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Reading Time: 7 minutesLast Updated on June 23, 2025 by Paul Clayton
Table of Contents
5 Ways Glamping Differs from Camping
Camping and glamorous camping, also known as “glamping,” share the same underlying premise: spending the night in the great outdoors. Beyond that, you should know many subtle differences. Let’s compare camping vs. glamping to determine which option is best for you.
Key Takeaways:
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- Core Premise vs. Execution: Both camping and glamping involve spending time outdoors, but they differ significantly in their approach to comfort, amenities, and connection to nature.
- Traditional Camping: Rugged and Self-Sufficient: Emphasizes a return to primitive living, testing outdoor skills, embracing discomfort for self-sufficiency, and immersing oneself fully in wilderness locations with basic shelters (tents, hammocks) and essential cooking over fire or portable stoves. Hygiene is minimal, and water often requires purification.
- Glamping: Luxurious Outdoor Experience: Offers a highly comfortable and amenity-rich outdoor stay, often in more accessible locations near services or in specialized resorts. Shelters are extravagant (yurts, furnished cabins, high-end RVs) with full kitchens, clean running water, and private bathrooms, catering to those who prefer luxury over ruggedness.
- Key Differentiating Criteria: The main distinctions lie in location (wilderness vs. amenity-rich/resort), shelter (basic vs. luxurious/spacious), cooking (primitive vs. full kitchen), water supply (unreliable/needs purification vs. clean/readily available), and hygiene (minimal/outdoor vs. full bathroom facilities).
- Cost and Experience: Traditional camping is typically budget-friendly and builds self-reliance and confidence. Glamping is significantly more expensive but provides a more relaxing, less challenging outdoor experience.
- Personal Preference: The choice between glamping and camping depends on individual preferences for comfort, budget, and desired level of outdoor challenge and immersion.
- Shared Benefit: Time Outdoors. Regardless of the style, any form of camping is beneficial, as it encourages spending valuable time outdoors, which has a positive impact on health and well-being.
Traditional Camping
The traditional form of camping takes you away from most of the luxuries of home. It brings you back to a more primitive lifestyle, testing your skills as an outdoor adventurer and putting you out of your comfort zone. While some aspects of camping may be temporarily uncomfortable, the overall satisfaction of being self-sufficient makes camping such a timeless experience.
After all, what we call “camping” is how every human on earth used to live during the dawn of the species. They were hunters and gatherers, sleeping in crude shelters and cooking over open fires — just like people do at modern campgrounds today. Camping takes us back to our ancestral roots, which is why it will always remain a popular outdoor activity.
Location
You can technically take a camping trip anywhere, but it’s ideally suited for the wilderness, allowing you to immerse yourself in nature fully. Some people have private campgrounds they can retreat to, but most campers use public campgrounds at local, state, and national parks.
Although several of these sites are located in remote areas, they offer a diverse range of activities that attract people from diverse backgrounds. The big three are hiking, fishing, and cycling. You may also find opportunities for hunting, swimming, boating, bird-watching, and other activities.
If you’re an avid outdoor enthusiast, you can also take advantage of special campground discounts and benefits with camping membership programs. Some memberships even offer fuel discounts and give you access to exclusive campsites.
Shelter
Traditional camping typically involves setting up a temporary shelter, which is lightweight and easy to assemble, such as a tent or hammock. The most extreme campers don’t bring anything and build a survival shelter using the elements that nature provides. Others carry a sleeping bag and sleep under the stars.
If these options seem barebones, you can stay in a car, trailer, or RV. Many of the aforementioned public campgrounds are equipped to accommodate recreational vehicles (RVs). Van life, or dwelling, is another option that has become increasingly popular in recent years. People convert a bus or van into a permanent shelter and travel from campsite to campsite.
However, if you want the best traditional camping experience, it’s best to take a minimalist approach. Bringing an elaborate shelter almost defeats the purpose of camping: spending the night outdoors.
Cooking
In traditional camping, cooking should occur over a portable stove or an open fire. These are the primary cooking methods when you don’t have access to a kitchen. Both options have advantages and disadvantages.
Portable stoves are easier to cook with, but they can also take up a significant amount of your limited storage space and weigh you down. Cooking over a fire solves this problem, but you must worry about cooking your food unevenly. Safety is critical when maintaining campfires, especially if cooking late, as 49% of deadly fires occur overnight. Stoves are preferable for many campers because they resemble a standard kitchen and pose a lower fire hazard.
