Safari Tents

What a safari tent is

A safari tent is a big tent made for living in rather than for a night away: upright walls, a roof high enough to walk about under, and room for real beds and furniture. The name comes from the tented camps where guests stay for days at a time, and that is still what they are for. They go up once, on a site, a field or a garden, and stay up for a season or longer.

The kinds in this range

• A two-storey safari lodge in waterproof PVC, with a loft for extra sleeping and living space, made for glamping sites, resorts and campsites as guest rooms. See glamping safari tents.
• A safari-style canvas bell tent in cotton canvas rated PU5000, from 3m to 6m across, with a PVC groundsheet. See bell tents.
• Similar tents with upright walls for camping trips. See cabin tents.
• Other tents for a site: round domes on a frame of triangles. See geodesic dome tents.

Planning a safari tent on a site

Think of a safari tent as a small building. Choose flat, level, well-drained ground, with room round it for pegs and guy lines and a path to the door. Decide whether it stands on the ground or on a raised wooden deck, which keeps the floor dry and level. The two-storey lodge here is made for extended or permanent installation, so plan where it will stand before you order, and read its product page for what comes with it.

PVC or cotton canvas

The two fabrics in this range behave very differently. PVC is fully waterproof and wipes clean, but it does not breathe, so it needs its windows and vents open to keep condensation down. Cotton canvas breathes, so it stays cooler in summer and drier inside, but new canvas needs wetting and drying once or twice before its stitch holes seal, and it must be dried fully before it is packed away or it can go mouldy. See canvas and cotton tents.

Questions people ask about safari tents

Can I take a safari tent camping?

The canvas bell tent packs away and can travel; the lodge is made to stay where it is. For a large tent to take away, see family tents.

What goes inside?

Beds, a rug and lights make it a room. See tent rugs and carpets and glamping lights and bunting.

How long does delivery take?

Delivery is included in every price and tracked to your door. Each product page says when that tent usually arrives, so check it before ordering for a set date.

More to look at

• Glamping safari tents
• Bell tents
• Cabin tents
• Geodesic dome tents
• Glamping
• Canvas and cotton tents
• Guide: Bell tents and glamping