The Holiday Thread

[Carlos]

Bike camping does not seem like a holiday to me

[IanF]

I’ve been looking at putting together a camping set up that’ll fit on my bike.

It’s an interesting challenge tbh, like, how little can you get away with.

Carrying enough food and water to keep you going for a few days cycling all day is a consideration. Once you’ve got that a bivvy bag and a light sleeping bag it doesn’t leave space for much else.

What about a tag-along or trailer bike?

[dinny_g]

I’ve done 2 night solo wild camps before and everything needed fitted into a 50l pack.

I left after breakfast on day 1 and came down to breakfast on day 3 so only 5 meals really. I use Wayfarer pouches, some bread rolls and fruit. The chilli is surprisingly nice. I cook with a jet boil (and have the Cafetière attachment ) and just bring one small plastic plate and spork

You can easily kit out 2 panniers with everything you need but “light” or “small” means “expensive “

[ZedLeg]

Aye, that’s what I’m thinking Dinny.

I’m deliberately avoiding a trailer to keep weight down so I can go off road and find some nice camping spots.

Initial plan was going to be Arran a few weeks ago but I went to Alton Towers instead.

Thinking might go for Arran again if we have a mild autumn.

[DeskJockey]

We saw a few people cycle camping in Scotland. The standard seemed to be panniers front and rear, rear bag, and a smaller pouch type thing on the frame behind the handlebars. You could get a decent amount of kit packed like that.

[Gavster]

All the camping advice seems to point towards trying out some more beds/mattresses etc until I find one that I'm comfortable on, otherwise by a caravan/campervan

We went away last weekend for one night and had a lovely time, bar for the slightly sketchy night of sleep on a cheap airbed, although taking duvet and pillows instead of sleeping bags was a big win. I've tried some basic 5cm SIMs too, which are fine for a brief night of sleep, but haven't tried a thicker 10-15cm one, so could be worth a try. Also picked up a couple of OEX Ultralight folding chairs that are pretty comfortable and aren't the size of the sun when folded up.

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/19589646/o ... 6/5559876/

[JonMad]

Ah, a camping thread - excellent. Just back from two weeks in France, the fourth time to the same site in the Vendee. The facilities are great, the people are friendly, the area has lots to do, it's not too far to drive to/from Caen.

2025-08-12 20.22.10.jpg (288.38 KiB) Viewed 1103 times

Thanks @dinny_g for the GoOutdoors sleeping bed/mat option. I may check that out. We have some Decathlon beds and thin SIMs. The beds are compact when dismantled, but hard work to get the poles fully into the canvas sides and then to clip the legs on, but stable and don't squeak once put together (the reviews on the GoOutdoors one suggest effort is required to assemble - I use a screwdriver to lever mine together). This year I tried one of those air mats with a built in inflator off Amazon, on top of a SIM. Was fine for a few days, staying inflated, but then it decided to deflate after four hours. So as of yet I've not got a solution where I can sleep without having to keep turning over due to it hurting my hip or back.

Have camped in the UK, but only in the warm/summer. Wife fancies going to Northumberland so that could be a good camping one, with a bit of weather risk.

Tent is currently loosely put up in my wife's parents' garden to dry out (as ours isn't big enough, and has a slope) as we had to pack it away wet, as it was dewy on our last morning. Shame there's rain being forecast for the next week.

2025-08-27 12.58.43.jpg (307.14 KiB) Viewed 1103 times

We saw a few people camping on bikes, front and rear panniers, handlebar and back mounted racks iirc

[Jobbo]

That’s a big tent - space for your car inside?

[mik]

Like a garage, but more in-tents.

[V8Granite]

All the camping advice seems to point towards trying out some more beds/mattresses etc until I find one that I'm comfortable on, otherwise by a caravan/campervan

We went away last weekend for one night and had a lovely time, bar for the slightly sketchy night of sleep on a cheap airbed, although taking duvet and pillows instead of sleeping bags was a big win. I've tried some basic 5cm SIMs too, which are fine for a brief night of sleep, but haven't tried a thicker 10-15cm one, so could be worth a try. Also picked up a couple of OEX Ultralight folding chairs that are pretty comfortable and aren't the size of the sun when folded up.

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/19589646/o ... 6/5559876/

Those chairs are not husky friendly.

Dave!

[V8Granite]

Ah, a camping thread - excellent. Just back from two weeks in France, the fourth time to the same site in the Vendee. The facilities are great, the people are friendly, the area has lots to do, it's not too far to drive to/from Caen.

2025-08-12 20.22.10.jpg

That’s a really nice sized trailer. Ours is a little smaller but has a very low weight rating which sucks.

Do you fill the boot as well ? I can’t remember if you have a dog ?

