I remember our first family camping breaks, racking our brains to make sure we’ve got everything, and a car full of camping gear heading down to the West Country. There will always be something you forget and plenty of stuff you take that you’ll never use! 😉
That’s one of the difference between weekend camping and longer camping breaks: you need more stuff for a longer camping break. But there’s a balance between too much stuff and and too little.
There are always the basics to take, such as the tent, sleeping bags, etc. However, what you need depends on the number of people and ages in your family, where you are staying, the activities you are doing, and if you prefer to eat out a lot or mostly cook at the campsite.
After you’ve read and watched this article, you will have a better idea of how to plan your family camping break. And to help, we have the Family Camping Planner.
01.
Make your own Camping Check List
Keeping a list of what to take helps us a lot. You can use our Family Camping Planner as a great start for your own list.
Print out the Family Camping Planner and make a note of what items you need to take after watching these videos.
02.
Setting up your tent for a Family Camping Holiday
Your tent, sleeping mats, and sleeping bags are essential, but what about furniture?
If you are just used to camping at the weekend for a night or two, camping furniture, such as storage cupboards, can be a bit of an overkill. However, we’ve found that on a longer camping break, having storage makes a huge difference. Without, your tent can soon get into chaos with little room to move due to all your bags.
In this video, we look at setting up your tent and kitting it out for a family camping break.
02.
Setting up your Camp Kitchen
The first thing you need to ask yourself is how much cooking you intend to do at the campsite. Some families cook all their meals, while others only have snacks at the tent and eat out the rest of the time.
If you plan to eat out most of the time, you won’t need to take as much items for your kitchen. However, if you plan to cook, more work surfaces and at least two hobs will make life a lot easier.
Generally, your camp kitchen should be outside your tent. The only exception might be if you have a flame-less hob, like this one.
Here are some of the camping items in the videos. If you see anything you like, remember you can add it to your Adventure Planner by viewing the review and tapping the heart icon. This helps you build up a list of things you might like to get for your own family camping breaks.
The tent we used in this video was the Easy Camp Match Air 500. We have many tent reviews to help you work out what sort of tent will suit your family.
Father to 3 kids, who loves getting out and about (hiking, running, camping, cycling, canoeing...)
Co-founded Get Out With The Kids to help other parents enjoy the outdoors with their family.
Gav Grayston
