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Isle of Wight Glamping - 20 of the best luxury campsites 2020
Do you enjoy the open air freedom and al fresco dining of camping, but dislike all that unpleasant cold, hard floors and crouching? Try Glamping!
Some glamping accommodation has more of an emphasis on the 'glamourous' side of things with proper toilets, hot showers and log burners. Others are a little bit more, er, basic with shared facilities and no electricity. Just see it as a chance to switch off from modern life...
Here are 20 holiday parks and campsites offering glamping, Isle of Wight style.
Some glamping accommodation has more of an emphasis on the 'glamourous' side of things with proper toilets, hot showers and log burners. Others are a little bit more, er, basic with shared facilities and no electricity. Just see it as a chance to switch off from modern life...
Here are 20 holiday parks and campsites offering glamping, Isle of Wight style.
1. Bell Tents at Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park, Bembridge
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Whitecliff Bay is a well-equipped Isle of Wight holiday park, similar to the Isle of Wight's four Parkdean Resorts sites. In my view, its best feature is its easy access to the beach (called Whitecliff Bay unsurprisingly) which is stunningly pretty on a sunny day and generally isn't too busy as it is mostly just used by residents at two holiday parks. It won Silver at the 'Beautiful South' Tourism Awards 2019 in the camping and holiday park category.
As for Glamping, Whitecliff Bay offers bell tents. They sleep four people and come with electricity, so you can charge your phone up. You get a mini fridge and a mini oven, or there is a restaurant onsite. The toilet and showers are part of a shared block in the 'Glamping village'. |
Whitecliff Bay is a beachside holiday park with glamping
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2. The Hideaway and Caribbean Corner Yurts at Priory Bay, East Wight
Priory Bay is probably the most idyllic and paradisaical beach on the Isle of Wight (the other competing for the title is Whitecliff Bay in my opinion). On a sunny day, you can convince yourself that you're on a foreign Island, apart from the fact that the water is cold and you're looking at Portsmouth. The sand looks golden when there's a bit of sunshine and it is backed by woodland.
There are a couple of nicely kitted out yurts amongst the woodland called The Hideaway which sleeps four and the optimistically named Caribbean Corner which sleeps three people.
There are a couple of nicely kitted out yurts amongst the woodland called The Hideaway which sleeps four and the optimistically named Caribbean Corner which sleeps three people.
Priory Bay is a beautiful sandy beach which is not terribly busy...
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...and it's only metres away from these yurts
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3. Tom's Eco Lodges, Freshwater
Tom's Eco Lodges are part of the Tapnell Farm site which was a working dairy farm but now offers accommodation as well as being home to Tapnell Farm Park (one of our favourite Isle of Wight attractions) and the Isle of Wight Aqua Park. It won gold in the glamping category at the South East's Tourism Awards 2019.
It overlooks the site which hosted the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival when vast numbers of barely clothed hippies and free spirited sorts watched Jimi Hendrix and The Doors perform.
It's a much quieter option than Holiday Park Glamping, but as it's on the same site as Tapnell Farm Park you have easy access to things like their playbarns, jumping pillow (bit like a bouncy castle) and soft play area.
Tom's Eco Lodges include various quirks such as outdoor hot tubs and chickens which provide daily eggs. Each lodge has enough space for 8 or you can rent all 5 if you've got enough a) friends and b) money. They also have log cabins, pods, geodesic domes and 'modulogs' which are odd-shaped glamping huts.
You can wander inside Tom's Eco Lodges below, although do knock first:
It overlooks the site which hosted the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival when vast numbers of barely clothed hippies and free spirited sorts watched Jimi Hendrix and The Doors perform.
It's a much quieter option than Holiday Park Glamping, but as it's on the same site as Tapnell Farm Park you have easy access to things like their playbarns, jumping pillow (bit like a bouncy castle) and soft play area.
Tom's Eco Lodges include various quirks such as outdoor hot tubs and chickens which provide daily eggs. Each lodge has enough space for 8 or you can rent all 5 if you've got enough a) friends and b) money. They also have log cabins, pods, geodesic domes and 'modulogs' which are odd-shaped glamping huts.
You can wander inside Tom's Eco Lodges below, although do knock first:
4. Treehouses at Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat, Wootton Bridge
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I'm not completely sure if a treehouse with a hot tub is considered glamping, but let's not fall out over it.
There are two of these classy one-bedroom treehouses at Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat, which is a modern lodge park which is seconds from a pleasant scrubby beach on the Isle of Wight's north-east coast. The resort also has a gym and a restaurant so it's a good choice for couples. |
A slightly more luxurious 'glamping' experience for couples...
...can be found amongst the trees at Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat
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5. Yurts at The Garlic Farm, Newchurch
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As long as you aren't a vampire, you might like the yurts at The Garlic Farm in Newchurch (nearish to Sandown). They've got a king size bed downstairs and then single beds upstairs on a mezzanine level.
