A Camping Holiday is an Affordable Option

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Tuesday, January 30th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

If you want to take your family on holiday but you are on a budget, a great option is camping. Along with the ability to discover the beauty of nature, there is always an element of adventure when camping. There are a wide range of options from basic to luxury camping, and many options for locations including RV parks, RV resorts and campgrounds.

Accommodation
Although a complete camping experience involves getting away from all the trappings of our modern life, this doesn’t mean you will have no decent conditions at all. Most camping parks include a grill, fire-pit and picnic table, as well as shower and general bathroom facilities. Others provide extensive facilities, such as heated pools, cable TV and wireless Internet access. Apart from pitched tents, there are also cabins, cottages and lodges available. But some camping parks are very basic, and may have no electricity at each camp site and may only have cold showers. So it really is a case of checking what facilities are available when planning your trip. While it can be fun to really get back to basics, it can also be a real chore if you are trying to cook for 4 or 5 people on a single burner gas stove beside your tent!

Activities
Going camping is extremely appealing for the kids, too. There are tons of enjoyable activities available on camping holidays, both for children and adults. Many camping parks feature lakes, rivers or are by the sea, which enables swimming, boating, water-skiing, canoeing and fishing. Most will have some sort of nearby hiking trails, and some may even offer basketball courts and playground facilities. Many include such activities as, nature crafts, free movies or ice cream socials for the kids. You can bring along your board games, bike and balls & gloves too. On a camping holiday you will have plenty of time to play with the kids, then enjoy a beautiful sunset and watch for shooting stars!

Pricing
Going camping is not only fun and exciting, but also probably the most affordable family adventure holiday you can plan. The cost for four family members can be kept under $1000, including the cost for buying new gear (tent, sleeping bags, cooler, camp stove). The new gear should cost somewhere around $4-600, while the campground fee is usually less than $200 for a whole week. You should expect to spend another $200 for groceries. If you already have gear, the cost for a camping holiday is even less. If you want to test the waters, you can start by staying in a cabin or an on-site caravan or camper. The price ranges from $30 to $100 a night. If you all enjoy the experience, you can buy gear for the next year.

Camping is becoming more and more popular each year as families look for an affordable family holiday. Recent research has shown that about 70 percent of all the active campers went on a camping holiday with their family at least once and 50 percent went with the extended family, including their children. 60 percent of all the active campers are already grandparents and take their grandchildren along when camping. Although camping is growing in popularity, it is an unfortunate fact of life that many of the best camping parks are disappearing, as the land they are on (particularly for seaside locations) has become so valuable that many parks are being sold off and turned into residential sub-divisions. So make a camping holiday a high priority for your family, so that you can enjoy the best of the parks while they are still available.