Glamping

[Ron G.]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Did a bad experience turn you off camping? Maybe your tent leaked in a rainstorm or you shivered all night in a borrowed, smelly sleeping bag. Or that thin foam pad you were trying to sleep on didn't do much to protect your back from the rocky, uneven ground beneath your tent.

It doesn't have to be that way. Tour companies and resorts now offer luxury camping, and the term "glamping" -- shorthand for glamorous camping -- is starting to turn up in reports from the United Kingdom and Canada. The New York Post recently mentioned "glamping" in an article on a new Web site for luxury travel, http://www.globorati.com. (The story also referred to "jetrosexuals" as a globetrotting jetsetter who thinks nothing of hopping on a plane to Asia for a shopping spree.)

In British Columbia, Canada, the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, a 30-minute boat ride from the town of Tofino, is offering "glamping" on a fjord on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Tents have Persian carpets, down duvets and even electricity. There's a sauna and hot tubs on site, and activities including fishing, horseback riding, kayaking, hikes and wildlife-watching.

But if you thought camping was a budget vacation option, you'll have to readjust your expectations for glamping. Three-night packages at the Clayoquot resort begin at $4,100 a person, double occupancy. Details at 888-333-5405 or http://www.wildretreat.com.

Other tour companies offer luxury tent accommodations as well. Abercrombie & Kent has several trips to Africa that include high-end camping, such as guided tours of Botswana that include game drives and accommodations in "walk-in tents with extra length beds, crisp sheets and warm blankets," plus a "mess tent" for what's described as "bush-style haute cuisine" served on china and linen tablecloths. Details at http://www.abercrombiekent.com or 800-554-7016.

Closer to home and a bit less upscale, but still a world away from the do-it-yourself leaky tent, Maine Family Adventures offers a deluxe guided camping trip to Acadia National Park; http://www.mainefamilyadventures.com/trips_acadia_camp.html. Meals prepared by the guides, camping equipment and activities are all included in the cost of about $1,000 a person.

[Ham]

That's just wonderful. But are the tents air conditioned too?

I did see one tent at the ROA with an air conditioner once..

[waysider]

I have a mighty fine patio with a roof that only leaks when it rains.

Off- season prices are negotiable, though cricket chirping is only available during limited time frames.

But hey! what could possibly conjure up more vivid thoughts of roughing it than the lonely hum of a diesel cab-over Pete on the not so distant highway?

But wait! There's more!

You also get user rights to a gently used table top hybachi.(Charcoal not included)

Now what would you give? No, I mean it. What would you give?

Call now. Operators are standing------Bye.