10 Must-Have Accessories for Stress-Free Family Camping (Tried and tested) 2025 Edition

Packing for a camping trip can feel unbelievably overwhelming, then add children to the mix and it’s like somebody scrambled an egg in your brain (just me?).

We’ve spent years camping the UK and Europe, visiting nearly a hundred campsites and through trial and error, we’ve figured out the most essential camping gear for families in order to make travelling with your family an enjoyable, effortless and stress-free experience.

child enjoying a campsite on her balance bike

Why Having The Right Camping Accessories Matter

Having the right camping equipment makes all the difference it can literally make or break your trip. We’ve tried and tested everything-Tents, sleeping gear, cooking equipment, everything-you name it, we’ve tried it.

Based on that, we’ve come up with this list of our must-have camping accessories to make camping with your children an easy, stress-free enjoyable adventure.

Whether you’re exploring Europe or the UK we’re here to showcase our essential equipment the for comfort, safety and pleasure of your family.

Essential Gear For Camping With Kids

what do you really need to pack? here are the top camping essentials that we wouldn’t leave home without.

Large family camping tent (like our Berghaus Adhara 700xl)

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On Decathlon

On Go Outdoors

A large tunnel tent makes all the difference when camping as a family. We love taking our Berghaus Adhara 700xl tunnel tent to our favourite campsites in France and the UK. Tunnel tents, like this Berghaus, are our favourite because they offer plenty of space to stand, store gear, and retreat indoors on a rainy day. Plus, our favourite thing about tunnel tents is that pretty much all the poles are the same size and go in so easily making it a blooming dream to erect. There’s a video at the end of this post if you don’t believe us…

Top features of the Berghaus Adhara 700 family camping tent:

An image of our berghaus adhara 700xl family camping tent which we use for our family camping trips

Easy tent poles (no deflating air poles) and nice and Quick to set-up
Nightfall blackout technology in the bedrooms keeping it dark for children to sleep
Great waterproofing and ventilation
3 separate sleeping areas maintaining privacy for family members
Spacious porch adding to the living space
Numerous pockets and hanging areas for organising your stuff
Lots of doors and windows to let in the light when you want

An image of our 2 year old from inside our berghause 700xl family tent on a campsite in europe

More information on the Berghaus Adhara 700XL tent

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On Decathlon

On Go Outdoors

Decathlon living Room Gazebo

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On Decathlon

Decathlon Living area 10 man gazebo with an adult and a child watching a video on a mobile phone underneath

Even with a large tent, we absolutely love this for the extra space especially when camping with children. Sometimes it feels like you need 30 different living spaces to run away from the mess. The Decathlon living room Gazebo acts as our kitchen, dining area and extra shelter on rainy days keeping things organised and dry. I actually saw one family using it as an extra tent on a campsite.

Top features of our Decathlon Gazebo:

our kitchen dining room area housed underneath a decathlon 10 man living room gazebo

Space for up to 10 people inside which is great for large families.
Easy to pitch and erect although definitely easier with 2 people.
Easy to move once erected if you change your mind about the weather (we do this often hah)
Packs down well so easily fits alongside the rest of our camping kit
Can be fully open (except for one side) or fully zipped depending on preference. We like to use one of the sides as a privacy screen from neighbours and keep the window open on the permanently down side.

Decathlon 10-man Gazebo

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On Decathlon

Quechua Camp bed Air

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On Decathlon

our camping beds outside our tent for the purpose of photographing them there are 2 quechua camp bed airs with self inflating mattresses on top

Sleeping directly on the floor isn’t comfortable, especially after a long day at the waterpark. I’ve written a whole post on why I love the decathlon Quechua Camp Bed Air’s but in case you’ve missed it, the camp bed air is the perfect solution to a comfy night. They are inflatable so they pack down really nicely and they’re so comfortable we actually use them in our home on occasion.

Top Features of the Camp Bed Air:

Comfortable and supportive, giving you a bit of height from the floor
Lightweight and portable weighing just 3.9kg
Easy set up with an air pump (So much easier than our poled camp bed)
Hidden Storage space underneath for us to store tent bags, extra pegs and more.

Quechua Camp Bed Air

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On Decathlon

Self inflating mattresses

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Go Outdoors

Outwell dreamcatcher self inflating mattress photo outside of our tent

On top of our air beds we use Outwell dreamcatcher self inflating mattresses which adds an extra layer of comfort and warmth to our bedtime setup. We have a double one for Mike and I, then two single ones for the children. These are ridiculously comfy and comparable to our expensive Simba mattress at home!

Top features of our Outwell Dreamcatchers:

Wave shaped foam core contributes to comfort
They are insulated so can be used all year round
Quick valve function means easy inflation and deflation – although I’m always a little impatient and end up blowing air with my mouth most of the time.
Portable, They come with a carry bag and fold down fairly reasonably sized.

Dreamcatcher Self Inflating Mattresses

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On Go Outdoors

Rechargeable Camping Lanterns and other lighting

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Amazon

campsite lighting around our old skandika gotland tent

You can’t go camping without some light sources and we have a few. Whether you’re lighting up your tent, cooking area, or path to the toilets, having rechargeable lanterns is a must. We use a mix of fairy lights around the entrance to our tent, in the bushes and around nearby trees and portable lanterns for inside and outside. We like having portable lanterns that can also be used as phone chargers and lights that can also be changed to red coloured for the evening. Using a red light at night doesn’t affect sleep but it means we can easily see in the dark if the children need anything.

solar fairy lights wrapped around a tree on a campsite

Our Top Camping Lights:

Foldable Wagon or Trolley

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Decathlon

A foldable wagon is an absolute game changer. This decathlon trolley replaces our pushchair and gets used for literally everything.

