TO TENT OR NOT TO TENT

[tanora4eva]

JUST A QUICK QUESTION,IM PLANNING ON BRING A TENT TO EUROPE FOR 4 MONTHS I WOULD LIKE TO CAMP SOME PLACES [LIKE FLORENCE GREAT CAMPSITE THEIR ] ALTHOUGH I WILL MAINLY BE STAYING IN HOSTELS IS IT WORTH IT[TENT IS FAIRLY LIGHT ABOUT 2 KG] OR IS IT UNNESSECARY..
THANKS..........

[me]

there really is no need to shout.

Steves sez "if you plan a camping trip, take a tent. if you plan a hostel trip, don't. a tent adds too much extra weight if just to be used part of the time."

i think old Rick is right on the money here.

[Eagle]

tanora4eva, I completely agree with David - ditch the Tent! You stated that you "will mainly be staying in Hostels", so even though you have a fairly light tent, it's still an extra piece of kit to haul around.

To add to what David wrote, here's another quote from Rick Steves (regarding how to decide whether or not to pack a particular item):

"don't ask yourself whether you'll use it, but rather will you use it enough to justify hauling it around for your entire trip"

(italics and emphasis are mine - wording might not be exact, but you get the point).

One other thing to keep in mind - if you plan on camping, that usually involves a sleeping bag as well. Most Hostels will NOT allow sleeping bags, due to the possibility of spreading bed bugs or whatever.

One other point that Kim (the owner of these Boards) has mentioned in previous posts, is that many campsites are located at some distance from the city centres. Therefore, transportation back and forth into town becomes a time & money issue. Hopefully she'll see this Post, and provide some further details (I'm not a camping type, so don't have much information on that mode of travel).

Hope this helps. Good luck!