Camping holidays offer something for everyone

It used to be a bit fashionable to snigger at people who go camping and caravanning, but in actual fact around 18 million Brits do so every year – 78% more than holiday in Spain. The rise of the staycation and the news of celebs like Posh and Becks and Jamie Oliver all taking to their camper vans has brought this style of holiday more and more into the mainstream in recent years.

Those of us who have been camping and caravanning since before the celebs got in on the act know it's the perfect holiday if you’re on a tight budget – invest in a tent and a sleeping bag and off you go. If you're a bit more flush, up the luxury stakes, from taking a £250,000 Silverstream motorhome around the country to staying in a converted double-decker bus at Glastonbury. And for those in the middle, there are oodles of options too, from buying your own touring caravan or motorhome to booking a week or two at a static caravan park.

Here’s a quick guide to the different types of camping holidays available:

• Tent pitches: The original version and certainly one of the easiest ways to do it. Staying in a tent gives you plenty of options – you can go wild camping and really get away from it all, or you can camp on a site with baths or wifi, one which allows campfires, or one which has a launderette on site.

• Touring caravan: Probably what most people think of when they think ‘caravanning’ – your own caravan that you hook up to your car and drive to a site to pay a fee to stay. An initial investment offset by very inexpensive holidays for years to come.

• Static caravan: Where all you need is your rucksack and whatever else you fancy bringing – you hire the caravan on site at the caravan park. Some static caravans around the country can sleep up to eight or ten people, and many are the height of luxury.

• Glamping: 'Glamorous camping' has become huge in recent years, as people realise camping isn’t just tents. There’s a huge range of glamping accommodation available around the UK, from wigwams, tipis and yurts to luxury lodges and log cabins and even pods.

• Motorhomes and camper vans: Bring your wheels and all you need with you, without having to hook up to a car. Motorhomes and camper vans are a popular option with many camping club members, again offering very inexpensive holidays after that initial outlay.

Once you’ve decided what sort of holiday you want, you can choose from dozens of activities on and off your holiday park. Stay in one of the country’s thousands of parks offering spectacular scenery, remote location, nature and wildlife havens, or near fishing, birdwatching reserves, beaches...there's something for everyone, every lifestyle and every budget.

On Pitchup.com you can filter your search to include all these  terms, as well as look for parks near an upcoming festival, destination or offer. All our listed park include Good Pub Guide pubs nearby, a full list of facilities on site, links to nearby cycle routes and places of interest in the area. 

You can also filter your campsite or caravan park by dozens of search terms, including caravan parks with indoor swimming pools, parks which allow dogs, or are family friendly, or adults only, or near a National Park, or budget/backpacker, or open all year, or peaceful, or in a forest...whatever you want from your holiday. You can also check availability and look for campsites according to price, tourist board rating and user review.

But don’t just take our word for it – here are some of our top-selling campsites and caravan parks:

• Lady's Mile Holiday Park, Devon: Two-bedroom holiday homes and pitches for tents, tourers and motorhomes

• Riverside Country Park, Northumberland: Camping pod and pitches for tents, tourers and motorhomes

• Bryn Dwr Camping Pods, Wrexham: Heated lakeside camping pods

• Castle Point Caravan Site, Dumfries and Galloway: Luxury two-bedroom holiday homes and electric pitches for tents, tourers and motorhomes