For adventurous family holidays, a tent is a must have. Getting back to nature is a fun way to spend quality time with the kids. Walking into a camping store, or buying a new tent online can be an overwhelming task if you’re not quite sure what you’re doing.

Don’t be put off by the options that are available, there’s a few key points to consider, and once you’ve worked them all out, you’ll be putting up your new family tent in no time.

1. Budget

This is a big consideration for buying a family tent. Tents range from less than $100 to well into the thousands of dollars. The best idea is to set yourself a budget maximum. This will allow you to take the other points into this article into consideration, and have room to move on your final tent choice. Allow plenty of money and flexibility to get a quality tent that will be useful and functional.

2. Your Destinations

Where and how you camp can make a huge difference to the type of tent that will suit your family. Are you going to be camping for extended periods of time and need lots of space? Are you going to be hiking into campsites and need something that is light and portable. If you’re going to be camping in hot or humid conditions, fly screens and ventilation are very important. Wet areas will require a waterproof tent, one that has a 100% waterproof floor is always preferable.

3. Ease of Use and Tent Type

There are a huge range of tents, from dome tents to heavy canvas tents with poles, quick tents, safari tents, single room tents, even double and triple room tents. Each has its own benefits, and can be suitable in a range of uses. One thing to consider among all the other choices is the ease of use. Canvas tents with many poles, often require at least 2 people to put up and are more time consuming. Dome tents may be much faster, but are often not as sturdy as other tents in windy environments. Quick tents can be more expensive, but are very fast. Find the balance to suit your family.

4. Size and Quality

The size of your family will definitely define the size of your tent. However, things such as budget and likely camping destinations will also help to determine the size. Quality is a huge consideration, but one that may perhaps be sacrificed in order to meet other considerations such as size and portability. The best thing to do is to decide the size, budget and type of tent, and get the best quality you can afford that meets all your requirements.

Whichever tent you use, the best thing you can do is see them set up in store. This gives you a true idea of the size when set up, the quality, and also the pack down size. Before you head off on your first family camping trip with your new tent, be sure to test it out in the backyard. This will prevent having to waste time learning how to set up your home away from home when you should be enjoying your time in nature.