What can I do to convince dh of the wonders of camping?!

[anchovies]

So no holiday booked for the summer so far. My plan was to sell the big old dome tent, buy a pretty new canvas tent and some fancy comfy beds and drive down to the dordogne for a couple of weeks. Not doing a lot other than letting the kids run wild and drinking red wine.

Dh on the other hand has just announced he would rather fork out the £3-4K for a week all inclusive in Turkey or Egypt.

Is there any hope if our ideals are so far apart? Do other people camp just because they actually like camping or am I being ungrateful?!

picktish try cycle camping - hardly any unpacking at all

Go the full wank in the door dongle. Those phrases can't possibly appear in very many threads.

How is camping more relaxing than renting a cottage? And how does staying under canvas offer more freedom than staying in a solid building?

I have camped many times, and enjoyed it at the time, but for the reasons given by other camping dislikers I wouldn't want to go now.

I want my own bathroom for me and my family to use and not share with anyone else - and not have to traipse across a field. I would want heating/aircon as necessary. I would want to sleep somewhere that could be made midge/mosquito proof.

And above all I would need total silence to be able to get to sleep. Even keeping the window open at home is too noisy for me to be able to get to sleep. Camp sites aren't exactly quiet so how on earth do people manage to sleep?

I wouldn't want an AI holiday either, so why can't you compromise and rent a cottage somewhere instead?

After a couple of years of uncomfortable sleeping on airbeds I have cracked the perfect nights sleep camping. 7.5cm sims. A double and a single together is the right size for me and dh (use a super kingsize fitted sheet to hold them together if you like). Kingsize duvet on top to lie on and kingsize duvet to sleep under. Perfection.

I don't go on holiday to share a toilet and shower with a bunch strangers.
Hotel, lodge, cottage - anything like that does me just fine.

How is camping more relaxing than renting a cottage? And how does staying under canvas offer more freedom than staying in a solid building?

I can't speak for anyone else, but I like the basic way of life. There's pleasure to be found in just existing. Everyone's always trying to achieve something...whereas when you're camping, a campfire meal is a simple delight. The preparing, the fire building, the cooking, the eating, all very consuming and satisfying. I like being outside. It's a change from cooking in a kitchen.
And there's freedom because you can pitch up in places where there are no solid walls. You have access to views and perspectives that no house does.

I'm not trying to say that one is better than the other, because it's horses for courses, but that's why I like it. We have rented cottages in the past, and stayed in cabins...but having had the bell tent for a few years now, we don't have to.
It's a fraction of the price and it's all our own stuff...a true home from home.

We don't camp light it must be said. We have carpeting, heaters and duvets and pillows. We're never cold, and we're never wet.
Plus...and it is a big plus, the kids absolutely love it.

Sounds too much like hard work to be a holiday for me. I don't see the point on going on holiday to be less comfortable than I am at home.

I don't find I'm lacking comfort, and nothing is a strain. For me it's quite the opposite. It's all very simple. I point my extremely comfortable chair in whichever direction the view is best, and feel satisfied with my lot.
I know a lot of people don't tally with that, but there you go.

I completely concur with Pictish.

DH and I do 3-4 cottage breaks a year (generally in autumn/winter). Perhaps once a year we have a Mediterranean upmarket self catering beach holiday. Now and then we spank a wedge on a long haul luxury trip. But I love the fact that we spend the best weekends of the UK summer camping. I explored my thoughts on this in AUBU recently, regarding in particular why anyone would want to 'rough it'. Apologies for tome and for those who read this the first time round, but I thought as it's relevant to this thread, it might help others understand an alternative POV:

"It was only on our honeymoon at a safari resort costing the best part of a K a night that I've ever felt that the standard was higher than we have at home.... Whenever we go on holiday, no matter how high the standard of accommodation, or luxe the price tag it's never quite as clean, plush or high quality as we have at home. And trust me I choose accommodation really carefully. We've stayed in some really lovely places but it's never as nice as home, the bed is never as premium, the decor always has something that irks me. The food's sometimes disappointing compared to DHs cooking. We can't afford 10K holidays every year and I'm not sure I'd want to spend that much even if we could.

