What Is Glamping?

Camping is a brilliant way to get away with friends and family or enjoy a solo trip across the country. It allows you to explore everything nature has to offer from stunning ocean views to secluded forest retreats. Sometimes when camping, however, you can miss those extra luxuries that can make a gateway feel more like home. 

Glamping puts the glam into camping and gives you those cosy comforts on your adventures, but what is glamping exactly? In this blog, we’ll explain what glamping is and how it differs from standard camping. 

Want to get in on the glamping action? Pick up one of our amazing bell tents and see where your adventure takes you!

What is Glamping Vs Camping?

So what is glamping? Well, when it comes to the differences between traditional camping and glamping the most obvious difference is the addition of luxury items, or items that are necessarily essentials. Glamping literally means “glamourous camping” merged into a single word.

Traditional Camping

With traditional camping, comfort is not at the forefront and the main focus is rather having a safe space to rest overnight. Tents are usually basic in appearance and function and are made of plastic or waterproof material. 

When you go camping you’ll also usually only take the essentials you need such as an air mattress, sleeping bag and clothes. If you’re staying for several days you may also bring tinned food and a portable stove to make yourself meals. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to shower or bathe on a camping trip and taking a small portable charger means you’ll have to be careful using any electronics. 

Glamping

With glamping, everything is about extra comfort, bringing your home to the outdoors and providing an extra touch of luxury, rather than just the essentials. You can find yourself with everything you need to have a relaxing and comfortable trip away. Expect to enjoy your night's sleep with soft furnishings and glamping accessories and enjoy food and cleaning facilities that help make your trip more than just surviving a night in the outdoors. 

What Are the Types of Glamping Tents?

By far the star of the show when it comes to glamping is the tents. Glamping tents offer a whole new level of space, comfort and quality and they come in a range of styles and shapes.

Bell Tents

A bell tent is a modern reinvention of the Sibley tent, designed from canvas material that is shaped like an upward cone. The 3D cone shape of a bell tent means that the space and floor of the tent are circular. This is what allows for maximal use of space and gives the user that extra luxurious experience. 

Bell tents come in a range of styles and sizes, with the 8m bell tents being able to fit over 14 people and an array of furnishings. Not only do these tents offer extra head and leg room but the breathable polycotton material means you’ll get ample light and ventilation, something many campers miss out on with standard stuffy polyester models. 

For more on why bell tents make the ultimate glamping tent, check out our blog on “What is a bell tent?”. 

Yurt Tents

A yurt tent is a traditional dome-style tent that has been used to keep travellers warm and secure for thousands of years. The style of these tents makes them the perfect tent for fairing in both summer and winter conditions. 

Our Luna Emperor tent is a yurt-style tent that showcases everything a glamping tent should offer. With ample room to stretch out both horizontally and vertically, this tent makes the perfect home away from home. With a wide doorway and even windows for a light and airy feel, this tent has a huge amount of space to play with.

With 2 centre poles and an integrated loop for hanging an inner tent or chandelier, this yurt-style tent lets you bring your love for design and accessories to the great outdoors. 

What To Expect When Glamping

Comfortable Beds

You’re guaranteed a good night's sleep when glamping, and this is one of the biggest selling points. You won’t be forced to sleep on the round in your sleeping bag and instead can enjoy your night on a high-quality, deluxe glamping bed featuring a cushioned mattress with full-size pillows and bedding (not just a sleeping bag!). You might find yourself sleeping in a king-sized bed complete with frame and all! 

Heating and Cooking Facilities 

Glamping allows you to indoor the luxury of extra heating and the ability to cook your own hot meals from scratch with stoves that can be installed inside your tent. Options like a classic wood-burning stove not only keep you warm and cosy but also allow you to use a hob to make an array of meals and hot drinks. 

For an exceptionally fancy option, you can channel your inner chef and test your skills with a woodburning pizza oven.

You’ll also be able to enjoy a meal at the table with ample room for dining furniture including tables and chairs. 

Showers and Toilet Facilities

One brilliant benefit of glamping is access to premium showers and toilets. These facilities will be cleaner and more advanced than standard campsites to allow for the most comfortable experience. 

These facilities will always have hot water as well as wash basins so you can continue your morning and nightly routines as usual. 

Electricity

The one luxury we can’t live without in the modern world is our electronics and when glamping, it’s one sacrifice you won’t have to make. When glamping you’ll have both the space and facilities to allow for powering all your electronics. Connect an extension cord to a generator and you can install camping lighting, Wi-Fi and even game consoles in your glamping bell tent. 

In the unlikely event that your glamping site doesn’t have bathroom facilities, you can even utilise a portable shower with an electrical supply so you can feel fresh before bed. 

The possibilities are endless with a glamping tent and aren’t just limited to this list. For an extensive guide on what to take glamping use our complete checklist.

Make Your Adventures Glamourous with Boutique Camping

Now if your friends ask “What is glamping?” you should be an expert on all things luxury camping. If you’re looking for the best range of glamping tents and accessories then here at Boutique Camping you’ve come to the right place. 

All of our tents have been specially designed by glamping and camping lovers to ensure each one of our campers gets a high-quality tent for a luxurious experience. 

With so many amazing models and styles to choose from it can be tough to narrow it down to just one bell tent. If you need a hand in picking your tent, contact one of our camping experts and we’ll help you select a model based on your glamping needs.