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Best family camping tents

Few things can so greatly enhance your spring and summer as just the right tent. Whether you opt for a luxury tunnel tent, a lightweight backpacking model or something a little more out of the ordinary, your choice of tent will shape your family’s experiences of the great outdoors, probably for years to come.

The first point to consider is how you will use it. Do you need something light enough to carry with you on a trekking holiday? Or, would you rather drive up to the campsite with a heavier, more spacious and comfortable tent?

The issue of space doesn’t just determine whether your family can sleep in a tent; it also affects how enjoyable it is to spend time inside it during the day. If you’ve got kids to consider, it would be worth thinking about this with their likely future size in mind, as well as the present.

Another key consideration will be the ease of pitching. Mercifully, most mass-market tents nowadays tend to be easy enough for even the greenest of campers to put up – and as much is true of the tents reviewed in this article. If this is a deciding factor for you, the tunnel, tepee and air-beamed models would be your best bets.

Finally, be sure to think of the fun factor. How enjoyable is the tent to be inside? Which novel features does it include, and how does the space inside make the camper feel? We’ll be touching on these point in our reviews.

Jack Wolfskin – Travel Lodge RT

Best for: a beautiful family basecamp

How to do the Travel Lodge RT justice? This is the family tent of a lifetime – exceptionally well-made, easy-to-pitch and joy to be inside

With three sleeping compartments (two of which can be turned into one larger space), plus a spacious living area that can be flooded with light from three separate doors and a window, it caters comfortably for up to seven people.

Further features worth raving about include the Travel Lodge RT’s elegant canopy; clean, bright cream-and-silver colour scheme; and the fantastic build quality throughout.

It’s very heavy, so not suitable for trekking – but we doubt you’ll ever find a finer family tent.

£1,000 | Jack Wolfskin | Buy it now

MSR – Elixir 4

Best for: true adventurers

The Elixir 4 is one of the most marvellous tents we tested on several scores. It’s the most space-efficient, the best looking, and by far the lightest, with a packed weight of 4.26kg that makes it uniquely well-suited for families seeking a tent to take trekking.

Pitching it is nice-and-easy too, thanks in no small part to the colour-coded poles and grommets which have been added to this tent for 2018.

All-in-all the Elixir 4 is a fantastic feat of design. Not only is it one of the most pleasant tents to use and be inside – it’s also one of the least demanding. Bonus: there's also a two person version should you decide to leave the kids with the grandparents.

£340 | Amazon | Buy it now

Wild Country by Terra Nova – Etesian 4

Best for: easy pitching with poles

What a joy to pitch this tent was! It took blissfully little strength to flex its lightweight poles into their respective grommets – which really is a welcome break with convention.

Not only its poles, but this whole tent tremendously lightweight, making it one of the best suited tents for trekking in our top ten. The fabric is papery-soft to the touch.

A brow pole across the top of the tent helps keep you shaded while inside, whilst pockets within the main compartment will help keep your stuff tidy. There’s plenty of space in the outer part of tent to keep the sleeping section just for sleeping, based on two adults and two children of modest proportions sharing.

The Etesian’s lovely green colour is every bit as attractive to bugs as it is to people, so you might consider taking some insect repellent with you.

£315 | Cotswold Outdoor | Buy it now *On sale now

Vango – Santo

Best for: pole-free camping

This smart four-person tent is perfect for families who’ve had enough of tangling with tentpoles. Pitching is a simple matter of pumping it up, thanks to Vango’s AirBeam technology.

It’s an impressive option when fully pitched too, with a pair of roomy two-person compartments, a 2-meter-high ceiling that’s wonderfully accommodating for taller campers, and four windows in the vestibule that contribute to a light-and-airy feel inside the tent.

Though it was amongst the easiest to put up, the Santo proved not so simple to pack away. The whole tent seems especially inclined to retain air – so be sure to flatten it out especially thoroughly before packing up.

£420 | Cotswold Outdoor | Buy it now *On sale now

Mountain Warehouse – Buxton 4

Best for: affordable quality

Being inside the Buxton 4 feels very much like being inside the Vango Santo – light, airy and high-ceilinged. The key difference is in the pitching, as this tent uses traditional camping poles rather than an air pump. We found it easy enough to get our heads around, as will most campers after a few tries or less.

Adding to this tent’s sense of airiness is its breathable double skin, which also helps ward-off condensation.

Practical, reasonably priced and capable of sleeping four comfortably, this quality tent is the perfect option for campers who prefer to keep it simple.

£219.99 | Mountain Warehouse | Buy it now *On sale now

Trespass – Six Man Tepee

Best for: family fun

Above all, Trespass’ tepee is fabulously fun. It creates a lovely, bright space complete with a pair of plastic windows, and is thoroughly well suited to turning a family campsite or garden into somewhere magical.

That’s not to say it isn’t practical, too. Putting it up is especially simple, with a single two-legged pole that simply ties to the sides and slots into the top of the tent. Make sure the guide ropes and peg loops are firmly secured all around the outside – a tent this size (3m tall and 4.25m across) can create a lot of force when the wind catches it the wrong way.

£99.99 | Argos | Buy it now *On sale on

Vaude – Campo Casa XT 5P

Best for: shorter hikes

Vaude’s beautiful Campo Casa XT may well be the best-balanced family tent option we’ve encountered. Though it is undoubtedly an investment at £515, it’s not as costly as the most luxurious tents we’ve reviewed. And for your money, you get a spacious tent with an attractive dome-and-tunnel design that’s comfortably big enough for five people to live in and enjoy.

Weighing 8.7kg, it’s just about light enough to take on shorter hikes – especially if your group can share some of the weight between their backpacks.

If you’re looking for a combination of comfortable camping and portability at a decent price, this is the one for you.

£515 | Cotswold Outdoor | Buy it now

Coleman – Valdes Inflatable Tent

Best for: easy pitching for large groups

A family tent of such beastly proportions as the Valdes has no business being this easy to put up. The trick is that its poles are made of thin air. Simply inflate with the double-action handpump provided, and there you’ll have yourself a fine-looking tunnel tent with the sleeping compartments ready-attached and set-up inside.

Aside from its ease-of-pitching, what impressed us most about the Valdes family tent was the contrast in light levels between the vestibule – which takes in lots of light through its door and windows – and the bedrooms, which block it out using blackout fabric.

£875.64 | Amazon | Buy it now *On sale now

Verdict:

Provided you are able to drive it to wherever you need it, the Jack Wolfskin Travel Lodge RT is comfortably the pick of the bunch. Big, bright and built to lavishly high standards, it is simply a joy to use, and is hands-down the loveliest tent we’ve ever had the pleasure of camping in.. It comes at a cost – but could be a home-from-home for years to come.