Camping is booming – even though people voluntarily give up space, privacy, and comfort. Between communal showers, sand in the bed, and enjoying coffee in front of the tent, a form of luxury emerges that has become rare in a world of self-optimization: not having to look perfect, not having to constantly perform, and not having to be constantly functional. Studies link camping with relaxation, connection to nature, and social well-being. But perhaps camping also makes people happy because deliberate neglect makes life surprisingly simple for a few days.
A hundred square meters of meadow, about five square meters for sleeping, sharing a shower with dozens of other people, and having to walk meters across the campsite to the toilet at six in the morning: in everyday life, one would complain about these conditions – on vacation, exactly these “conditions” are relaxing. This is called voluntary sacrifice of comfort. Or: camping.
At the campsite, not only is the usual comfort manageable, but so are your own demands: your hairstyle doesn't have to be perfect, the t-shirt can last another day, and a little sand in your bed eventually stops being a problem. At this point, deliberate neglect begins – and also the real relaxation. The numbers also prove that this type of vacation must have its appeal.
Camping Boom: The Longing for the Simple Life
Since the mid-2010s, interest in outdoor vacations has been steadily increasing. Eurostat evaluation shows: In 2025, around 413 million overnight stays were recorded at campsites and motorhome and caravan pitches in the EU – 28.5 percent more than in 2015. The pandemic has given an additional boost to the existing trend. In 2020, around 235,000 recreational vehicles were newly registered across Europe – according to European Caravan Federation The second-best result since records began.
Camping Between Tents and Luxury RVs
Camping comes in all variations: from the small tent where you can only turn around in your sleeping bag to the luxury truck with a bathroom, double bed, and a Porsche in the rear garage. In between, you'll find all sorts of motorhomes and caravans – a little freedom for five or six weeks of vacation a year.
Families set up their five-person tents, retirees travel across Europe as „Hilde and Geri on Tour,“ and dropouts live year-round in converted VW buses. A saying about freedom, adventure, or life outside the comfort zone is usually written on the body of the bus.
As different as the vehicles and their equipment may be, the desires behind them are similar. This is shown by a ADAC Online Survey from 2023. Of the 5,164 people surveyed in Germany, 21 percent had taken a camping trip with at least three overnight stays since 2019 or planned to do so within the next two years. Scaled up, this resulted in around 15 million people in Germany interested in camping. They cited switching off from everyday life, experiencing nature, and a feeling of freedom as the most important motivations. And this feeling often begins as early as packing.
Simple living while camping: When a folding chair is enough
Even if you pack the car to the brim, in the end you often only really need a fraction of it: a sleeping bag, a table, two chairs, a gas stove, and at best, a well-stocked cooler.
Life can be good even with minimalism. Especially when you're sitting in front of the caravan, the mosquito candle is burning, and a bottle of beer, red or white wine is opened. The next planned appointment is brushing your teeth. And even that can be postponed a little longer.
In the morning, there's coffee with a view of mountains, a lake, or the sea. Sometimes, it's just a view of the neighboring camper setting up their satellite dish. This is accompanied by birdsong, children's laughter, and kids who you barely see all day and who only reappear at mealtime. Couples do the dishes next to each other—or at least negotiate surprisingly peacefully about who will wash and who will dry.
Luxury here means how little one needs for one's own contentment.
Why Camping Makes You Happy: What Research Says
That campers actually report more well-being, the British „Outjoyment Report“. In the 2022 survey, campers reported higher levels of psychological, emotional, and social well-being, less stress, and a stronger connection to nature compared to non-campers. Regular campers, in particular, performed well. The report identifies nature experiences, recreation, physical activity, and time spent with others as key factors.
However, the study does not prove that camping automatically makes you happy. It is a self-selected British sample with significantly more campers than non-campers. It shows a correlation, but not a clear cause. After all, it is also possible that people who are particularly happy, close to nature, or outgoing are more likely to go camping.
So camping doesn't demonstrably make you happy.
But it apparently creates conditions under which people can find peace more easily: less possessions, fewer appointments, more nature, and immediately manageable tasks.
Targeted neglect while camping: Clean enough is enough
It's always kind of dirty when camping.