When we go camping, it's so far removed from this that it's incomparable. I'm not sitting there wondering why they've put the full-length mirror in such a stupid place or how annoying it is that I can't get the lighting configuration just so or who has walked in their manky old flaky feet across the carpet before me. Or whose bodily fluids I would see on the headboard were I to shine a UV light on it (urgh don't google that). I'm just anal.

Camping is a totally different experience, for me the making camp, creating a little homestead is the joy. I'm surrounded by my own stuff but it's completely different to home in every way so I don't feel like I'm compromising or missing home comforts....."

Add to that the joy of being outdoors and I just love it.

By the way, when I mentioned our holiday preferences, by no means do we spend a lot. I get free cottage breaks in payment for services rendered and we're good at finding brilliant deals on overseas travel. So I'm not saying by any means that camping is a way for us to slum it as an ironic little break from our otherwise premium holidays...

Op have you looked at or considered Glamping sites? It's glamourous camping, it is a tent but is posher and more luxury than normal camping.
www.glamping-uk.co.uk

Yes I would rather not have a holiday that go camping. It is much more stressful than just being at home.
The gross loos, the uncomfy beds, it's always too hot or too cold. Having to queue to wash in skanky showers. Bugs, noise, walking to toilet, crawling or ducking about the tent.
Your dps idea is much nicer imo but not at this time of year. It's already too hot here let alone hot countries. I'd love to visit Egypt so would wanna go in the next half term when it is cooler.

"or who has walked in their manky old flaky feet across the carpet before me. Or whose bodily fluids I would see on the headboard were I to shine a UV light on it (urgh don't google that). I'm just anal."

So, how do you deal with using shared toilets/showers if that bothers you?

And no-one has answered my question about how noisy campsites are. Even hearing someone quietly talking in the tent next to me would keep me awake.

We select sites very carefully and good quality regularly cleaned facilities are top of the list. Flip flops and sacrificial bath mat ensure a pleasant shower experience.

Less-than-luxe toilets etc are far less bothersome amid the context of a beautiful meadow with stunning views than a hotel you've paid through the nose for. And there's always TravelJohns...

I've never found any of the campsites we've stayed at noisy enough to be intrusive. Again, we choose naice sites very carefully and pitch with a mind to minimising proximity to potential noisy neighbours. DH is verging on insomniac at home but sleeps like a log when camping.

Well I haven't even tried camping yet, we always do self catering holidays overseas. One of the things I hate is that we always have to clean our accommodation before we leave, which means an early start and a manic rush to get it all done before check-out time. I'm looking forward to not having to clean the tent too, I can do that when I get home, and I expect that packing all the stuff will take less time than cleaning a house. Plus you can normally park your car next to your tent, so you don't have to walk far with all your luggage, which we normally have to do when staying in a house on a holiday park. Also, I think there is more flexibility with camping, if you don't like the site or the weather is crap, you can just pack up and move on. Plus it's better way to visit a lot of different places, a night here and night there.

Noise - I'm worried about that too as I'm a light sleeper. I'm going to try ear plugs, but more importantly, I've researched campsites and found one that is small and aimed at families. It's a farm which hasn't got any entertainment or club room and it locks the gates at 11pm. When my daughter did her DofE expedition, some of her friends took Night Nurse to ensure a good night's sleep . Someone told me that in the UK a lot of campsites have patrols to make sure there is no noise after 10 or 11.

Toilets & Showers - read reviews online. The one we are staying has modern, heated facilities which are cleaned 3 times a day. But I've bought a chemical loo which I want to take if I can fit it in the car!

