To ask how to go camping and enjoy it..?

[Alittlenonsensenowandthen]

Just come back from camping and yet again feel like it's more a test of human endurance than a holiday. I see others on the campsite seemingly enjoying the torture. What am I doing wrong?!

I've come back with spots on my skin, extreme tiredness from not sleeping and a boot full of muddy things for processing.

Let's be honest I'm never going to enjoy it, but I am genuinely curious for those that do enjoy it, what am I missing?

Easy. Stay home. Camping or even glamping is not for me. A flushing loo that is only for me and my family, ditto shower and lots of power points are my basic essentials.

I'd rather stay at home if the only other option was camping. But I think it's lovely of you to do it for the DC. You're much nicer than me! 😂

Do you have a garden? If so can you put up a tent at home, have a BBQ, toast marshmallows etc and (depending on their ages) let the kids sleep out if they want but once they drift off you retreat to your bed?

When camping with family, I take a campbed, roll up mattress, sheet, pillow and duvet. No air beds or sleeping bags.

When backpacking, I take the lightest kit available!

Nope I don't care what anyone says, the loo in the dark across a dark field with only a torch is not for me. Having to get out of a warm (hopefully!) bed to do this is beyond me.

A bucket or camping loo might work, but I don't think I could bring myself to carry it to the waste water disposal area either. And I would hate to think any camping neighbours could see or hear me doing my business.

I think I'd be ok with everything else TBH, but not that.

A hotel room will do me fine.

If the sleep is the only factor that is putting you off I would check your bed situation. Get a decathlon bed base and a 15cm SIM. Expensive. But worth the investment. I sleep so much better when camping now and it makes the whole experience much more pleasant

1. comfiest clothes
2. get drunk

I 100% agree. We have invested more into decent camping stuff as the years have gone by and the less camping is like camping, the better it gets. You also get more organised the more often you go so the packing/unpacking becomes less of a chore - though the mound of laundry at the end will always be pain. I also think it gets easier as the kids get older and my personal golden rule of camping is to go with other people. Otherwise it's just the same sh*t but harder. 😂

I ask myself this every year. I’m not doing it next year.

Actually if sleep is the issue, I actually slept really well this year for the first time ever (still hated it). I got a camp bed from Go Outdoors (the £35 one), put a sim on top, sleeping bag, weighted blanket, eye mask and sleep meditation. Worked a treat 😂

Hey! A fellow YKC parent! 🤣👋

I did a couple of camps and thankfully mine don't want to do anymore! Do seem to be camping at Paignton show next weekend though with a junior and dogs 🙄 I am here for survival tips 😅

Embrace minimalism, know that it’s only for a short period and the home comforts will be always there when you get back. I loved the romance of it but I do love being in nature and candlelight etc.,

We got rid of the tent and got a caravan - best of both worlds

If it’s sleep rather than the whole thing it’s your bed that’s the issue or it being too loud or dare I say to silent.

I was never ever a camper and some people would say I’m still not with my remote controlled heater and lights, air fryer, freezer and fridge 😅

But a bad sleep ruins everything no matter where you are on holiday. Fix the sleeping and any other issues don’t seem so bad. Me personally I’m perfectly fine on our air bed and a few blankets. Don’t like sleeping bags and has to be proper pillows from home. In fact I use camping as a good excuse to throw away and buy new pillows take old ones bin unpin leaving home to new shiny pillows.

Problem with camping for just two nights is that you have to pack just as much as you would if you were going for a week and the two nights also FEEL like a week not two days

Op, after ten years of camping and now in our mid fifties, we've dumped all our camping stuff in storage parent's shed and are currently slumming it in a Centerparcs over in Europe instead. My advice is don't go again, it's not restful and not a "holiday"!

Is it just me that finds camping a bit creepy? Anyone could get into your tent in the night?

I love camping

You need to crack the sleep side of things. Then it will all become bearable or even fun.

earplugs but absolutely not the shitty foam ones. You need the silicone or wax mofos. Jam those buggers in and take a sominex the first night.

duvets. Get rid of sleeping bags, work of the devil. Also proper pillows. Vac pac if space is short.

toilet bucket for wees in the night. Catsan in the bottom, shut the lid.

blackout tent a must.

rigorous storage and packing… plastic boxes are the business.

freeze all meals before you go and lift out morning before cooking.

camping in a large group is my idea of absolute hell, I have to say. I like a campsite with dispersed pitches and lots of rules.

I'd happily wander around a campsite at night. Randomly it feels very safe.

Don't feel the same way in town... or getting a taxi... or a deserted car park. But campsites are fine.

I mean most people that camp are decent people. That’s why we can camp. Mutual trust right.

I trust you won’t steal my air fryer. I won’t steal your fancy chairs. You touch me I’ll scream and you can say most people will come rushing out their tents because the site is sooo silent bar the odd snoring it would wake up the site.

We rally round in an emergency, we all keep a rough eye on all children near by. The warden goes by every so often, and where we go they trust the children to go in and “play” with the farm animals.

Also I think only mad people camp with very young children who wake early or in the night. It’s so much better with tweens and teens

@redheadrage strangely, not at all!

It’s difficult to describe but because everyone is as vulnerable as each other, you’ll find campers, on the whole, to be very friendly folk!

And if an ‘outsider’ tried anything, you could have the whole campsite awake with one good scream 😆.

Never felt threatened or vulnerable on a campsite. I often camp alone or with kids.
maybe if in a dodgy city one or somewhere with very high crime rates. But then they would not be my choice of camping spots.

A caravan, go alone or with only adults that you like (no children), and good wine.

My husband is researching camping things at the moment and I cannot shake the uneasy feeling of sleeping in a tent with no lock on the "door". I don't think I could relax at night! It's bizarre as I genuinely don't suffer from anxious thoughts usually

@redheadrage its like anything, the first few times you do it will feel really odd and insecure and a bit scary. After that you probably won’t care or even think about the apparent lack of security.