Glamping - camping for those who demand luxury

By Barbara Kolb Sep 8, 2011, 4:06 GMT

Hamburg - Musty sleeping bags and loud snores from the next-door tent. Many are happy to be able to afford to put all of this behind them and splash out on a proper holiday in a hotel instead, even if they acknowledge they have lost something in the process.

That something is sleeping under the stars and close contact with nature.

A new trend in the world of campfires and mobile homes indicates that many feel this way: Glamping - which stands for glamorous camping, or tents with a touch of luxury. The trend has been quietly underway for some time, but is now taking off.

Environmental concerns are part of the reason. Holidaymakers accustomed to comfort and even luxury are now beginning to think about the ecological costs of their five-star holiday, including the customary long-haul flight.

Glampers do not of course stoop to pitching their own tent, let alone lugging it along some wilderness trail, and instead of a night spent on a thin insulation mat, they prefer a double bed with fresh linen sheets.

Camping suppliers have responded to the demand. Starting in the United States and Britain, glamping exhibitions are now common at tourism trade fairs, such as in the Netherlands, where camping has long been popular among the thrifty Dutch.

Glampers tend to opt for countries with unspoiled natural vistas, spectacular landscapes, and of course predictably good weather. France has become a major destination with dozens of facilities to delight the luxury camper available in sun-drenched Languedoc, in the Dordogne and in the romantic open spaces of the Massif Central.

Here the tents, whether genuine Indian tipis, huge Bedouin tents, mediaeval jousting pavilions or Mongolian yurts, are booked out for months in advance.

In Germany at Dahme on the Baltic coast there is an encampment in the style of the film Out of Africa starring Meryl Streep. These permanent tents are huge, equipped with a four-poster bed, bath tub from the period and sand-coloured furnishings.

Alternatively there are holidays in a roulotte, a brightly painted gypsy trailer equipped with a glass roof so that the occupants can watch the night sky. One company has already set up more than 60 sites in France.

There are also the luxurious mobile homes, which tend to cost an arm and a leg, meaning that most people are better off hiring one and parking it at a modern site.

These 'trailer parks' are a far cry from their US origins, sometimes kitted out in a particular style, such as one on the Dutch holiday island of Texel, where the 1960s still reign - style-wise anyway.