Space - you don't have to crawl around in a small tent. There are fabulous big tents now. I bought an Outwell Nevada L which is huge and we've got plenty of headroom. It's got a side extension and tent carpet too!

Beds - haven't cracked that one yet. As said up thread, found the Sim really hard when I slept on it for one night in the garden, but going to try Nikki1978's idea if I can fit the duvets in!

How do you get all that stuff in the car? We've a large roof box, but you would need a transit van to take all the gear recommended on here!

I'm firmly in the campers camp.

I think your perception and the reality are quite removed.

You portray an image of hundreds of little tents all lined up with one loo and shower.

If you join the caravan and camping club you get access to sites that are much less commercial, some of the sites they have listed will have space and a water supply. You are unlikely to find yourself sharing them and of you do it will be one retired couple caravanning away their retirement.

I'm not saying some sites aren't exactly as you describe, I'm saying you get what you look for.

Having just finally braved camping as a single parent to a toddler, I can't wait to do it again.

We both had such a blast.

I love being outdoors, the basicness, cooking on a fire, both of us falling asleep exhausted from running about so much

How do you get all that stuff in the car? We've a large roof box, but you would need a transit van to take all the gear recommended on here!

Err... Yes. About that.... (Apologies to those for whom I am repeating myself)

Admittedly, a comfortable camping experience is far more achievable when you have a Transporter panel van

The gross loos, the uncomfy beds, it's always too hot or too cold. Having to queue to wash in skanky showers. Bugs, noise, walking to toilet, crawling or ducking about the tent.

We stay in remote, basic sites rather than large commercial busy ones...the toilets are usually clean, and people are considerate to other campers.
The beds aren't uncomfy - they're sweet!
Our tent is cotton canvas so you don't get that sweaty stuffy feeling that you do in nylon. We have heaters for the cold.
I don't queue for a shower...the showers are usually busy in the morning, so we go out for the day, do whatever activity, and have one when we get back, and before dinner. There's never anyone in them then. *top tip campers!
Bugs - well yes it is the outdoors...they don't bother me.
Noise - again at remote sites, you are rarely disturbed by noise. I can imagine commercial sites being populated by drunk people shouting and all sorts, but we stay away from those sites.
Lastly - our tent is big and tall, so ducking about is minimal.

I think some people visualise a different holiday from the ones we have, when we talk about camping.
Just as there are some holiday resorts that attract a certain type of holiday maker, so too do campsites.

Ukcampsite is an excellent website, as the reviews will tell you everything you need to know about a site, before you book.

We have a bell tent and I love it because I know it's for our family and only our family have stayed in it. I really struggle going to hotels because it feels yucky that countless people have stayed in the bed, even with clean sheets/bedding it still feels a bit yuk. With our bell tent we have complete control over our environment. Plus we could go somewhere super remote if we wanted with incredible views. We go to basic sites (farms etc) and the children adore making friends with other kids, that is priceless to us and worth the having to walk to the toilet block etc. We also tend to shower at end of day before bed when the showers are quiet.

We need a van.

Do it. You'll never look back.

Haha vivi we used to camp with a Transporter van too :o

Nowadays we take the (heavily crammed) car for weekends locally. At it's last MOT we decided that it's days of long distance travel were numbered so vowed to hire a car for our main holiday to France. As DH and I are both used to driving vans we looked at a Transit van, brand new, more fuel efficient and with full breakdown cover for about £250 a week. No good if there's more than three of you and undoubtedly adds to the cost of what is supposed to be a cheap holiday but worth considering for those of us who don't actually travel light :o

We have a seven seater car, three kids, no roofbox or trailer. It is hard.

Dh's car is a company car, and because he works for a motor group, the cars get swapped a lot...so a roofbox or trailer aren't options for us. We'd have to get refitted for each new model, so it would be too expensive.
We have to rely soley on boot space.

It is a Krypton Factor moment. I have even known dh to take measure ments and do a little diagram to fit it all in.