Has anyone ever tried a full-on tent camping holiday by plane, to a destination which would not normally be accessible by road? Or is this just a crazy notion?
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Thirty five years ago, Yes! In 1975 and 1976 Thompson Holidays used to offer a 'Wanderer' package, where for a fourteen night holiday you got fourteen vouchers which were exchangeable for a variety of different accommodation. We flew to Corfu - taking our own tent and basic equipment with us, and 'camped' at Gouvia, just north of Corfu town. However, after one night we realised that it was too hot in a tent, the sun rose at about 3.30 am and woke us up, and thereafter we stayed in 'village houses'! The following year we had a similar holiday in Crete - but this time left the tent at home!
These days you'd be pushed to take all your own equipment with you with the restrictions on baggage allowances and the extra costs for hold luggage. However, I did noticed that Ryanair are offering 'Camping Holidays' on their website, and the search facility allows you to look at campsites within a reasonable distance of their airpotrts. Again, though, you'd probably require to hire a car when you arrived as some sites are quite a distance from the airports concerned.
What a great idea. It ought to be resurrected. I have looked at the Ryanair thing already and it just clicks straight through to the Alan Rodgers booking system, which is no bad thing, but pretty soon there is no mention of flights. I can imagine turning up with a 20 kilo tent at the Ryanair check in, no matter what the paperwork says, and seeing their eyes light up
I can't help you with ideas about flying and camping, but following the example of our grown up children, we found many times on winter trips to South East Asia we could travel around independently, eat and drink and stay in simple accommodation, for about the same cost as our usual summer time caravan budget. You've got to find the air fares first of course, but once you are there you can live very reasonably and very comfortably. This is not for the package tour lover, or those needing 4 or 5 star hotels, and it means using trains and buses without a tour guide to lead you. Camping with a tent in that part of the world isn't really feasible, but camping in a hut on stilts beside a palm fringed beach in Thailand or Sri Lanka is perfectly possible. For us it always seemed better than long winter stays on a camp site for the elderly in Spain.
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Did this to Switzerland last year, hotels at either end of the trip but mainly camping and travelled entirely by public transport. Stayed at camping wang which has a large barn as a campers kitchen equipped with fridges but no stove. Only took a smallish tent, wild country levache, but still was at the checked luggage limit of 20kg each and puched the hand luggage limit a bit as well. Airlines get a bit sniffy about carrying stoves, especially liquid fuelled ones due to worries about remnants of fuel. Some recommend mailing your stove to post restant at your destination, how it is any safer in a jiffy bag rather than checked luggage escapes me. We took a multi-fuel burner, that had been thoroughly cleaned of unleaded and kerosene and only took the parts that run on gas and bought a can gas on arrival.
Also done it a few times to Spain both by public transport and with hire car. On those occasions bought a bucket from a € shop and ice to keep things chilled.
Will be doing it again next summer but not decided where yet
I see people turn up at the campsite we use near Antibes, either off a bus or train. You could fly to Nice, and take the train round the coast to a campsite, Biot station has a number of campsites on the doorstep.
Wouldn't travel by plane but we quite often go by train when we feel that the car journey is too much (Portugal, Greece &c) - it's great and I'd do it every time if it weren't for the cost! Travel in comfort and give the driver a chance to see the world!
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Would you carry the tent? Not sure I'd do that myself, but would certainly go to a pre erected tent or a static caravan. Saw people do this in Jersey & Spain a couple of years ago as well as Italy last Summer. Each time we had driven!
Were from the same area twangy. Ryanair do some good deals off season. Weve flown to southern France (Nimes and Bergerac) at the end of May a couple of times and hired a tent and a van for decent money.
Driving seems the most cost effective option peak season though. Why dont you plan a couple of stops enroute, at places you could spend a day at and enjoy.
We have done the driving with stops a few times now (kids in school so can only go in peaktime).
Across Spain last year from Bilbao ferry to the Costa Brava was interesting, but these trips do cost and arm and a leg, take three weeks really, and I would love there to be an airline that would take the lot and have us there in three hours instead of five days.
May well still happen. I am looking at our Decathlon Quechua Base Seconds tent in a whole new way!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Going by plane