Each yurt has its own kitchen and toilet/shower, so there's no wandering across the campsite at 3am when you need a wee. They've also got woodburning stoves, although I can 100% guarantee that the sun will shine every day and you won't need to even bring pyjamas (Ed: are you sure we can say this?). You can just about cram 5 or 6 people into most of them, but it looks like they would be ideal for 2-4 people. The Garlic Farm is a working farm but it's also a pleasant tourist attraction with a cafe, farm tours and a small playground. |
The Garlic Farm is a popular free attraction on the Isle of Wight
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6. Buttercup Barn Retreats, Wootton Bridge
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Buttercup Barn Retreats is another one which just about counts as Glamping, even though the accommodation are more huts than tents. Each hut is big enough for two people, so it's more aimed at couples looking for a weekend in a hot tub than at families with seven children.
Options include The Cabin which is a rectangular shaped hut and Olive which is a circular hut with a hot tub. |
Some of these huts come with hot tubs
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7. The Ark Park, Northwood
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The Ark Park is a small glamping site in Northwood, just outside of Cowes. It's an affordable option if you'd hoped to visit the Isle of Wight during Cowes Week and then broke down in tears when you realised that accommodation prices go through the roof.
It's just got two yurts on the site, which sleep four people. The owners keep bees on an adjacent field, so you can buy local honey for your breakfast. The same site also has a 'couples ark' with a hot tub which was previously home to some pigs but has been converted so that it's 'perfect for honeymooners', apparently. There's also a four person former pig's home so that families don't have to miss out. |
The Ark Park is a good one if you want to stay on the Isle of Wight during Cowes Week
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8. Fernhill Meadow Yurts, Wootton Bridge
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There are a couple of yurts available for hire at this site in Wootton Bridge, towards the north east of the Island.
The six person one is described as a traditional yurt which is available all year round, and comes with a log burner as well as a rather cool 'rustic timber camp kitchen' which is attached on the side. The four person version is a summer yurt, which is available for half the year. |
The Yurts at Fernhill Meadows are on a smallholding with peacocks and wildfowl
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9. Woodland Retreat, Wootton
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Woodland Retreat is a small glamping spot in the Wootton area (nearish to the 1969 Isle of Wight Festival site where Bob Dylan headlined). It's got two bell tents called The Blue Bell Tent and The Beautiful Boho Bell Tent which sleep up to four people and a woodland cabin for four to six people. You can also sign up for yoga, bushcraft and artsy things at this one.
I'd say it's a more authentic and rustic glamping experience than you'll get from a safari tent at a holiday park. It's ideal for those who've always fancied pretending they are a squirrel, but don't turn up and ask where the swimming pool is. |
Woodland Retreat has two bell tents, a cabin and the option of yoga and bushcraft
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10. The Old Cottage Yurt, near Cowes (ish)
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There's just one yurt for hire in the grounds of this cottage halfway between Cowes and Shalfleet. However, I thought it was worth a mention as it's been nicely done inside and certainly has more of an emphasis on the glamourous side of the word 'glamping'.
It sleeps four people including two downstairs and two on a mezzanine level (probably not suitable for younger children). The facilities include a shower, kitchen, log burner, toilet and central heating. It's more self contained than some of the glamping on offer on the Isle of Wight, so you won't be wandering around the site in a towel. |
This Yurt has a mezzanine level with two beds upstairs
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11. Kids Love Yurts, Newport
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Kids Love Yurts is in Newport (in the middle of the Isle of Wight) and is aimed at parents who fancy an outdoors holiday, but can't quite face bringing all the equipment and accessories that come with camping with young children. Their posh yurts come with bunk beds and ensuite toilets and they are also decked out with children's toys and general cuteness.
They also don't allow adult-only bookings, so you won't be woken by a stag do at 3am. Although you might be woken by a mooing cow of course, since it is surrounded by farms... Each yurt has a different theme, including 'dinosaur land, under the sea or enchanted woodland'. |
These yurts are aimed at families and have cutesy themes
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12. Sibbecks Farm Glamping, Whitwell
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There are just a couple of safari tents on Sibbecks Farm - Meadow Escape and Stream Escape. As you may have figured out, one of them is near a meadow and the other one is near a stream (the meeting where they named them probably didn't take very long).
The site is in Whitwell on the way towards the South Wight in an isolated spot offering an abundance of peace and quiet. The site won bronze in the glamping category at the South East's Tourism Awards in 2019. There's a private eco-composting toilet and shower for each tent as well as a log burner, cooking hobs and a fridge. You can also light up the fire pit so you'll have something to do in the evening when you realise there's no telly or Wifi. |
There's no Wifi at this one...but there is a fire pit
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13. Safari Tents at Three Gates Farm, near Shalfleet
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These two safari tents can be found on a working farm in a very out-of-the-way part of the Isle of Wight near to Shalfleet and Newtown. It's the sort of place which makes Newport or Ryde feel like Oxford Street on Black Friday.
