Camping tents offer you a chance to rough it in the great outdoors. Glamping tents offer you an experience where you explore the wilderness while availing the luxuries of a hotel.
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The type of tent you have can make or break your getaway. The type of luxuries you can have depends on your tent. How comfortably you can move around inside, depends on your tent too. Different tents have different standout features. If you can, we recommend that you glamp in all of them at least once.
To ensure that a glamp seamlessly provides amenities such as space for furniture, and power supply, there are only a handful of structures that have made it as a glamping tent.
Bell Tent
If your browser history has been riddled with ‘glamping tents for sale’ it is likely that your top search results were bell tents.
Bell tents are canvas tents with a single pole in the center that supports the entire roof in a conical shape. But this is not the only thing keeping the tent up; guylines trace all around the bell and keep the tent taught. The modern bell tent is very different from older versions which were close imitations of the Tipi. Unlike the canvas wall tent, a bell tent doesn’t have ample headspace and therefore for glamping purposes, campers should opt for larger bell tents.
Wall Tent
A canvas wall tent, also known as a safari tent is a house-like tent with four walls. Crafted from army duck, the tent is durable and packs enough space for glamp sites to install furnishings, and power outlets.
The giant door flaps at either side make it easy to attach multiple canvas tents to make them bigger or attach them to the entrance of another structure as an extension. When glamping, this is used to attach them to outdoor bathrooms.
You can also fit a stove inside a wall tent. This means you can allocate a functioning space for a small kitchen inside your glamp.
Yurt Tent
A yurt tent is a round structure with a sloping roof. Yurts have always been built from wood or bamboo fashioned into lattice webbing to make one round secure wall. Modern yurt Tents are also made from cotton canvas and other blends of materials.
Like a wall tent, a yurt tent has ample headspace, and that is why they are very popular as semi-permanent homes. Yurt tents are a good choice for a glamping tent because they make accommodating amenities easy. However, yurts don’t boast the same aesthetic outdoor look that a bell tent might pose.
Tunnel Tent
Tunnel tents are tubular in shape. Their biggest draw is that they can be assembled quickly and once erected are quite spacious. These tents are popular amongst glampers who want to set up their glamping tent in a camping space. They are lightweight and the average tunnel tent accommodates between 4 to 6 people.
Dome
A dome tent is a hemisphere structure with a frame made out of metal triangles. Bell tents and wall tents make your lodgings look picture-perfect for the wilderness; domes on the other hand look like a futuristic igloo. That being said, dome structures have been popular amongst architects for decades because they are sturdy and provide ample space to the occupants.
An average small dome is 5 meters in diameter. Domes can be extended without increasing their size by adding an outdoor deck or terrace. A glamping dome will usually have a private bathroom within the sphere.
Tree House
Traditionally tree house glamps are made of wood. However, many sites have begun to experiment with designs of glass and other materials to offer patrons a unique experience. Treehouse glamps can be built with canvas tents and a solid frame as well.
Like the name suggests you would expect a tree house to be built on an old sturdy tree. That is not always the case. Many glamps are built on stilts to replicate the height. This also allows a glamping establishment to offer a uniform experience to everyone and not rely on the supposed structural integrity of trees in the vicinity. Tree houses are more rustic than pods and domes, but have the capacity for modern glamour.
Tipi
The tipi tent goes back centuries in the Native American culture. The original tipis were built from animal skin and structured in a cone. The modern tipi is made from canvas. The difference between other conical tents and the tipi is the opening at the top of the tipi tent meant for ventilation. Unlike a bell tent that has very low walls, a tipi will be entirely sloping with poles along the canvas.
Tipis are better suited as communal activity spaces than mini living units for glampers. It can host a group of people but only if they are seated. Tipis can also be used as glamping tents when the tent is solely to house a bed.
Pod Tents
Glamping pods are solid structures that are semi-permanent dwellings. The original pods are typically made of wood and have built-in amenities within these small huts. The shape of a glamping pod is either two sloping walls making a conical tunnel or one curved dome with doors and windows at either end.
Pod tents on the other hand have a shell of canvas on top of circular poles that make a frame. Pods take longer to set up and are difficult to disassemble and transport. They are perfect for year-round glamping sites.
Glamping Tent Vs Camping Tent
Glamping tents are modern structures that are sometimes interchangeably used for camping. For instance, the safari tent is often used for hunting expeditions.
The biggest factor that makes a tent worthy of a glamp site is how much space it packs. This is so that the tent can provide the occupants with enough room to sleep comfortably without being huddled together and also add a lounge space indoors.
A tent also qualifies as a glamping tent when there is enough headspace for people to be able to walk around without bumping into things. This is not a prerequisite for camping. As a camper, you primarily need a tent to protect yourself from the elements through the night.
Glamping tents are always erected on a platform to ensure the interior has a smooth and clean surface for a floor.
What Tent Should You Choose?
When you are choosing a tent remember that every glamping tent comes with an array of features and not many of them are identical. With so many options, it can be daunting to make a final choice. Here are the questions you need to ask yourself that will help you arrive at a suitable choice.
How many people are in your party?
If you are traveling with a partner you can glamp in a smaller structure with a single queen-sized bed. The glamp will still have all the amenities to make it luxurious. If you are traveling with kids you will need a larger tent based primarily on the sleeping arrangement. With a family you may even want a small kitchen, therefore go for a tent that comes with a stove jack like a canvas wall tent.
Where is the glamping site?
If you are going to an area with plenty of outdoor activities, you can go for a tent that doesn’t have a lounge area or an entertainment center. So a smaller and cozier tent would do just fine like a bell tent.
However, if you are leaning more towards a staycation you will need a tent that can house amenities that will keep you occupied and engaged. Domes and safari tents are two good examples of this. You can open the window screens of the tent to enjoy the scenic views of the site.
If the weather at the glamping site often stays cold you will need a tent that is insulated. If the glampsite is in the middle of the woods, you will need mosquito mesh lining and a well-ventilated tent.
Do you have a preferred style?
All glamping tents have their own style and aesthetic appeal. Depending on how you envision your getaway to look like in photographs, you can pick your tent accordingly.
If you are starting your own glamping business, this is one factor that can make your enterprise. Glamping sites across the country have their own themes that attract patrons. Pick a style that matches your target audience.
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