Sand or dirt finds its way into the tent, caravan, and eventually the bed. Feet are only truly clean for a few minutes – usually right between showering and the first step back onto the ground. Hair also takes on a life of its own eventually. A three-day beard doesn't bother anyone, and yesterday's t-shirt can definitely be worn again. After all, it doesn't have any visible stains. What would make you nervous at home quickly loses its importance here. On the campsite, a different concept of cleanliness applies: clean enough.
However, the actual neglect doesn't begin with the hair or feet, but with expectations. One doesn't have to constantly check if their appearance meets expectations. It's enough to get to the laundry room in a reasonably presentable state.
Of course, there isn't a specific study on this. Perhaps camping also does good because familiar standards lose their significance for a few days. Those who don't have to look perfect suddenly have more time to simply be.
Community at the campsite
Social differences also seem to become less important at the campsite, at least temporarily. One's profession doesn't play a big role, as long as someone knows how to back a trailer into a spot.
People chat, lend tools, and help with maneuvering. They borrow pegs, hammers, extension cords, or bottle openers, and patiently explain why the power connection might not be working. Perhaps this willingness to help stems from the fact that sooner or later, everyone needs help. At the latest, during the first thunderstorm, any arrogance is gone anyway.
Also the „Outjoyment Report“ mentions social relationships as a possible factor for camping happiness. Camping creates opportunities to spend time with family and friends, talk to each other, and create shared memories.
The study doesn't need to explain any more at this point. Anyone who has ever tried to set up an awning alone in a storm knows how quickly a sense of community can develop.
Camping is not just camping.
The romantic idea of a large camping community, where everyone is equal, isn't entirely true, of course.
Campsite 315 has the family tent with two sleeping cabins, cooler, and camping chairs from the discount store. Campsite 316 has the luxury RV with underfloor heating, bathroom, and a sports car in the back.
Even a simple life has different price ranges.
But the commonalities are more pronounced than elsewhere. Both sit in the evening before their vehicle, drink something, and hope for a quiet night without mosquitoes, storms, or snoring neighbors.
The goal is similar: to be outdoors, switch off, and feel in harmony with nature for a while. Even if this harmony is achieved with the help of air conditioning, three batteries, and a satellite system.
Because the simplicity of camping is not solely measured by how little someone owns. It is mainly evident in what life is reduced to for a few days.
Relaxation while camping: Out of the musts
There's certainly plenty to do while camping. Fetching water, preparing food, washing dishes, making beds, securing the awning, or taking out the trash. It's just that this "doing" feels different.
It's not about online meetings, emails, or making the most of the day. You do what's necessary at the moment. The plate is dirty, so you wash it. The sun is shining, so you sit outside. The child is missing, so you wait until mealtime. Experience has shown that they usually show up again then.
In the end, the dishes are clean, the water tank is full, and the awning is hopefully still there. Rarely are tasks so manageable and their results so immediately visible. This is precisely where a significant part of the relaxation could lie. Life won't be easier for a few days because no one has to do anything anymore. It becomes easier because you only have to take care of what's immediately at hand.
Vanlife between freedom and self-optimization
Anyone who has experienced this simple life for a few days will inevitably ask themselves if they couldn't live like this forever. Traveling the world with just a few belongings, waking up by the sea in the morning, and doing a little Instagram influencing on the side: „Look, this is how free my life is.“
But leaving can quickly turn back into a project. The perfect route, the perfect van, the perfect sunset. Even simple living can be staged, optimized, and marketed.
This brings back precisely the demand that many people actually want to escape from when camping: the need to make the most of every day, every place, and ultimately, oneself.
Still, the longing behind Vanlife remains understandable. To own less, have fewer appointments, and meet fewer expectations. For most, this freedom is limited to a few weeks of vacation, which perhaps makes it all the more precious precisely because of this limitation.
Why Camping Makes You Happy: The Permission to Be Imperfect
Studies show that campers more frequently report recreation, connection with nature, and social well-being. However, they cannot prove that a three-day beard or limited sleeping quarters are responsible for this.
Nonetheless, the thesis of „intentional neglect“ is plausible because this state means temporarily setting aside those demands that complicate everyday life: looking perfect, always being available, having everything under control, and needing to make productive use of every day.
Camping doesn't necessarily mean forgoing luxury. Rather, it means finding other things luxurious: coffee under the open sky, children who are outside all day, the neighboring camper who helps with maneuvering, and the good feeling of not having to become a better version of yourself today.
