10 Eurocamp Tips

As a lot of my readers will now know from this post and this post, we’ve been on holiday to Italy, staying in a Eurocamp tent for two weeks at the beginning of June.

There were a few things that I would have liked to have known before I went away and some other things that I thought someone else might like to know.  So I’ve put together this list of 10 tips for a Eurocamp camping holiday.

 Hopefully someone might find it useful!

1. Take flip flops.  I brought 2 pairs of sandals, a walking pair and a pretty pair, but when you first get up in the morning and want to run to the toilet (fortunately we weren’t too far from the toilet block), it can be quite time consuming threading and buckling sandals.  So by all means take the sandals with you, but throw in a cheap pair of flip flops for those necessary toilet sprints!  They are also great for slipping on and off when you go for a shower.

2. Pack a roll of toilet paper, dish sponge and tea towel.  When you first arrive at the camp you will probably not want to run straight to the shop for essentials.  So a roll of toilet paper is a good idea to pack.  You will also probably want to clean your dishes at some point and to save you having to buy sponges or a tea towel you can bring them with you, they’re very light and take up little room.

3. Bring a few well sealed plastic lunch boxes.  While we were camping we did have a bit of an ant problem, any food  in the tent was quickly discovered and trails of ants would be taking it away to their nest.  We quickly realised that all food had to be placed in the fridge, the only sealable container in the tent that the ants couldn’t access.  So our fridge had all the usual items; milk, butter, cheese and also a few unusual items including boxes of cereal and crisps!  The fridge is only small, so it would have helped to have a few small boxes to put other non-fridge items in.  Of course not all camp sites have an ant problem, but just in case I would take boxes next time!

4. Bring toys or busy bags.  As you will probably guess when you are camping there will be no television or similar to keep the kids occupied.  So don’t forget to bring a selection of books, toys, games (printable board games which just need counters and dice are great) and busy bags (check out this post and this one) with you to keep the kids entertained when you are at the tent.

5. Leave a little space in your suitcase.  We didn’t bring back many gifts for ourselves or others, but we did need to bring back the ball, buckets and spades that we had bought the boys from the camp site shop!  They would have gotten quite upset leaving them at the tent, so a little extra space for the type of items you might acquire during your stay is a good idea.

6.  Consider what quick hob only meals the family likes.  Although we ate out a bit, we couldn’t afford to eat out all the time and cooked a few meals at the tent.  However, it was VERY hot and even worse in the tent, so cooking in it was not pleasant! There is only a hob to cook on, so you will need to think up some meals that everyone likes and that you can make on a hob and quickly so you don’t have to be melting in the tent cooking dinner.

7.  Another important heat tip.  When leaving the tent leave the top of the door a quarter unzipped to let some air in and when at the tent unzip all the openings to let the tent cool.

8. Check whether the camp site is open all day for arrivals.  The majority of Italy shuts down between 1-3pm each day and the camp site we were staying at was no exception.  Anyone arriving at this time had to leave their car at the car park and come back for it later when the gates re-opened.  So check if your camp site has restricted hours for car movement, that way you are not surprised when you turn up with the kids and a car load of belongings and have to walk a mile after a hard day travelling!

9. Make use of free baby items. Check out your online Eurocamp ‘portal’ before you go.  There are options to request baby/toddler items such as a cot, bed guard, high chair or potty, which are free and clearly very useful!  You can also pay a little extra for a package of beach towels and a box of ‘essentials’, which includes tea, milk and coffee among other things.

10. If you need anything, just ask a Eurocamp rep. The Eurocamp reps are very friendly and helpful, if you need anything then just ask.  However, don’t expect them to check in on how you are doing (they might say they will be back the next day, but they won’t be!) and although we saw a rep give a leaflet to other people who were leaving the following day, no-one ever came to visit us.  Of course, this didn’t impact us, we just tidied up the tent as I imagine is expected and left.

Have you been on holiday with Eurocamp?

J x