A long time van owner, I’ll be honest and say there’s not much that will get me out of the snug confines of my VW campervan. I remember not so fondly the days of battling a crappy orange two man tent into submission on long weekends away, and feeling windblown and exhausted by the time it was time to pack down. I swore my tent days were behind me, until I took a canvas bell tent away to Wilson’s Prom earlier this year. 

Oh, my.

The size, the magical circus tent feel, the absolutely breeze it was to set up. To say I’m converted is an understatement. Let me lay it out for you – here are the 10 reasons I’m obsessed (and seriously impressed) with these beautiful bell tents.

1. It’s like having your own portable Airbnb everywhere you go.

Big enough to qualify at its own 1-bedroom apartment, there’s tonnes of space in this tent. Chuck a bunch of mattresses and pillows inside – and you literally have your very own airbnb-worthy oasis in the middle of some of nature’s most wild places. 

2. Indoor feasting.

We were blessed with a particularly fierce gale force wind on our weekend away, and the bell tent totally saved the party from inevitable doom. 10 different home cooked curries,  bowls of rice and mountains of dhal where promptly relocated to inside the bell tent for a fun and festive dinner, with all 12 people easily sitting inside sharing the feast into the wee hours. It was pretty bloody magical. 

3. Fairy lights.

I mean, need I say more?

4. Super easy to put up and down.

To be honest, this came as a surprise and was the real winner of the weekend. The bell tent is big, but we assembled it in about 7 minutes flat without a hiccup. One big pole in the middle, one for the door, and a bunch of pegs. Straightforward, secure and solid. Loved how easy it was. Remember to pack your mallet!

5. Played the best game of ‘We’re not really strangers’ inside.

Nothing encourages sharing of your deepest secrets than a dark tent, twinkling fairy lights and a strong wind blowing outside. If you haven’t played this card game before, you gotta. 

6. Shelter from the wind.

This sucker is rock solid. As I said, we endured 50kph winds for the majority of the weekend, and this thing didn’t look close to coming unstuck. It was a refuge from the storm in even the harshest of environments. 

7. Pockets for phone and valuables, and lots of cute windows for airflow.

Let me get a bit more technical for two seconds. I loved the big pocket inside where you can chuck a phone, sunnies, speaker and other valuables. There’s small zippable windows around the base of the tent that allow for nice airflow. The canvas was heavy duty and I felt like the tent would last for years and years.

8. Practically everyone that walked by commented and stopped for a chat.

I don’t want to brag, but we were the hit of the campground. If you don’t have a cute puppy, a bell tent is the next best thing to spark a conversation with your camping neighbours. There were many envious sighs heard walking by at night when we were all chilling inside, lights on and the tent glowing from a distance. 

9. Cosy refuge for breastfeeding Mums and weary toddlers.

Got a crew with kids? The tent became the go-to for breastfeeding mums, post tantrum toddler naps and boozy adult afternoon hangs. It did it all. 

10. Brings a touch of magic to any campsite.

When all is said and done, this tent is beautiful and has the ability to transform even the drabbest of campgrounds into a magical festival. And who can argue with that. 

We camped in the Homecamp Classic Bell Tent (4m)