A Step Up from Camping -- Go "Glamping"!

That's Short for Glamorous Camping; There's Wide Range of Experiences, and Prices

(CBS)  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

El Capitan Canyon, California

• 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

Resort at Paws Up, Montana

• 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

Costanoa, California

• 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

MaryJane's Farm, Idaho

• 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.

[GirishLaikhra007]

This is an awsome article. Very basic but extermely effective movements to build a great body.

great information, thanks for sharing it.
<a href="http://www.campertrailerads.com.au" rel="dofollow" >camper trailers</a>--camper trailers

[ibsteve2u]

Do you think "glamping" will include a guarantee that there will be no homeless people living in tents within visual range?

[John_Merritt]

Camping was made to be man with nature, not man pretending to be with nature. If I have to spend more than $15/night for a campsite, than I spent too much. Trust me I know how to camp and turn the most ordinary camp spot into a day at Disneyland. Toilets and showers are a must because after all I am human, but I still take my shovel when I camp, just in case. Have a great weekend. Take your families camping men, they will love you that much more.

[ejcspau]

"glamping"? give me a break!! that's for sissy babies. go (real) camping, get back to nature! if you don't like the bugs and dirt, please stay in a hotel. electricity, master bathrooms? that isn't camping. camping isn't glamorous, it's just fun.

[JWhittingtonAR]

Having lived in Alaska for 20 years prior to moving to AR; I have "camped" out in Tents, Tarp shelters, and in RV's. We went all over Alaska and parts of Canada. We had steaks, fresh trout and dolly varden, landlocked silver salmon. We brought the fixin's in a cooler. The price of all of these is ridiculous. Why would anyone pay those prices to sleep in a tent? The wife and I could go camping anywhere in Alaska for a week and any of these resorts except Costa Rica. Now that one has our interest.

[FarmgirlAlee]

MaryJanesFarm is an amazing place. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous, the food is wonderful and the people could not be nicer. You haven't lived until you take an outdoor bath in one of their heated bathtubs while watching the stars above! Visit her website to watch video tours and get a preview of B&B experience! I wish I lived closer so I could go back more often!

[johnbrown8888]

I sure hope that Paws Up rate includes meals and activities!

[carla0626-2009]

for johnbrown8888 - I've been to Paws Up, it's spectacular! The rate does include three gourmet meals daily for two people, plus round-trip airport transfers from Missoula. Activities aren't included, except for things like hiking; their Spa Town (also gorgeous tents) is extra. I'm going again in October - they have some great fall specials.

[aChangeOfIdeas]

The Costa Rica deal sounds like fun. But considering those other rates I'll just stay home. I better appreciate where I live now!