Tent or Caravan

Camping is all about the freedom to roam, the pleasure of opening your door onto nature and new vistas. But if you need home comforts, and don't relish the pitter-patter of rain on canvas, caravanning may be your thing.

The good things about camping

• Living close to nature makes you feel more alive.
• Camping shakes up your routines: it's refreshing for the soul.
• It's an inexpensive holiday.
• Food tastes so much better in the open air.

The bad things about camping

• It rains.
• Tent walls are thin: they let in noise and the dawn light.
• There's no privacy.
• Bugs want to sleep with you.
• Camp beds are never as comfortable as real beds.
• It's a trek to the loo.
• When it's dark, it's very dark (and lamps attract bugs).
• Putting up a tent is a rigmarole; then you have to take it down again.

The good things about caravans

• They're cosy, and keep out the rain, a lot of the noise, and the bugs.
• You can travel just about wherever you like, at the drop of a hat.
• They provide an inexpensive holiday.
• You can take just about everything you want with you.
• They have proper beds.
• Your little mobile house stays the same, but the views change.
• They have an en-suite loo and shower.
• You get proper lighting, a fridge, and heating, and you can plug in a telly.
• You can unhitch your car, and leave the caravan in the campsite when you go touring.

www.caravanclub.co.uk

The bad things about caravans

• You cart a mini-version of your home around with you; where's the sense of escape?
• Manoeuvring a caravan can be tricky and stressful.
• Caravans cost several thousand pounds, or more.
• Other drivers loathe you.

The good/bad things about motorhomes/campervans

• Almost the same as for caravans - except you're permanently joined to your sink and loo, and they are a lot more expensive.

Give them a try

If you feel that call of the wild, why not give each of these options a try? Clearly camping does not suit everyone; conversely, the very idea of caravanning strikes horror in some people's minds (let alone holidaying in a motorhome). You can buy a starter camping kit at relatively low cost, or hire a pre-pitched tent. You can rent a static caravan, or a mobile motorhome. Give it a go! Who knows, it might change your life!

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