Dave!

[JonMad]

That’s a big tent - space for your car inside?

Probably! I can stand up in it with headroom to spare. The front porch area fits a full size table and four of us sat round it.

[JonMad]

Ah, a camping thread - excellent. Just back from two weeks in France, the fourth time to the same site in the Vendee. The facilities are great, the people are friendly, the area has lots to do, it's not too far to drive to/from Caen.

2025-08-12 20.22.10.jpg

That’s a really nice sized trailer. Ours is a little smaller but has a very low weight rating which sucks.

Do you fill the boot as well ? I can’t remember if you have a dog ?

Dave!

It's been great. I think Brenderup was a recommendation on here. This is short but the double height plus lid makes it really spacious. I used to put the tent (all 50kg of it) in the trailer but that meant it had to come out last/go in first. Now the tent travels in the boot (with a couple of holdalls next to it) and clothes etc go in the trailer - easy to fit in all the spaces and easier when packing/unpacking on site. Roofbox has pillows, raincoats and shoes.

[simon_g]

The Decathlon inflatable bases with SIMs on top are brilliant if you have the car/tent space for them. Two will clip together to make a double. Plus you’re not getting up off the floor to get out of bed

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/inflatabl ... beige_blue

[JonMad]

Not tried those ones. These are the Decathlon ones we have right now. https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/camping-b ... =teal+blue
Hard work to put together - you get a sweat on and need to be strong to pull the legs into place.

[dinny_g]

Those decathlon ones are similar to the ones we actually have - they just don't seem to be available in Go Outdoors at the moment. - and yeah, they can be a bit of a faf to put together but very comfy.

We also have Thermarest Lux XL matts which are awesome - mine's 32 years old now and still going strong...

[jamcg]

If you have the space I seriously recommend fishing beds. Extendable legs so if you’re on a slight slope you can still sleep level, or you can extend them fully and have a camping bed about the same hight as a sofa. Usually have a much higher weight limit than anything described as a camping bed



My wife uses ours every time she’s had knee surgery and can’t get upstairs, one time was around 3 months on one of these and was perfectly comfortable

[JonMad]

We are the opposite, a big tent, definitely no electric hook up and self inflating mattresses.

The only issue we’ve found with sleep is if the pitch is on a side slope. Our tent is big enough so even a slight downward gradient and we put our feet first, then we always sleep well.

Electric hook-up means people around you bring everything with them and are noisy council types. We’ve had to tell people with a 32” telly to turn it off as it’s too loud. This is all on nice sites, the telly one was at Sandringham.

We have a fridge we need for butter, our food and the dogs food, powered with a battery box and solar. The rest is just clothing and a table and some chairs. It doesn’t need to be more than that.

2 small tables
4 chairs
Dog stake
Fridge
Solar
Big battery bank
Clothes
Dry food
Washing line for towels etc
Sleeping bags
Roll matts
Interior lights at night
Water container

The weirdest issue we’ve have is the kids wake up after us, when normally it’s before us, always happens when we camp.

The biggest difference a good campsite can make is large clean showers and toilets.

Dave!

My spreadsheet / packing checklist currently runs to 276 rows A bit less for UK, rather than France, and a load of it is already packed, but...

[dinny_g]

Quick Rome review...

It is an utterly beautiful city with unbelievable views around every corner. I don't think I've been anywhere like it to be honest. The history, the age of the place, the people.

The visit - we gave it a week and still didn't see everything we wanted to. I think there's just too much to do it justice on a normal "City Break" type visit. I'd say 4 days minimum.

The safety - there was a bit of chat about how iffy it can be. Scammers and Pick Pockets etc but it was fine. Just be smart and there's zero issues. Don't buy water from the hawkers, the public springs are everywhere. Watch out for the Fist Pump Guys - They normally try to disarm you with "Cool Trainers" of "Do you like Black People" and when you extend your arm to do a fist pump, they slip a bracelet on your arm which can't be removed without cutting and insist on €20,€30 etc. Just be smart and you're fine.

The food - there's always a fair bit of snobbery around eating abroad. "Oh you must avoid the tourist areas and eat where the locals eat" and while there is a certain level of truth to this, it isn't necessary unless you're a true Gav style foodie. Yes absolutely avoid places with pictures of the food but staff on the street trying to usher you in is fine. A lot of these places are like your typical country pub. Good honest food, reasonably priced. It's not Michelin starred but sometime you just want a nice plate of food. Every place we ate had plenty of Italians in them too.

