Taking vacations in the great outdoors often sounds dreamy. The fresh air, the starry nights, and some wholesome family bonding. What’s not to love? But the reality is not everyone is as enamored with camping and “roughing it,” and while nights under the stars might seem like an enticing adventure, the reality often can be vastly different.
But the good news is you don’t need to sacrifice comfort if sleeping in a tent isn’t for you, you can still get the sunsets and fresh air without crying in your sleeping bag.
RV Parks
The first and most obvious alternative to camping is to hire an RV and pitch up at an RV park. With your own toilet, snacks, bedding, and a door you can lock when you sleep, it’s the perfect compromise and gives you a comfortable place to sleep without having to experience the outdoors by being outdoors completely.
Choosing RV parks with amenities and full hookups means you get the hot shower you need, toilets you can use without having to change the cartridge, and somewhere you can do your laundry.
Glamping, AKA Camping But No Suffering
If normal tents aren’t your thing, then the next step is to look at glamping options. These are luxury tents, and you can find them in various beautiful spots, and even in the National Parks too. From safari tents to yurts, pods, and Conestoga wagons, you have options when it comes to glamping. Sometimes there’s even heating too. With glamping, you’re not suffering; you’re still getting the campfire, the marshmallows, and everything else you get with camping, but with more luxurious accommodations.
Cabins and Cottages
The ultimate cheat code. Sometimes, all you need is the hike, the fresh air, the view, without having to sleep in a puddle or worry if you’re going to be breakfast for wildlife you didn’t know existed.
Cabins are the answer to your camping woes. Four walls, bathing, toileting, and laundry facilities, and you’re still in the middle of nowhere, getting everything you need from the great outdoors.
Whether it’s a rustic cabin in the woods or a cosy cottage on a mountain trail, you can still spend nights outdoors around a fire, telling stories till the small hours, and wake up to birdsong, but in an actual building, not a tent.
Houseboats and Floating Cabins
If any of these options aren’t for you, then how about moving off land and onto the waterways? Houseboats are a popular choice for Americans to enjoy the outdoors in comfort and see things from a different vantage point. If you’re after a different level of serenity, living on the open water in places like Lake Powell in Arizona or Lake Cumberland in Kentucky can give you a unique experience. You can wake up to the views of the open water, cast a line from the deck, and take a morning dip in the water to wake up in style. Another alternative to houseboats is floating cabins. It’s essentially how it sounds. It’s a cabin, like you get in the woods, but floating on water. It doesn’t move like a boat does, but it does give you the same novelty experience.