Most people drive to a campsite and set up a tent there. This is easy because you can take everything you need for your camping holiday in your car with you. In most cases you will choose a campsite that is near the road.

Travelling in recreational vehicles (RV) is more comfortable but also much more expensive. These RVs range from small trailers to large mobile homes. They have all the luxuries that you would also have at home, like refrigerators, showers, sinks or toilets.

recreational vehicle

Recreational vehicle
Image: High Contrast, CC BY 3.0 DE,
via Wikimedia Commons



Boat campers travel with a canoe, kayak or even a small houseboat. They spend days on lakes or rivers and usually camp on the water’s edge nearly every night. In Western Europe, especially Holland, Belgium or Ireland you can rent a boat and travel on one of the hundreds of canals and smaller rivers that criss-cross these countries.


Houseboat in Amsterdam
Image: Heribert Bechen, 5 million visits - many thanks!, CC BY 2.0,
via Wikimedia Commons


Backpackers are hikers who carry their belongings on their backs. They usually go to places that you cannot reach by car. Special equipment is usually extremely light and can be carried on longer trips.

Campers who travel by bike usually can stay at normal campsites. On one hand, cyclists can get to places that you can’t get to by car and on the other hand they travel longer distances than hikers do. They pack their things in waterproof saddlebags which they strap to the frame of the bike.


Bike set up for a camping holiday
Image: Htcltd, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons


Organized camping holidays usually take place during the summer and are attended by girls and boys. They combine outdoor activities with other kinds of training or with learning. Boy and girl scouts are groups of children who go on special camping trips.



Words

  • activity = things that you do in your free time
  • attend = go to
  • belongings = the things that are yours and you carry with you
  • boy and girl scouts = organizations for boys and girls in which they get together and are taught practical things
  • campsite = place where you put up a tent and stay for the night
  • combine = unite. mix
  • criss-cross = to travel in straight lines that cross each other
  • cyclist = person who rides a bike
  • edge = border
  • especially = above all
  • extremely = very
  • frame = a structure made out of steel that holds the other parts together
  • hiker = person who takes walks on paths in the countryside or in the mountains
  • luxuries = expensive things that you do not really need
  • reach = get to
  • recreational vehicle (RV) = a large car that often has a bathroom, a kitchen and beds for use during travel and camping
  • rent = to use for a few days and pay money for it 
  • saddlebag = a bag that is fixed to a bike and in which you can transport things 
  • shower = a place where you stand and wash your body
  • sink = place where you can wash the dishes
  • special equipment = special things that you need when you go camping
  • strap = fasten
  • trailer = a room that you pull behind a car and use for sleeping and living
  • waterproof = something that does not let water in