Yurt holidays are becoming more widely available. You mainly find holiday yurts in 3 very different settings.
- Specialist sites where there are only yurts or maybe a mix of yurts, different kinds of ‘world tents’ and other unusual ‘glamping’ places to stay. These can vary from gypsy caravans to tree-houses!
- There are holidays where the yurt forms a part of a wider activity week. Often these are New Age or in some way ‘alternative’ activities ranging from spas through yoga to all together more esoteric pastimes.
- Finally there are campsites which have added a group of yurts to their pre-existing site.
It all depends what you want from your holiday and, to an extent, how much you are prepared to pay for it. This week I’m going to explore the specialist yurt sites and what they have to offer.
Yurt Holidays - ‘glamping’ not camping
The ‘glamping’ or glamorous camping aspect of these sites is their main attraction. Ideal for those who want home comforts but like at least the idea of sleeping under canvas. These sites have usually been set up by yurt enthusiasts. They know what they are doing and they understand what their customers are looking for.
In sites like this you’ll find the nice little extras that make a yurt holiday so attractive. First and foremost you will probably have a really good yurt, one that is suitable for the European climate so the odd downpour isn’t going to cause a problem for you.
The next thing you’ll find on these sites is that they understand that yurts, lovely though they are, do not block out sound. Specialist sites will often place yurts individual in a fairly large space, well away from each other. This gives you a level of privacy that can be quite important, particularly if you are not used to just how far sound travels on a campsite.
Specialist luxury yurt camps, or yurt hotels as they are sometimes known, will often provide actual beds rather than just futons. This can be bliss after a long day relaxing in the outdoors. You will probably have a nice wooden floor and often a clear perspex section of the dome will provide extra daylight and allow for romantic star gazing. Yurts in glamping sites are often beautifully furnished, either with traditional Mongolian accessories or something rather more up to date and a bit glamorous. In fact the best of them have furnishings and design standards that would shame many high end hotels! You usually also get a cosy wood-burning stove to take the chill off in the evenings.
If you are very lucky your yurt will come with its own little kitchen shed, so that you can keep your cooking out of your living area. Almost all will have an outdoor BBQ area, tables, etc. Some of the best ones have lovely outdoor ovens like the one that Jamie Oliver uses. Wood-fired pizza anyone?
One or two even have a communal kitchen area where the camp owners cook up delicious food each evening, just in case you need a rest after all that relaxing. Fresh air can be so tiring!
When you are looking at yurt holidays you need to decide if you will be happier on a site that is aimed at families or if you’d prefer something more secluded and romantic. Most sites make it very clear what kind of customer they are catering for but it is always worth checking so that there are no unpleasant surprises. I’d look out for sites that ban large single gender groups, for instance. Even the most delightful of them can get a little rowdy of an evening.
Of course one of the best reasons to book yurt holidays is if you are considering buying a yurt yourself. It really is a good idea to make sure that the reality matches up to your fantasy before you start looking at yurts for sale.
That would be so sad because it is such an amazing building!