Taking loads of equipment to the beach – stick it in the wagon,
Bins need to go – stick them in the wagon,
Taking children and inflatables to the waterslides – straight in the wagon,
Too many beer bottles – stick ’em in the wagon,

I honestly wasn’t sure if we would use it that much but we use it a lot. It’s especially good for storing toys and then easily wheeling them under the gazebo in the rain.

Top features our Decathlon Wagon:

Large wide wheels meaning it can roll on all terrain – literally more than our pushchair could do
Can carry up to 100kg of equipment meaning we can add children and bags easily
Folds down and fits in a car alongside other camping equipment
Easy clean material and so versatile

children sitting inside a decathlon wagon on a campsite

Decathlon All-Terrain Trolley

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On Decathlon

Camping cookware & Kitchen Setup

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Decathlon

Cooking on a campsite at a foldable stove

I’m writing this and it feels like I’ve been raiding Decathlon for all the camping gear, but funnily enough that’s pretty much the only camping shop in France. Anyway, we decided on the way to one campsite that my charity shop purchased kitchen was just no longer suitable and upgraded to this kitchen unit and have never looked back. I love the zippable cupboard area keeping my food safe from pests and the adjustability ensuring the surface top is level. However, whilst we love cooking outside a tent, sometimes we enjoy taking Eurocamp holidays and cooking inside a mobile home instead!

Our decathlon kitchen area inside our living room on a campsite

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At Decathlon

Our Camping Cookware Essentials:

Steamer
Camping pans
Camping utensils & Crockery (hate plastic and non-stick stuff)
Cool box
Cadac Stove
Travel Mugs

White Noise Machine

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Amazon

our white noise machine that we use on a campsite

Whilst most campsites are peaceful, there are a few when it’s too noisy to get the kids to sleep at a reasonable time. And whilst we usually stay on campsites that are child and toddler friendly, there can still be some noise. That’s where white noise comes in. This genius invention helped our children sleep as babies and we have no intentions of stopping now. It’s amazing. Totally recommend it to everyone and there’s no way I’d go camping without it.

Top features of white noise on campsites:

USB charging so easy to use without too much power
Variety of different sounds – we love standard white noise, but nature sounds could definitely blend in on a campsite
Blocks out noise from entertainment and snoring neighbours.

our toddler sleeping in her bed with her bunny in our tent on a camping trip

Children’s White Noise Machines

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On Amazon

Sack’n’seat and tables/chairs

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Amazon

child wearing a sack 'n' seat whilst sitting in a strapless highchair in a french restaurant

The sack’n’seat was something I’d never heard of before having kids and only found out about it after my cousin sent me one as a gift. What an ingenious invention. This seat folds into a tiny washable bag and can be used on a wide range of seats. In France I’ve found many high chairs don’t actually have a central section or straps, meaning little ones can just slide out. They also don’t have straps on shopping trolleys. I learnt after my child decided to throw herself out of a trolley and spend an afternoon at the French Urgences that the sack a seat also fits French supermarket trolleys.

child using sack n seat whilst sat on a chair of a cafe

What other seating areas do we have while camping:

Children’s activities & Outdoor Gear

child wearing a puddlesuit and wellies about to jump in a muddy puddle on a campsite

Packing enough activities for your children can really make a difference to your holiday enjoyment. Imagine a week of rain and nothing for them to do? Hell on earth! However, add some puddle suits and wellies, it’s a party!

colouring books and nutella on a childrens table with children eating at it on a campsite

Some of the most important things we take are colourful swimming costumes (avoiding blue for safety) Our kids love wearing bright swimwear on campsites with lakes and rivers, these colouring pads, easy packable pencil and sharpener kit, water painting books, bikes and scooters, we love our decathlon evolutive scooter that our 2 year old could sit on at first then turn it into a “grown up girl” scooter (don’t forget helmets).

child on a decathlon evolutive scooter being pushed around a campsite by her father

Then for emergencies we do have their samsung galaxy tablets. However, we don’t actually let them know we’ve packed them. These are for absolute emergencies as we’d really rather they made the most of the outdoor activities and waterparks available to them on campsites.

child sitting on a chair inside a tent playing on a tablet

3 Things Families ALWAYS Forget when family camping in Europe

If you’re anything like me there will be tons that you forget, but here’s a couple of things that often get pushed to the back of my mind so make sure you add them to your shopping list now so you’re fully prepared for your camping trip.

Children sitting around a table eating a picnic on a campsite

First aid kits

Buy one on Amazon

This is one of those things you rarely ever need but you know as soon as you forget to pack it your child will end up with a terrible splinter and need about a hundred plasters. We love small compact ones that we can fit in our car along with the essential driving kits for driving in Europe (triangles, high vis, etc)

Speedos or Swim cap

dad wearing speedos while holding a baby in the baby pool at la yole campsite

That’s right, if you’re travelling to France you might need to pack speedos and if you’re travelling to Italy you may need a swim cap. Double check the rules of the campsite you are staying on before you visit to ensure you have everything you need. If you’re wondering why on earth you might need speedos and how to avoid campsites that require them, I’ve written a blog post all about Speedos rules in France. However, I love the look of these amusing speedos on Amazon.

Bug repellent

a grasshopper sat on our cooker at la roche posay campsite

We use skin so soft by Avon but other swear by the mozzie wristbands especially for children. My mum loves Jungle formula and we have found this one to be good. The mozzies are really apparent in Italy, although you’ll find they often treat the trees. If you are prone to bites I’d really advise packing some. We’ve even been eaten alive in Northern France so nowhere is overly safe from them.

Final Packing checklist

Before you go, double-check your packing list.

Here’s an easy to follow list of all the items I’ve mentioned with easy, clickable links so you can purchase everything you need for a great Summer camping trip.