INTRODUCTION
What if you could swap your urban surrounds for the great outdoors and take the kids camping, any time you liked, even with just 1 hour notice, to explore, to learn and to just be kids?
Not only that, what if you could camp comfortably, travel safely, and have as much fun as most other camping families out there?
And, what if you could do all of this without the need for the trailers, camper trailers, caravans, RVs or enormous cars that most camping families use nowadays?
Without all of the trial and error and frustration that goes with camping for newbies as well?
If that sounds appealing, then you are in the right place.
Because, as most of us know, camping is so good for you and your family on many levels - self confidence, resilience, the hip pocket, mental and physical health, and reflection, just to name a few.
But, for the city slickers amongst us (me included), there's one thing that gets in our way. And that is space, or lack of it, and the logistics around that.
It's hard enough if you are a busy parent to actually take the kids camping if you don't have the know how, the confidence and the right equipment. For many, that in itself can be giant leap, especially if as well as that you've never camped before and perhaps haven't even grown up in a camping culture.
Add to that the logistics of urban life, and those challenges are perpetuated.
In this article, we will look at why urban families are very much under-represented at campgrounds compared to those living in suburban and rural areas.
I will also give you our top five tips to camping for families living in high density areas to put you on an equal footing with other families. In fact, when all is said and done, I think you will agree you will be way out in front on many levels.
I will focus on apartment living families in this article, but the principles apply equally to any family living in a smaller home, including units, flats, townhouses and terrace houses.
I will give you tips to help you DIY everything we cover in this article. But I will also reference our Camping Kickstart Program for those of you who want to avoid all of the trial and error with a tried and tested solution. This program covers everything you need to know about camping trailer free, from planning your physical camping setup in terms of what gear you need right through to your return home.
Firstly, since we don't have the parking space, the key to camping for urban families of up to 5 is to avoid the need for any kind of trailer, camper trailer, caravan, RV, or an enormous car for that matter, and to camp trailer free.
And by that we mean to transport everything and everyone using just your vehicle.
Now that might be easy to do if you go down and visit the local hiking store for some lightweight, relatively uncomfortable overnight hiking gear for your camping setup. And perhaps also leave the bikes and other fun things at home.
But not if you want to camp comfortably, travel safely and participate in activities such as bike riding, fishing, 4-wheel driving (etc) like other camping families.
For that, you need:
- A comfortable camping setup that can be comfortably and safely transported by car
- A compatible car capable of carrying the load safely
- An efficient way of packing it.