A Step Up from Camping -- Go "Glamping"!
If you like the idea of camping out, but you're not sure you're ready to rough it in the outdoors, you could try glamorous camping -- or glamping!
The destinations enable you to get back to nature and stay in tents, while enjoying a few modern amenities. And, most glamping options are affordable -- an added bonus!
On "The Early Show" Friday, Travel+ Leisure magazine Associate Editor Sarah Kantrowitz filled viewers in on that newest trend in vacationing.
"If you don't want to rough it, but you're looking for something more rustic than a hotel, then glamping is for you," she told co-anchor Harry Smith. Glamping is, she says, kind of a middle ground.
People were talking about glamping a few years ago, but it's picking up steam now, particularly in places where the weather is ideal for camping and glamping experiences.
There are glamping experiences at all price and interest ranges:
CALIFORNIA CASUAL
• Price from $155/night for a tent
• 20 miles north of Santa Barbara, on the Pacific Coast. Views of the Gaviota Coast, Pacific Ocean and Santa Ynez Mountains
• Guests stay in cedar cabins and safari tents grouped in villages with names like "Peace Tree" and "Shaded Creek"
• Nearby bathroom and heated swimming pool
• Saturday evenings, May through October, guests and neighbors gather at the Creekside Green for a night of blues, jazz and bluegrass.
LUXE
• Rates start at $725/night
• The resort is set on 60 square miles of untamed Montana wilderness located 30 minutes east of Missoula in western Montana
• Now there are two tent communities: Tent City (the original)
• River Camp, the newest tented accommodations, boasts six tents that line the Blackfoot River. The safari-style accommodations are outfitted with electricity, feather beds, western chic furniture, private decks, and even their own personal butler.
• Within steps from each tent guests have access to private master bathrooms and a dining pavilion where all meals are served
• Outdoor adventures include fly-fishing, tubing, kayaking, rock repelling, whitewater rafting, bird and wildlife watching, and sporting clays shooting.
SPA
• From $155
• In Pescadero, Northern California (south of Half Moon Bay and north of Santa Cruz, on Highway 1)
• An eco-adventure resort where our guests can retreat from the chaos of everyday life.
• Surrounded by undisturbed wilderness, rolling coastal hills, secluded beaches, and connected to four state parks, 30,000 acres of hiking trails.
• Activities include Surfing, mountain biking, and guided Naturalist hikes
• Tent bungalows come in four different configurations
• There are always plenty of activities planned
CULINARY
• From $139 a night
• Set on a 50-acre organic farm in the Southern half of Idaho's panhandle, outside the university town of Mosow, Idaho.
• There's a B&B and a farm school founded by MaryJane Butters. Her slogan is "farmgirl is a condition of the heart"
• Guests can learn to chop firewood and preserving the harvest
• Five private canvas-wall tents, each with an own outdoor bathtub and kitchens, vintage iron beds, organic-cotton sheets. No electricity (just battery-operated lanterns). There's also a smokehouse, greenhouse, chicken coop, library, and a pond.
• Breakfast is included (fresh eggs, seasonal fruit (grapes, strawberries))
INTERNATIONAL
Corcovado Tent Camp Lodge, Costa Rica
• All inclusive (tent and meals) from $80 per person
• On the Osa Peninsula, in the Southern Pacific region of Costa Rica. Fly on one of the daily flights from San Jose to Drake Bay, then there's a 10-minute boat ride to the Corcovado area.
• Tent Camp is located right on the beaches of Las Caletas. There is a fresh water lagoon, the ocean, and the jungle all in one place.
• Travelers sleep in comfortable, full-size tents with wood-frame beds.
• Kayaks, snorkeling gear, surf boards, canoes, boogie boards, fishing gear and three full meals are included in the price.