Surprise Your Flock With a Glamping Hen Party

When you think of a hen party (that would be bachelorette party to Americans), does a glitzy location like Las Vegas or New York City come to mind? Been there done that? Why not get creative with a glamping weekend in the great outdoors that the hens will be talking about for years to come?

A glamping hen party marries (pardon the pun) the beautiful outdoors with creative accommodations for a fun weekend of bonding with your favorite gal pals. Adding essentials like hot tubs, glasses of bubbly, someone else to cook and spa treatments takes the weekend from ho-hum to unforgettable.

If you’re the hen planning the party for the rest of the flock, here’s a list of questions to ask of your glamping destination:

Heather Katsoulis smores
Who does the cooking? The answer to that question depends on your budget.

Luxury glamping at Paws Up Resort in Greenough, Montana, includes all meals. Hens will want to pack cowgirl dress-up clothes for dinner at the resort’s fine dining restaurant, Pomp. At Fireside Resort in Jackson, Wyoming, camp butlers will cook your meal over the campfire, upon request. Although luxury yurt stays at Wellspring Ranch on California’s Central Coast include breakfast; at night, hens will giggle over wine as they cook dinner in the outdoor kitchen.

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What will we do?

Too much time gossiping around the campfire is not a good thing. Choose your glamping spot with everyone’s interests in mind. Active hens will enjoy hiking or horseback riding followed by bar hopping in the local town. And, of course, everyone needs a spa day. Is there one on the property or close by?

wellspring ranch yurt
What about a packing list?

By all means, include packing suggestions in the hen party invitation. Alert your guests to any special equipment like hiking shoes or warm clothes to wear around the campfire at night. And, just because this is a glamping hen party, doesn’t mean that the flock can’t dress up, so plan a special night for all the hens to put their bling on.

lastonein bandanas
What extras will add the spice to the party?

It’s the small extras that make a party into a special occasion. Give each guest a goodie bag made from a red check bandanna (or color that’s appropriate for the bride). What’s inside? A flashlight, bag of trail mix tied with a colorful straw bow, plastic champagne glass for sipping bubbly around the campfire and a S’more kit for a gooey dessert.

And you thought Vegas was the only place to celebrate with the hens.

Image Credits: Nina Hale, Heather Katsoulis, The Resort at Paws Up, Wellspring Ranch, Lastonein.

Immerse Yourself in Kamu Lodge

The best travel experiences are when you can truly immerse yourself in a new culture…and they are often the hardest to come by. So how can you gain access into fascinating far-flung communities without relying on chance encounters or an Abercrombie & Kent price tag? Well in Laos, the answer is Kamu Lodge. Thirty kilometers up stream from Luang Prabang, this 20-hut lodge was built in conjunction with the neighboring Kamu tribe as a way to preserve and honor their traditional way of life—farming the land, fishing the rivers, and crafting everything by hand—by inviting guest to be apart of it. By teaching their trades and sharing traditions with guests, villagers not only gain income by working at the lodge but a large portion of the proceeds goes directly back into the community in the form of schools, health care, and a micro-financing development fund. Of all the accommodations we stayed at during our honeymoon around the worldKamu Lodge was easily one of the most enriching.

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Our boat went full steam up the Mekong river along the limestone cliffs and docked on the sandy beaches of Kamu Lodge. The location felt a world away from the city where we started.

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The local villagers escorted us to our villas made of thatch roofs, canvas walls, and traditional furniture.  Our beds were thoughtfully decorated with bougainvillea petals and the bathroom was beautifully done and fully equipped. Far from roughing it, we took a hot shower (heated with solar) and then met the masseuse for an incredible couples massage.

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The entire camp is centered around a working rice paddy with the restaurant and bar weaved into the terraces. Sitting on the patio, watching the emerald blades blow in the wind, and smelling the fertile earth beneath us, as we savored our homegrown rice with buffalo curry, was a one-of-a-kind dining experience.

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After lunch, we took our first visit to the adjacent village to learn about local life. A baby had just been born so the community was celebrating the birth of their newest member with music and dancing. The houses here are small thatch dwellings with a single room for cooking and sleeping. Not much more is needed since most people spend their days in nature or the center of the village with family and friends.

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Rice is the most important staple of life in Southeast Asia and we were about to learn how to grow it. A farmer motioned me to take off my shoes and come into the paddy. I step into the water, the mud squishing between my toes, and he hands me a seedling to plant into the earth. The technique is to corkscrew it into the ground about eight inches apart from the previous plan and in just a few months it will fill into a field of mature rice, ready to harvest.

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After we learned how to grow our food, we learned how to catch it. This stared with a lesson archery followed by net fishing. While most Kamu aren’t hunting with a crossbow anymore, fishing is still a daily practice. The technique is to hold the net at the edges, wind up your torso and throw it as far and flat as you can. This is a workout—especially when it can take dozens of tries to catch a fish!

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We went to dinner and were surprised with a private table in the paddy! It was magical to dine in the field with the glow of the moon and candlelight. We finished our meal and were invited to a special performance by the village. Sitting around the fire we took in traditional song and dance for a nightcap to a very special day.

