Camping can certainly be a relaxing experience – many people decide to go on camping trips for precisely that reason. The thing to picture is relaxing on a beach, lakeside, or forest glade, book in hand, reading underneath a cloudless sky and a warm sun with some freshly cooked food nearby when you get hungry. That is the relaxing camping experience.
The reason for this, naturally enough, is that camping can very easily be the opposite of relaxing. And a non-relaxing camping is often precisely what campers seek out. Camping is very diverse, and there are many more camping holidays which, instead of relaxation, prioritize adventure, sight-seeing, or even survival. It’s not a forgone conclusion that a camping trip should be relaxing – and it certainly isn’t a foregone conclusion that it will be relaxing.
Paradoxical as it may seem, when all you want to do is chill out, you do need to plan carefully for a relaxing camping trip. You need to bring along everything you need for comfort, you need to plan out the schedule or your trip, and perhaps most importantly, you need to go somewhere conducive to a relaxing time.
That can all be a fair amount of work, but if it’s work done before the camping trip begins, then there’s no reason why the actual camping trip itself cannot be pure, relaxing bliss.
Choosing a Location
Before going on to a list of tips for ensuring that your camping trip is as relaxing as possible, it’s worth giving a special mention to one tip in particular – choosing your location.
There isn’t just one camping location which you can be assured will be relaxing. But generally speaking, a relaxing camping location will not be one that you’re travelling miles to reach with a car encumbered with gear.
You will not normally have to use truck tie down straps from the likes of Rollercam for the expensive equipment, you will not need to pack a load of weather-resistant clothing, and you will not be going anywhere that is so off-grid that getting lost can turn into a survival experience.
There is no one location that ticks all these boxes, there are in fact several. However, you’ll be going somewhere where there is good weather and where the campsite is located somewhere calm and relaxing. Tough remote terrain is certainly off the cards, and so too is anywhere that will be freezing at night or where you can expect adverse weather conditions.
While it’s wise to prepare for the worst, a good camping location is somewhere where “the worst” is pretty unlikely to happen.
Tips for Stress-Free Camping
So, with that important point about location out of the way, here follows some further tips for stress-free camping:
Choose an Easy Campsite
Specifically, this will be one situated on level terrain and with amenities nearby. You can still be out in nature but on a campsite with benches, picnic spots, and places where you can shower.
Be Within Reach of Food and Supplies
The chance of running out of food can be part of the thrill of a survival camping trip, but it is not the best situation for a relaxing one. If you want to relax, this should be something that you don’t have to worry about.
Bring a Comfy Tent and Sleeping Arrangements
Tents are not just for survival. Many of them can be pretty luxurious. Investing in one of these is a terrific way to ensure the proper night’s sleep needed for relaxing camping.
Camping can be a seriously recuperative and relaxing experience, but a little fore-planning is certainly advised.
