Camping vs Glamping

[TiggerTrigger]

Thank you! BF has a conference in Austin, TX next year and we plan to visit Big Bend.

I live in Texas and we're big national parks enthusiasts, yet we've never made it to Big Bend. It's probably because of location and not really being able to tie it into a lot of other points of interest (for us). It's currently about a 10.5 hour drive from the Houston area to this dome glamping site. We've discussed staying closer to Terlingua or even north in Marathon or Alpine if we ever get a chance to go.

 

[ncc1701]

No we don’t, haha! They are one and the same IMO. If it includes dirt, bugs, critters and does not have indoor plumbing I want no part of it.

I thought camping was the remote in my hotel room didn't work and the ice machine is on another floor.

 

[loves to dive]

Well, we have a RV but I don't consider it glamping or camping. Just another way of staying overnight without paying for a hotel.

When I was a teenager we used to go camping. The whole tent, sleeping in a sleeping bag on the ground, cooking our food over an open fire, washing the dishes in the river - camping. After a while we got a tent with two rooms (sort of) and Mama and Daddy had cots but us kids still had sleeping bags on the ground. There was a cover on the ground that was part of the tent. And, this was a big deal, Daddy actually got a propane stove he could cook his coffee and make steaks on. I think we only camped in camp grounds once, otherwise it was just pitch the tent out in the middle of nowhere (you could do that in the 70s). Daddy worked for the state highway in NM so we could camp on any of the state lands.

Now you couldn't pay me to sleep on the ground. Heck, I won't even use the comfort stations at camp grounds. I have a RV for a reason, I can use my own bathroom.

 

[holden]

Camping: You do all the work
Glamping: Someone else does all the work for you, plus a nice bathroom

 

[soccerdad72]

A cousin of mine works for this company - his team goes to camp sites assembling and disassembling the tents:

https://www.undercanvas.com/

This is what I think of when people mention glamping.

 

[_19disnA]

Neither.........LOL. Never got into camping even after going a few times with other friends who really were into it. Not that much to do once you get there and one time it rained all weekend which made it seem pointless as you couldn't do anything outdoors. If I want to sit outside on a lawn chair, I can do that at home on my own patio. I guess the appeal for some is going on an inexpensive vacation. However, dragging all of your household items, setting up, cooking, cleaning up seemed like more of a hassle then it was worth. Just never found it enjoyable.

For the price of a million dollar motorhome, you can certainly find a LOT of really nice hotels for many years to come !!!

 

[VandVsmama]

Whether it's camping or glamping, it doesn't matter...it's not my thing. I'm allergic.

 

[disneychrista]

I really wish we had a full on hotel room right now. It is freezing!!! The heat isn’t working in the trailer.

 

[tcufrog]

Camping: You do all the work
Glamping: Someone else does all the work for you, plus a nice bathroom

I totally agree. We've stayed at glamping places at a local nature park, in the Moroccan desert and while on safari in Kenya and it's a totally different experience from camping. At each site, we stayed in what looked like a tent but there were real beds, electricity, and full bathrooms. One of the really remote locations had a bucket shower but we didn't fill the tank. Meals were provided and the ones in Morocco and Keny were amazing. The glamping sites in Morocco and Kenya were definitely luxurious.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I used to enjoy cooking over an open fire and sleeping under the stars without even a tent overhead. Hiked back to the car the next morning and had to scrape frost off the windshield. I outgrew that many, many years ago. Now my idea of roughing it is staying at a 3-star hotel.

 

[John VN]

Camping: You do all the work
Glamping: Someone else does all the work for you, plus a nice bathroom

I totally agree. We've stayed at glamping places at a local nature park, in the Moroccan desert and while on safari in Kenya and it's a totally different experience from camping. At each site, we stayed in what looked like a tent but there were real beds, electricity, and full bathrooms. One of the really remote locations had a bucket shower but we didn't fill the tank. Meals were provided and the ones in Morocco and Keny were amazing. The glamping sites in Morocco and Kenya were definitely luxurious.

Thinking the above ^^^^ is what I had implied on Friday

*Glamping* to us would be -- driving to a *camp site* where a tent (some type of FABRIC enclosure) is ready and waiting for us and has everything a 5 STAR Hotel Room would have along with Concierge Services for whatever we would require with a p.s. - that also includes a wonderful breakfast + lunch + dinner + all beverages AND GREAT PIZZA 24hrs/day, oops--sounds like the cruise DW and I just got off of this morning

 

[Skywalker]

I like what my friend does.

When they take the kids camping she spends the day with them doing camping things...hiking, swimming, campfire cooking etc. Then at night she goes to a local hotel.

Then she will go back in the morning with breakfast for them and do it all again.

I think that's what I would do as well, if my husband wanted to camp, which thank goodness he does not.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think RVing is different than camping and glamping and I've always considered them differently. Glamping to me is a specific type of camping

My in-laws take their 5th wheel and say they are going RVing. They don't say camping and they call their buddies that they meet at the sites their RV friends.

I've done the tent thing and while I'd do it I wouldn't do it when it's just as easy and practical to do a different option. Glamping often has its appeal to people as it takes people to often specific places and offering specific experiences, you often have spectacular views especially if it's in a more glass-style option.

 

[RangerPooh]

I've done a LOT of tent and hammock camping/backpacking. I have also done my share of pop-up trailer camping (camping in the summer is like sitting on the sun, need that camper with AC, lol).

So what makes camping?

• You set up camp yourself
• Cook your meals on a camp stove
• Showerhouse may or may not be present
• Community restroom; might flush, be vault, or a (private) hole you dug behind a bush
• Electricity and running water not guaranteed
• Sleeping on or just above the ground
• Be prepared to freeze from the cold or melt in the heat

What's Glamping?

• It was set up prior to your arrival
• You have no clue how to operate the RV you're renting
• Private restroom facilities
• Electricity and running water is a guarantee
• You have an actual bed and not sleeping on the ground
• Temperature controlled environment (heater, AC, possibly a fireplace inside your unit)

 

[Skippy918]

Thank you! BF has a conference in Austin, TX next year and we plan to visit Big Bend.

You do realize that big bend is about an 8 hour drive from Austin?