What is Glamping?

If you’ve got a serious case of wanderlust or luxury travel makes your heart skip a beat, you may already be familiar with glamping.  If you haven’t yet heard of glamping, it’s probably time you get the scoop.  

What is Glamping?

Glamping is one of those trendy, made up words that travel marketing pros gobble up.  It’s one of those words that will make it on those end-of-year lists (“new words we heard this year” or “overused buzz words of the year”), if it hasn’t already.

Glamping is the marriage of glamour and camping.  If you’ve never heard the term before, did your eyebrow just lift a bit when you read that? 🙂

Glamping is considered fancy schmancy, glamorous camping.  You could go glamping by booking a “glamping” getaway via a travel company or resort, where all the “work” is done for you–no tent to set up, no heavy packs to carry, no meal preparation to think about.  You arrive, and voila! everything is already set up for you.  Perhaps the glamping experience is set to a background of luxury, turquoise waters, or some other luxurious travel destination.  Perhaps it involves a guide, who also prepares four course meals for camping clientele.

Glamping could also be more DIY, such as camping in a luxury RV or a motorhome decked out with all the latest creature comforts of home, leaving little reason to ever want to leave your RV–for example, with cable TV, wireless, luxury washer/dryers, endless hot water heaters, and posh bedding, an outdoor entertainment center (think 50″ television and state of the art sound system) and gourmet outdoor kitchen. You might boondock on public land with a pristine view of the Tetons, or stay at a luxury RV Resort dedicated to serving campers seeking a high-end camping experience.

Glamping could also be a DIY tent camping trip experience, involving wine, gourmet meals, meats or seafood for the grill, candles, and music that fits the mood, and maybe designer tents, packs, and camping accessories.

The Modern Spin on Camping

Glamping may just be the modern spin on traditional camping, affording people with means and opportunity to experience “real” camping and connect with nature. Glamping may also be especially attractive for urban and suburban dwellers who are accustomed to living luxury lifestyles compared to most standards, and who long to step out of their comfort zone, but don’t want to step out too far.

However you spin glamping, however, camping remains an integral part of the experience.  It may not be your kind of camping or your favorite kind of camping, but whatever gets people out to connect with nature has to be a good thing.

Personally, I love my RV camping experience.  In my mind, it is glamping compared to some of the rugged backcountry camping I’ve done in the past.  I’m more than thrilled with the experience, whatever it happens to be called this year in the travel industry.