Glamping in Australia: what it costs and what is included

Glamping in Australia means camping with a real bed, power or lighting, a private bathroom or a shared one close by, and often a meal or a fire pit. You pay for comfort without owning a tent. Rates in early 2020 ran from about A$119 to A$950 a night, and what you get changes a lot between those two ends.

This guide explains what glamping includes, shows examples from Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria, and gives a simple way to compare costs.

Sources for this section: Traveller, Ten of the best glamping spots in Australia (15 January 2020).

What glamping is

The word joins "glamorous" and "camping". It describes camping with amenities, and sometimes resort-style service, that you would not expect on a standard camping trip. The word first appeared in the United Kingdom in 2005 and was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2016, but luxury tent living is much older.

In Australia the term covers safari tents, geodesic domes, bell tents, eco tents and small eco lodges. Most sit on a fixed platform and stay up all year. You turn up, and the bed is made.

Sources for this section: Wikipedia, Glamping.

What is usually included

Inclusions vary by site, so read each listing line by line. These are the items that show up most often in operator descriptions.

• A proper bed. Several sites advertise king-size beds, and one Tasmanian dome sells its view of the stars from the bed.
• A bathroom. Some tents have an en suite. Others, such as the Wilson Island tents on the Great Barrier Reef, use shared bathing facilities.
• A deck, barbecue or kitchen. The Pebble Point camp in Victoria supplies a camp-kitchen tent with a fridge and microwave. The Tandara tent in Lane Cove National Park, Sydney, has a private deck with a barbecue.
• Food. At the high end, meals are part of the stay. At the low end you cook for yourself.
• Heating. A fireplace, a fire pit or a bath is common in cooler places.

Sources for this section: Traveller, Ten of the best glamping spots in Australia; Nightfall Glamping, home page.

Where to find glamping in Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria

You can find tents and small eco lodges in every state. Three that suit a first trip are below.

Queensland. Nightfall sits beside Christmas Creek in Lamington National Park. It has permanent, hand-built safari tents, and each tent has twin bathtubs and a rotating fireplace. Only four couples stay at a time. Further north, Wilson Island on the Great Barrier Reef has nine glamping tents, and Habitat Noosa offers tents on 26 hectares of bush by the Noosa River.

Tasmania. Domescapes Tasmania places geodesic domes in the Tamar Valley wine region. Each dome has a big viewing window over the bed, so on a clear night you can watch the sky.

Victoria. Pebble Point has six safari tents on the Great Ocean Walk, about six kilometres from the Twelve Apostles. You can walk to the Apostles from the camp.

Sources for this section: Nightfall Glamping, home page; Traveller, Ten of the best glamping spots in Australia.

What glamping in Australia costs

Traveller listed these starting prices in January 2020, each quoted per night. Rates change by season and by year, so treat them as a guide to the range, not a quote.

Most of these prices were quoted "twin share"; the Rottnest price was not. That wording can mean the price is per person, or that two people share one tent, so ask before you book. The gap between A$160 and A$950 mostly pays for remoteness, meals and the number of guests the camp allows.

Sources for this section: Traveller, Ten of the best glamping spots in Australia (15 January 2020).

How to compare costs

1. Find out what the rate covers. Check meals, bedding, towels and firewood.
2. Check who the price is for. Per person and per tent are very different.
3. Add the extras. Boat or 4WD transfers to remote camps can add to the total. Wilson Island, for example, is a 40 minute boat ride from Heron Island.
4. Check the rules. Some camps, such as Wilson Island and Sierra Escape in Mudgee, do not take children.
5. Compare with a cabin. A holiday park cabin may cost less and give you a kitchen, but you lose the open-air feel.

Sources for this section: Traveller, Ten of the best glamping spots in Australia.

Before you book

Read the operator's own website for current rates, minimum stays and cancellation terms. Ask what happens in wet or very hot weather, as tents are cooler or warmer than a house. Pack a torch, insect repellent and warm layers, even in the north. Camps inside national parks may also have fire bans, so check local notices before you light anything.

Sources for this section: Nightfall Glamping, home page; Traveller, Ten of the best glamping spots in Australia.

Sources

1. Traveller, Ten of the best glamping spots in Australia, by Ute Junker, 15 January 2020: traveller.com.au
2. Nightfall Glamping, Lamington National Park: nightfall.com.au
3. Wikipedia, Glamping: en.wikipedia.org