The farm has got a shop and goes under the name of Calbourne Classics which is famous on the Island for its clotted cream. The safari tents are relatively basic but they come with hot showers and log burners so you won't spend a week in long johns. They sleep up to 7 people and have the cutesy names of Hedgehog's Den and Squirrel's Drey. |
Hedgehog's Den is on a working farm and has a log burner
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14. Karma Llama Woods, near Shanklin
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There are a couple of yurts for hire at Karma Llama Woods which is a couple of miles inland from touristy Shanklin.
Karma Llama Woods 1 and Karma Llama Woods 2 both sleep four people. This glamping experience is certainly at the 'back to nature' end of the glamping spectrum as there's no electricity and no flushing toilet. However, there are gas hobs outside the yurts and a composting toilet. |
Karma Llama is a 'back to nature' glamping site without electricity
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15. Glamping The Wight Way, near Freshwater
Glamping The Wight Way is in the sleepy West Wight - the kind of place where people go surfing in their lunch breaks and where you're likely to encounter a cow in the road.
There are four 'canvas lodges' in a rural spot, near the River Yar and half way between Yarmouth and Freshwater. The accommodation is certainly one step up from a posh tent, with proper bathrooms, wood burning stoves and separate rooms (albeit with thin walls).
They can sleep up to 8 people, although 6 people is probably a more comfortable option.
There are four 'canvas lodges' in a rural spot, near the River Yar and half way between Yarmouth and Freshwater. The accommodation is certainly one step up from a posh tent, with proper bathrooms, wood burning stoves and separate rooms (albeit with thin walls).
They can sleep up to 8 people, although 6 people is probably a more comfortable option.
16. Stanwell Glamping, near Bembridge
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You'll have a whole field to yourself at Stanwell Glamping because there's only one bell tent at the site. It's in the grounds of a barn which you can also hire.
There's a tent for sleeping and a separate tent for cooking and an 'antique bathroom hut on wheels'. There's no electricity, but there is solar powered lighting. And as we all know from the brochures, the sun always shines on the Isle of Wight so it'll be fine. Anyone who disputes that will be locked up in Carisbrooke Castle. |
Stanwell Glamping is in the East Wight and offers a whole field to yourself
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17. Thorness Bay Holiday Park (near Cowes), Lower Hyde Holiday Park (Shanklin) and Nodes Point Holiday Park (St. Helens, near Ryde)
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I've bundled these three together as they're pretty similar.
They all offer glamping at Isle of Wight Parkdean Resorts holiday parks. The Glamping options with Park Resorts/Parkdean Resorts are described as Safari Tents, although I'm assured that there is only a minimal risk of waking up to find an elephant in your bed and a tiger tucking in to your Frosties. The luxury tents are big enough for six and come equipped with a proper kitchen rather than those dumpy little camping gas things which campers have to battle with. There aren't toilets and showers, but you have access to the communal facilities used by campers and tourers. Your options are:
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Thorness Bay is an isolated spot with terrific sunsets
Lower Hyde is in Shanklin, which is a deckchair-hiring sort of resort
St Helens in the East Wight is near to Nodes Point Holiday Park
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18. Windmill Campersite, Carisbrooke
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Windmill Campersite sits somewhere between our quirky accommodation guide and this glamping guide. Actually, it is somewhere near Carisbrooke Castle, but you know what I mean.
They've got camping 'pods', a couple of shepherds' huts and er, a Falklands-era helicopter called Galahad. |
Spend a few nights in a helicopter in the Bowcombe Valley
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Other semi-luxurious quirks include a musical solar powered 'ShowerShack', a silo which has been converted to a cinema, a toilet called The Turdis and a BBQ/pizza oven called 'Big Bertha'.
19. Bank End Farm Yurts, St Lawrence
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There are just a couple of yurts for hire at Bank End Farm in a quiet spot in the South Wight (near Ventnor). Highlights include log burners, access to a shower in a nearby farmhouse and a play yurt which is 'full of toys and games for yurters'. Not all that sure that 'Yurters' is a word but let's not worry about that.
There's a gas cooker with each yurt and then there's a shared kitchen area in a nearby shed. Each yurt sleeps four people. |
Please note: tomatoes are not included in the cost of your holiday
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20. Ventnor Botanic Garden
Glamping is only a small part of what's on offer at Ventnor Botanic Garden and they don't make a song and dance about it.
The gardens itself are one of the South Wight's attractions with various plants and flowers which wouldn't normally grow in England. It was once the site of the country's tuberculosis hospital because of the warm sea air. Ventnor Botanics is also near to Steephill Cove, which is a lovely little bay where I once had a very nice tea cake.
The gardens itself are one of the South Wight's attractions with various plants and flowers which wouldn't normally grow in England. It was once the site of the country's tuberculosis hospital because of the warm sea air. Ventnor Botanics is also near to Steephill Cove, which is a lovely little bay where I once had a very nice tea cake.
The-Isle-of-Wight-Guru-Don't-Blame-Us-Disclaimer™ The information on this website is correct, as far as we know, but please do check opening times and details with attractions directly if you are planning a long journey - and please contact us if you find anything inaccurate.
