t improved by more secluded but luxurious accommodation.

No kids and I would get a little camper just for ease of travelling round ... maybe a bigger camper so the dogs and come too.

It is work though I can see why that doesn’t appeal if you like to really relax. My relaxing involves doing lots of stuff so it’s a good fit!

THEONEANDOBI.
Devon is dreadful for parking a campavan! We had to book into a site, overnight just to get to see the area.
No Campavan parking was allowed. We still love it, but it has it's problems. We know Devon well. Good luck!

Also we've tried the Campavan for transferring uni stuff. If they're in a city, forget it. No parking and stress ++
Again, good luck though.

Hate camping.

My minimum requirements are a motorhome or caravan.

When I was little and DParents had no money camping was the go-to holiday choice, growing up in the 80s. But I remember my mum and dad never really relaxing, it was constant work keeping the tent clean, making dinner, cleaning up after dinner and looking after me. I think DM was especially glad to go home afterwards.

@Bugsymalonemumof2 wow this is so cheap. When did you book and who through? Which site? Would love to try this.

You'd hate the camping I do, OP.
We go to a (quiet) festival. No electricity, no showers.
But...
Our tent takes 20 minutes to assemble, and we always meet nice people.
We don't cook whilst there- there are vans/stalls with all sorts of food.

The key is to only go for 2-3 days at a time, and to avoid campsites - wild camping is the way to go.

The reasons it's amazing:

1. You get that gorgeous feeling of the fire warm on your face and the wilderness cold at your back

1. You get to experience beautiful places in a very unfiltered way

1. You get the fun, primal experience of cooking your food on a fire

1. It's a great adventure for kids

1. You are awoken slowly and gently by the tent lightening as the sun rises and the sounds of birds

1. You get to stay in landscapes you wouldn't be able to otherwise

1. You're much more likely to see wildlife

1. It's good for the self-esteem to be resilient and adaptable

I love camping - some of my best weekends have been spent doing it.

Personally, it's cheap and I'm used to it from childhood. Now, we have air mattresses and duvets, electric hookups and comfy camp chairs in a big tent, showers are hot etc and like 1 minute walk away so really it's fine! But I defo prefer "glamping" than roll mats and sleeping bags !

I tried it once and it was hell on Earth. Never again. That was on a very well equipped camping site too. I'd hate it even more in the wild. A camping obsessed friend keeps trying to get me to go with her but I'd rather go without a holiday for the rest of my life than go camping.

I love camping!

As others have said it’s a time to reconnect as a family. The pace of life slows down so much and there seems to be more time to sit and be. We always go with our friends and have time to sit at down chat around a campfire if in uk or in the sunshine if in France.

We play games, cards or a mini olympics type thing, in teams, and have lots of laughs. I really enjoy spending time as a family without screens or phones taking people away. All our dc are now teenagers and still love coming on holiday with us so we must be doing something right.

All sites we go to have great showers, room for dc to have some freedom out in the fresh air without screens and tv and normally a bar! We have good kit too, comfy chairs and beds etc. It’s hard to explain as although you are sharing toilets and showers with others it feels as though we are not as squashed as you feel in a hotel. No fighting for sun loungers, no waiting for me is or deciding which table has the best view for dinner . In fact I sleep really well in the tent, far better than I do in hotels, and come home feeling completely rested and recharged.

The general hum of electricity isn’t there so it’s much more peaceful without us really noticing. You don’t need washing machines, kitchens and en-suites to have a good holiday....

I have ulcerative colitis. Walking to a communal toilet block where I might have to wait is not an option at certain times of day. Camping is not an option!

Should say - no waiting for menus!

I love camping. We go to quiet out of the way sites, or sometimes wild camping.

I prefer no electricity so we take a cool box, BBQ and little gas stove for tea. We take our dog, and kids. I love the fresh air and always sleep well - we take lilos (blow up using an adapter from the car) & duvets. We play games, chat around fires, play guitar & sing, go exploring. Drink G & T. I love that there's freedom to be a bit dirty. Al campsites have at least a loo & shower. Although I have no problem peeing behind a tree (if wild camping). You can bury the other when you're wild camping. I enjoy chatting to other people from different places and the kids always meet other kids to play with.

You don’t need washing machines, kitchens and en-suites to have a good holiday....

No, but I do need solid walls and a roof over my head. A real bed and a loo that doesn't look like something you'd find in a prison cell, and that I don't have to take a map to find.

We go every year to a lovely site in France. There are a lot of returning families so the kids already have formed friendships or make new ones. There are plenty of activities on offer, there is a kids club, tasteful low key evening entertainment, football coaching etc. Kids always out and about on their bikes with their friends. we go there because it gives us respite and takes away the pressure of having to constantly entertain the kids and go to places. We can just relax with a glass of wine and a good book. We always book a pitch with a fridge and sun loungers. Weather is mostly decent. Yes, sleeping on air beds is not amazing and we have to rethink our arrangements in that aspect, but the entire package is great. Love being outdoors.

AlunWynsKnee you are right, that probably wouldn’t work for you although I haven’t ever had to wait for a toilet, only showers.

There are some sites in France where you have your own loo on your pitch so that may work if you want to camp.

No, it's not for me. I did it once, many years ago, as a teenager at a festival. Hated every second of the whole experience. Queueing endlessly to use the disgusting toilets, sleep g on uncomfortable 'beds' and a serious lack of shower facilities easily ensured it was the most uncomfortable and hated holiday of my life. You couldn't pay me enough to make me do it for even one night.
When our children were little they had a tent in the garden and if they stayed in it overnight, it was always Dh who'd have to stay with them.
My dsis otoh, loves camping and goes several times every year.

Beats me too. We are pretty outdoorsy, we own waterproof jackets and trousers, walking boots, a big flask - but at the end of the day would rather go home to the comfort and privacy of a cottage.

Love it! But we have a van with an awning. And a chemical toilet for no. 1's during the night.

Most decent campsites have showers.

I think the attraction is the adventure, sleeping in the fresh air, listening to owls and foxes rather than traffic.

I’m not a natural camper but prepared to have a go if DS wants to.

Don't necessarily be put off camping if your only experience is festival camping. That is really the most unpleasant type of camping IME!

I don't like to be less comfortable in my precious leisure time than I am at home, so it's not for me. Agree with a pp that people who have loads of equipment like inflatable chairs etc might as well stay in a cottage rather than buying expensive but shit versions of everyday items and spending a day putting them all into a car then taking them all out of a car and putting them in a field somewhere. I sort of get the campervan thing but they are incredibly expensive so it's hardly a freewheeling simple carefree life if you need to earn loads of money to buy one.

That said I hate AI as well. Never really relax in them as again like a pp I'm not sure what to do in them. Plus when the kids were little it was absolutely shit all being in one room.

So we always go self catering but eat out a lot. I love it. I am the twat with the big sunhat and shades on wandering down to the panaderia in the morning. We have proper beds and aircon and can make coffees and teas as we wish, see all the local sights and spend proper time with each other without stressing about sunbeds or what time the dodgy buffet closes or having to deal with anyone else at close quarters.

We always go with our friends and have time to sit at down chat around a campfire if in uk or in the sunshine if in France.

I don't understand what kind of holiday people are imagining where there isn't time for a chat?! Even the most packed city breaks I've been on have had plenty of 'sitting drinking coffee/wine chatting and people watching' time. I don't begrudge anyone liking camping (I don't understand it, but don't begrudge it) but people have such weird ideas of what a non-camping holiday entails!

Puffthemagicdragon do you mind sharing your French campsite?