The sights - As a lapsed Catholic, the Vatican City was pretty special and I have to be honest, I felt my faith slightly returning. St Peters Basilica is of a size you just can't comprehend. Sistine Chapel was cool but didn't blow me away as I thought it would. For the Caflicks among us, as it's Jubilee Year, we got to pass through 2 of the 4 Holy doors so sins slightly cleansed if not actually washed away... The Colosseum was very impressive but I wouldn't waste your money on the "Stadium Floor" add on. Pantheon is cool, Trevi Fountain is best avoided. Sure, take a quick look as you're passing but that's it. Spanish Steps were very meh. Mouth of Truth is out of the way so unless your missus is a fan of "Roman Holiday" as mine is, can be skipped. We went to the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II on the last night as it's open to 11:30. The Panorama Terrace is worth the money and we had a few drinks in the rooftop bar overlooking the city. Would recommend

Tours - We pre-booked the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St Peters as one tour and the Coliseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill as a second. Tours are fine for a whistle stop tour of a place and skipping the lines was good but if your genuinely interested in a place, I wouldn't bother. You end up with a "Tour Guide Summary". You'd be better off biting the bullet and queueing with an Audio guide so you can spend as much time as you like. We went back to St Peters on Friday afternoon and queued and were in in about 20 minutes.

Hotel - we stayed at the Grand Hotel Palatino which I can thoroughly recommend. We got an upgrade to a "Junior Suite" which was handy for 3 Adults (mini Dinny is 19 now) Right around the corner from the Coliseum so we'd stroll there in the evening after dinner.

Overall, loved it and we're already planning to return 2033 for the next Jubilee so we can do all 4 doors and skip the queue into Heaven...

[Simon]

Quick Rome review...

It is an utterly beautiful city with unbelievable views around every corner. I don't think I've been anywhere like it to be honest. The history, the age of the place, the people.

The visit - we gave it a week and still didn't see everything we wanted to. I think there's just too much to do it justice on a normal "City Break" type visit. I'd say 4 days minimum.

The safety - there was a bit of chat about how iffy it can be. Scammers and Pick Pockets etc but it was fine. Just be smart and there's zero issues. Don't buy water from the hawkers, the public springs are everywhere. Watch out for the Fist Pump Guys - They normally try to disarm you with "Cool Trainers" of "Do you like Black People" and when you extend your arm to do a fist pump, they slip a bracelet on your arm which can't be removed without cutting and insist on €20,€30 etc. Just be smart and you're fine.

The food - there's always a fair bit of snobbery around eating abroad. "Oh you must avoid the tourist areas and eat where the locals eat" and while there is a certain level of truth to this, it isn't necessary unless you're a true Gav style foodie. Yes absolutely avoid places with pictures of the food but staff on the street trying to usher you in is fine. A lot of these places are like your typical country pub. Good honest food, reasonably priced. It's not Michelin starred but sometime you just want a nice plate of food. Every place we ate had plenty of Italians in them too.

The sights - As a lapsed Catholic, the Vatican City was pretty special and I have to be honest, I felt my faith slightly returning. St Peters Basilica is of a size you just can't comprehend. Sistine Chapel was cool but didn't blow me away as I thought it would. For the Caflicks among us, as it's Jubilee Year, we got to pass through 2 of the 4 Holy doors so sins slightly cleansed if not actually washed away... The Coliseum was very impressive but I wouldn't waste your money on the "Stadium Floor" add on. Pantheon is cool, Trevis Fountain is best avoided. Sure, take a quick look as you're passing but that's it. Spanish Steps were very meh. Mouth of Truth is out of the way so unless your missus is a fan of "Roman Holiday" as mine is, can be skipped. We went to the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II on the last night as it's open to 11:30. The Panorama Terrace is worth the money and we had a few drinks in the rooftop bar overlooking the city. Would recommend

Tours - We pre-booked the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St Peters as one tour and the Coliseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill as a second. Tours are fine for a whistle stop tour of a place and skipping the lines was good but if your genuinely interested in a place, I wouldn't bother. You end up with a "Tour Guide Summary". You'd be better off biting the bullet and queueing with an Audio guide so you can spend as much time as you like. We went back to St Peters on Friday afternoon and queued and were in in about 20 minutes.

Hotel - we stayed at the Grand Hotel Palatino which I can thoroughly recommend. We got an upgrade to a "Junior Suite" which was handy for 3 Adults (mini Dinny is 19 now) Right around the corner from the Coliseum so we'd stroll there in the evening after dinner.

Overall, loved it and we're already planning to return 2033 for the next Jubilee so we can do all 4 doors and skip the queue into Heaven...

I went a few years ago and agree about most of this. We stayed just around the corner from your hotel.

Really agree about St Peters and the Sistine Chapel. Sure, the chapel may well be more 'famous' but St Peters blew me away. Absolutely insane in scale and features.