Luxury camping is not an oxymoron

The phrase ‘luxury camping’ will sound like a contradiction to many people, but it really does depend which camp you are in. Most luxury holiday destinations around the world have this much in common; a rare natural beauty, a scarcity of people traffic and noise, a preponderance of greenery, fresh air, and fine food and drink. Well, there is nothing on that list that you can’t find when camping. What could be more luxurious than basking in nature’s glory? Its beauty surpasses the finest art, and the majesty of an inspiring landscape reveals the most extravagant architecture as little more than a temporary sandcastle. Far from the concert halls, starched collars and pricey tickets, agile and skilled birdsong trumps the most epic symphony. It floats through the air, bewitching and free, so effortless and without the burdensome weight of the human artist’s neediness. Most things described as luxury are more natural than their poorer cousins. You only have to look at the typically leafy suburbs and huge gardens of the wealthy to realise that luxury living often means being closer to nature and more surrounded by its beauty than those without the means. This fact is also reflected in where we go on holiday; the same poor souls whose families are doomed to lifetimes of financial hardship take their holidays in cheap concrete resorts, and go home to unnatural surroundings. Their worlds are full of dirty grey streets, air pollution and brutal architecture. This relationship extends to our clothing decor and furniture, with fake wood, plywood, polyester and plastic rubbish looking cheap and ugly next to the beautiful antique hardwood furniture, real crystal chandeliers and glassware, silk sheets, velvet curtains, leather shoes, sofas and cotton suits of nature’s bounty. Oh, and let’s not forget food & drink. It is clear from all these, and many more examples of nature’s comparative luxury that nothing could be more luxurious than living right in the heart of it and ideally sleeping under the stars. I know which camp I am in. But, it’s rarely the camping itself that put people off this noble pastime. More likely the bits in their coffee, finding the toilets in the middle of the night, or spending several days and nights wet to the skin. Maybe it was the insects gnawing flesh, or the thunderstorm that blew their tent apart. Maybe the drunken, arguing large family with 3 portable TV’s camping next door who didn’t go to a godforsaken concrete hotel complex in Ibiza? But don’t complain, oh no. Even if you are not the sort to join me in a wild camping adventure far from nowhere, you may be pleasantly surprised by the new breed of luxury camping holiday pitching up in green spots all around the world. Their higher price tags might not entirely shelter you from some of the symptoms of life under canvas, but many will go a long way. Camp Kerala on the borders of Glastonbury Festival could be one such camping destination, although I doubt even their £7000 price tag can protect you from the weather or the pop music. For a luxury camping experience that’s sure to change your perception of what life in a tent can be, head to Mille Etoiles, near La Bastide de Virac in Ardèche where your private yurt awaits. If you don’t call your four-poster bed in a beautifully appointed yurt set in the heart of an ancient French oak forest luxurious… Then I give up. Peter Richards is a Digital Marketing Manager at Tropical Sky. If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.