Water Supply
Every campground is supposed to have at least one water source, whether it’s a creek, pond, or natural spring. Even if the water appears safe, it is still advisable to purify it with a filter or iodine tablets for added protection. If you’re lucky, your campsite will be connected to a nearby well, and you won’t have to worry about the water’s sanitation.
Collecting water for cooking and cleaning might be a hassle, but this chore is a quintessential part of the camping experience. Basic tasks are supposed to be challenging. If everything you need is within arm’s reach, you aren’t camping.
Hygiene
Personal hygiene can be a complicated aspect of traditional camping. If you’re not sleeping in an RV, van, or trailer, you must do everything outdoors, and there is no bathroom or latrine. You need to bring all of your toiletries with you, especially toilet paper. Newbies may struggle to adjust to the lack of privacy.
You might go a few days without bathing, but that’s OK. Nobody expects you to stay clean on a camping trip. If you go the entire trip without getting your hands dirty, something is wrong! Camping is supposed to be a rugged experience.
Glamping
On the other hand, glamorous camping, also known as “glamping,” is a luxurious form of traditional camping. Its origins date back to ancient times, when royal travel parties would have lavish campsites with ostentatious tents, elaborate feasts, live musical performances, and other attractions. The term “glamping” was first used in the United Kingdom in 2005 and added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2016.
Glamping is a viable alternative for individuals who are less confident in their survival skills or prefer not to experience the “roughing it” aspects of traditional camping. Let’s review the five factors—location, shelter, cooking, water supply, and hygiene—to see how glamping differs from camping.
Location
There are fewer campground options for glamping than regular camping. If you want to maintain all of the comforts of home, you must find a site close to a local store or trading post. This proximity ensures you can buy any supplies you need during the trip. Any remote campsites that lack basic amenities are off the table.
Other glamping locations include private resorts and tourist destinations, such as tropical islands and desert stargazing sites. The average glamper is wealthier than the average camper, so they usually have no problem affording these high-end campsites.
Glamping also often includes guided tours of the local environment and special activities such as safaris and spa treatments. Traditional camping activities, such as hiking and fishing, remain popular, even among high-end glampers.
Shelter
Glamping encompasses a much more comprehensive range of shelter options than traditional camping. You can still sleep in a tent, but it will likely be more extravagant than a regular tent. Yurts and canvas tents are two popular options. Most glampers prefer to stay in cabins or lodges with home comforts, including a bedroom and kitchen.
There is some overlap between camping and glamping since both activities allow the use of RVs and other mobile homes. However, glamping RVs are more advanced, featuring amenities such as Wi-Fi hotspots, televisions, and full bathrooms. The goal is to make your glamping shelter as spacious and comfortable as possible.
Cooking
Cooking is business as usual since glamping shelters are usually much more accommodating than camping shelters. You have access to a kitchen and an array of cooking utensils, as opposed to a portable stove and a small pan. You can make any meal you want if you bring all the ingredients, or the resort provides them.
However, since glamping often occurs in remote areas, you must still be mindful of the local wildlife. You don’t want to attract critters to your campsite by leaving food lying around, even indoors. If you’re going to cook a big meal, clean up after yourself before going to bed.
Water Supply
While camping often involves accessing unclean and unreliable water sources, glamping provides you with unlimited access to clean water. Even if you choose to stay in a tent and don’t have a sink, you’ll still be connected to the local water supply thanks to the campground’s bathrooms or water pump. No extra purification steps are necessary.
Hygiene
Since glamping spares no expense on amenities, your hygiene will not be an issue. You can stick to your usual grooming routines on the campsite without skipping a beat. The resort might even have fitness centers, saunas, and salons to help you improve your self-care habits.
Camping vs. Glamping — Which is Right for You?
Camping is ideal for budget-conscious outdoor enthusiasts or anyone looking to enhance their survival skills. Although it may be a more rugged activity, especially in terms of food preparation and basic hygiene, it’s more beneficial for your confidence and independence.
Glamping is undoubtedly more relaxing, but it’s also much more expensive. If you want to go glamping regularly, you’ll face a high price for exceptional amenities. You might be able to afford the occasional glamping trip, but it might not become a hobby.
Final Thoughts
While both traditional camping and glamping offer opportunities to enjoy the outdoors, they cater to distinct preferences regarding comfort, amenities, and cost. Traditional camping emphasizes ruggedness, self-sufficiency, and a deeper immersion in nature through the use of basic shelters and primitive practices.
In contrast, glamping provides a luxurious outdoor experience with lavish accommodations and all the comforts of home. Ultimately, the best choice depends on individual desires for adventure, budget, and comfort.
Still, the shared benefit of spending time in nature makes both forms of outdoor dwelling valuable for overall well-being.
