To Camp or Not To Camp That Is The Question.

Judi101

Hi, we have a two year old and a 6 month old and as with most people with young children money is really tight. We have been investigating the costs of camping at say a Park Resorts camp as opposed to the cost of staying in their cheapest caravan and for a week this Sept it would save us £165 to camp. No surprise to most of you. However before I go out there and buy £500 worth of camping stuff can anyone help me with some advice as we have no experience of camping?

1 - Is it really suitable for our age of children?

2 - I am a real heat freak and am constantly complaining of the cold so am worried I go out there and spend the money then hate it and never use the stuff again. We have no one we can borrow stuff from.

3 - What do we need to make it a comfortable and enjoyable holiday? Any specific advice on what to look for in tents, sleeping bags etc?

4 - We have a resonable sized boot but the dilemma is getting everything in the car - I do not want to buy a roof box as then we have issues with storing it and buying a new car is so out of the question.


Sorry to ramble on but thanks for all the help!

elsien

Sorry, I can't answer any of your practical questions ( other than to try freecycle which sometimes has tenty type things come up) but just wanted to say my brother has taken his kids camping since they were a few months old and they've loved it.

KingCampo

We've got 3 kids (and another on the way) and we've always camped, whatever age the kids have been. They love it! We do have the luxury of pitching on a site with electric hook-up but generally we do proper camping.

You can buy a fabric 'roof bag' now, saving the problem of storing a roof box. Go for as big a tent as possible that has carbon-fibre poles - this saves on weight and size.

If you intend to camp for a few years or camp in places where the weather might be iffy, don't buy a cheap tent from Tesco or Argos! Buy a good quality brand - it's best to buy at the end of the season as you get good deals. ABC Camping in Swansea is excellent and that's where I bought our large Outwell tent (highly recommend this brand). I suggest you go to your local camping specialist and tell them your needs and they'll suggest what your options are.

Good quality tents sell well 2nd hand if you look after them. We sold an 8-year old tent for £100 last year. If you haven't got lots to spend you go get one 2nd hand, but you need to know what to look out for (dodgy seams etc.) and would need to re-proof it.

You need a decent quality cooker, but other than that, most other stuff is cheap and you won't need to buy much at all in future years.

Have fun!

jen_jen_2

if you worry you will be cold, take your duvet. I do in the cooler months and its just as warm as at home. Best tip however is make sure there is something underneath you, not just a groundsheet. Most of the cold comes from the ground - if you use an air mattress put something under it.

Camping stuff is really small. I have a clio and have managed, 6 man tent, stove and gas, clothes etc for 3 people, sleeping bags, food including cool box for 10 of us, bbq and on the way home we squeezed a whole other person plus his stuff in for about 20 miles trip to the station!!

If you are worried you wont like it get the absolute basics, - a tent, spend one night away and see how it goes.

jaymac_2

With the ages of your children and the fact you can go in September I would look at some of the companies like Eurocamp, Matthews holidays, Canvas etc where you can get a fully equipt tent and ferry crossing for under £200 in September, or individual camp sites like http://www.camping-haliotis-mont-saint-michel.com/english-version-camping-haliotis-mont-saint-michel.html which rent out their own accomodation at very reasonable rates.

Judi101

Thanks to all who posted replies. The tip about putting something under the air mattress is a great one (or did you mean on top of it and under you?). Will def take your advice about the tent and look for a good quality one. Having researched prices a bit more now the Haven site is back up definitely looks like next year we will be camping for our holidays.

jen_jen_2

I mean under the mattress, to stop the air getting cold. so it goes groundsheet (often built in), blanket, i personally use one of those picnic rugs, air mattress, sleeping bag and just if you camp when its cold, extra blanket!!

remember, have fun and if it gets really unbearable then go to the nearest hotel for the night

tiff

Camping is fine with kids that age, I would just wait until the weather is fine then take off. We have camped this summer in the rain and it was horrendous!

Please dont go out and spend £500 on camping stuff. We waited until the winter to buy our first tent, paid £99 for a brand new Outwell tent that was being discontinued. The only other real expense is good quality sleeping bags, if you get 2/3 season ones from camping shops they will keep you warm as they are designed for that, rather than the cheapy ones. Quite often people sell the whole lot of their stuff on Ebay as they have moved on to a caravan/camper van etc.

We picked up some airbeds on Freecycle, that were fine. Also camping gas bottles can be picked up from your local tip or freecycle, we have had 2 so far, both with gas in!

Hope this helps.

BillScarab

Get self inflating mats instead of airbeds, they're warmer and I think they're a lot more comfortable.

To stay warm invest in a good sleeping bag, if you feel the cold get a 3 season or possibly even a 4 season one. It's better to have to unzip it because you're too hot then be too cold.

Really the tent and the sleeping bags are the two things where it's worth spending money on good stuff. The rest you can get cheaper stuff and get by. Unfotunately as others have said this is the wrong time of year to be buying camping stuff.

Make sure you geta tent bigger than you think you'll need, they never sleep as many people as the manufacurers claim unless you really squash in.