Bonfires, cooking s’mores and making lifelong friends – summer camps spark memories of halcyon days for many of us. But what if you could relive those experiences as an adult?
In the US, adult ‘sleepaway’ camps have been around for a while. Now, summer camps for grown-ups have arrived in Europe.
They tap into the growing trend for travelling ‘solo with strangers’, and the desire to make friends in person in an increasingly online society.
What’s behind the rise of the adult summer camp?
EF Ultimate Break, a global group tour operator for young adults, is launching a week-long summer camp for adults in the Swiss Alps this summer.
The group says the offering caters to Gen Z and Millennials, who are “chasing nostalgia everywhere”.
“There are a lot of challenges in the world right now, and we are seeing a real yearning among people in their 20s and 30s to return to some of the simplicity of childhood,” says Alyssa Sands, Director of Tour Development at EF Ultimate Break.
“Summer camp is such a quintessential part of growing up, and the idea of revisiting that feeling as an adult, having activities planned for you, being outdoors, forming friendships without having to force it, is really resonating.”
Making friends IRL
If recent events are anything to go by, EF’s experience looks likely to be a hit.
Last summer, content creator Allison Wolf posted a reel of her “dreamy and magical” time at Camp Château, a women’s-only version in southern France.
Five days later, the camp was officially sold out for 2025 – and there were 11,000 on the waiting list.
“We created Camp Château with the idea that you can arrive and not work on yourself,” CEO and co-founder Philippa Girling told Euronews Travel. “You can just relax, curate your experience, do whatever brings you joy and tranquillity and some restorative time.”
The idea is also to connect with other women, but in a natural, unforced way – something that is becoming increasingly rare in today’s world of virtual meetings and cyber friendships.
Accommodation is in shared bunkrooms (with twin beds) in the château or glamping tents for two. Dinner is taken en masse in the Grand Hall every evening, with apéro hour for those keen to sip and chat.
CampJoli, located in a château in the French Provencal countryside, is a similar all-women concept.
“When I went to CampJoli on my own, I didn’t know what to expect,” says one camper’s testimony on its website. “But what I didn’t expect was that I would be surrounded by wonderful women with whom I had the most amazing conversations, who inspired and supported me and gave me so much love.”
What happens at an adult summer camp?
EF’s experience is designed to recreate the classic summer camp of fresh mountain air, learning new sports, and “the kind of effortless friendships that defined childhood summers” – only more sophisticated. Think ski chalets instead of tents and locally made wine in the place of squash.
August’s week-long offering splits time between two locations: two nights in lakeside Lausanne and four nights in the mountain town Engelberg.
Activities include kayaking on Alpine lakes, ziplining through forests, hiking to mountain cheese farms, and gathering for s’mores under the stars.
At CampJoli, guests can take part in morning yoga, meditative walks, bread-making, foraging and dancing nights. Camp Château’s ‘electives’ (there’s no pressure to participate) include print-making, mixology, horse riding and movie nights.
While this bears similarity to retreats, Sands says there’s an important distinction.
“The core of a camp is really about active, hands-on experiences,” she says. “Hiking, swimming, workshops, ropes courses, trying things you have never done before.
“A retreat tends to be more inward-facing. Camp is about being outside, being active, and doing things together as a group.”
It sounds like the perfect recipe for a nostalgia hit, although those interested should be prepared to fork out a little more for these experiences compared to the classic camps of childhood.
Camp Château’s early bird bookings for 2027 start at €2,520 per person for five nights, while EF’s Camp Ultimate is from $2,999 (€2,590) for six (both excluding flights).
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