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The next morning we took a relaxing morning stroll along the shore and village, before heading back to Luang Prabang. Kamu Lodge has 2-day or 3-day packaged that include meals, activities, hikes and ample time to soak up the local culture and environs. No matter how long you stay, you’ll return with a an experience you won’t soon forget.

Anne and Mike Howard are creators of the around-the-world honeymoon blog HoneyTrek.com and Trip Coaches or those looking to extensively travel the world safely, affordably and off the beaten path. You can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @HoneyTrek.

Nature Immersed Glamping Destinations

Clayoquot

The search is always on for the unique, the nature immersed experiences – this is what drives most glampers . If you’re looking for the next luxury stop, then here are a few out-of-the-box destinations that are sure to please!

It takes a seaplane ride to arrive at the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort. 45 minutes out of Vancouver will take you to the island where luxury tents make a comfortable stay – plush beds, en suite bathrooms, heated floors, running water, and thermostat-controlled propane wood stoves. Activities like bear-watching and zip-lining will fill your stay and horses are the main means of transportation.

Take yourself 5,000 feet elevated into the Swiss Alps and you’ll find yourself at Whitepod. The area is explored mainly through skiing, with the option of snowshoe, dogsled and foot. Here you have a choice between 15 geodesic domes that blend into the Alp landscape with white canvas in winter and green canvas in summertime. The view, as you might expect, is truly inspiring.

Whitepod

If you want to see what it’s like to live out-of-this-world, the Earthship Biostructure may be the closest you can find. This desert setting in Taos, New Mexico, gives an otherworldly feel to this off-the-grid resort – which is still able to offer the amenities of wi-fi and TVs (complete with netflix) through electricity gathered by sun and wind. Everything is built with natural or recycled materials. Rainwater storage is utilized for drinking and showering, as well as for watering the garden.

Then there’s the famous Uluru’s Longitude 131 set in the red sand dunes of Australia. There are just 15 tents, which are more aptly described as freestanding luxury rooms. One-way privacy films coat the expansive windows, so you’ll feel out in the open and perfectly hidden all at the same time. The location is neighbor to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, meaning the views are uninterrupted and the local plants and animals are in your “backyard” of sorts.

Longitude 131

What’s made of 25 individual domes and 3 community domes? The EcoCamp in Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia! The EcoCamp is the Park’s first sustainable accommodation, with geodesic domes that resemble high-tech igloos with transparent ceilings for stargazing. Complete with private terraces, comfortable beds, private bathrooms, wood stoves, gas heaters and splendid views of Torres del Paine peaks. There is no lack of luxury, either, when it comes to the community domes and their Chilean cuisine restaurants.

Add the word “Ger” to your glamping dictionary. At the Three Camel Lodge in Gobi, Mongolia, you’ll experience the traditional mongolian herder tent in luxury. Here there’s a selection among twenty Deluxe Gers that are all handmade using lattice wood covered in felt and canvas.Unlike the typical Mongolian herder your stay will find you in perfect comfort with wood stoves, private bathrooms and king-sized beds, with a view marked by the iconic Gobi-Altai Mountains.

Treehouse enthusiasts will appreciate Chole Mjini, the “castaway fantasy” set in the remote Chole Island in Tanzani, Africa, where they have seven treehouses to choose from. This castaway fantasy is complete with all the creature comforts, including outdoor showers with hot water. The resort has worked alongside the local island community to add a taste to your visit unlike anywhere else, and activity options – including diving, island excursions, swimming with whales, sunset sailing and more – are certain to leave an impression.

Chole Mijini

If you can manage a slot or two out of the 14 allowed spots inside Chumbe Island Coral Park in Zanzibar, Tanzania, it’s certainly worth a stay. Exclusion stems from the need to protect this island coral reef sanctuary, visitors will stay in eco-bungalows with waterfront views. Each bungalow has it’s own sleeping area, living room, hammock, self-contained bathrooms to ease the body and mind between adventures. Everything is included when staying at this glamping spot, including guided snorkeling in the reef sanctuary.

Australia’s Wildman Wilderness Lodge is rebuilt from the same materials as the former Wrotham Park Lodge which was shut down 1,740 miles away. While the materials may have been recycled, nothing about this resort feels second hand. Being settled in the scenic land of Mary River National Park Wetlands gives visitors front row seats to the rivers, billabongs and wallaby wildlife. Safari tents are well equipped with all the luxuries of comfy beds, en suite bathrooms, running water and electricity, while the camp land is kept clear of unwelcomed guests such as crocodiles.

For an unforgettable and unparalleled experience you might try the Human Nest at Treebones Resort. While the stay might not be particularly luxurious – you’ll have to bring your own sleeping bag and pillow to lug up to the nest – it will make an impression. The view from your perch will take in the Los Padres National Forest and the Pacific Ocean. Ah, California you don’t disappoint!

So… do you still have room on your glamping bucket-list? 🙂