You can alwas take a tarp and some rope and pegs for a tent, works for bike cover to. Do take a silk sleeping bag liner some beds are funky.

Travelling without camping????? I can't imagine....What a loss, in MY mind anyway. ;-) There's nothing like going to sleep and waking up in the middle of nowhere....
Lorraine

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Depends where you camp. More often than not it's a struggle to find a private tranqual place to camp.

We've had an evening snack delivered to us in Turkey after which we got invited for breakfast the next morning by the hotel in the area. In Azerbaijan we got surprised by a side cart ice cream salesman doing side wheelies as he left, and in Mongolia people come out of nowhere.

When I set up camp I'm ready for sleep because after a whole day of eventfull experiences I'm completely farked. And who want's to deal with loud neighbours or grotty plumbing than. I still have dinner and breakfast in towns or diners.

It's all relevant when you talk about experiences. Apples and........

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So what you're really saying it that you don't like 'rough' (or 'wild') camping in general which kind of disqualifies you in answering the question. No offence though, don't mean anything by it.

I don't see how having crap plumbing is better than no plumbing though. Even camping ammenities are worse than nothing at all. The world is your toilet means you don't have to stand in the stink.
Setting up a camp takes less than finding the parking at a hotel, sign in and unload the bike if you organise yourself. Dome tents are great for that because it doesn't need pegs. Throw the mat and sleeping bag in it, and dig into the you bought when you had dinner over a fire. Magic.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

I've done lots of camping in my life, even recently. I'm talking about out in the Amazon with a machete, some salt and a mosquito net. Nothing else! That's not for bragging rights, it's to say that I ENJOY "roughing" it. But when I am traveling by motorcycle, I am going not just to see the natural wonders (I NEVER go to see cities), but to really meet people, something that usually doesn't happen during the driving day(unless you break down). I don't feel I've known a country until I've developed real relationships with people there and that takes hours at least.

NO, I'm not talking THOSE kind of relationships! I am VERY happily married.

For example: Don't take everything you need as far as spare parts or even tools. Let someone else rescue you with their knowledge, tools, or pickup truck (take tie-down straps). We beat up on Charley and Ewan, but probably their best moment in "Long Way Round" was when they let those Mongolian "shade-tree mechanics" solve their bike problem. Now THAT'S memorable!

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'We build the bike (in Peru) for your Epic Ride of South America.'

MollyDog, you're right, I'm not fluent in Spanish, though I lived in a Costa Rican fishing village for 13 months, where I was the only English speaker. Neither am I fluent in Arabic, though I lived in Egypt for seven years working as a journalist, or Kiswahili, when I lived in Kenya for five years. Basically, I'm crap at languages. However, because I'm pretty much immersed in whatever culture I live or travel, BECAUSE I'm working while travelling, (I've spent two weeks living with Bedouin in caves, and six weeks traveling across the Libyan Desert with camel herders etc etc etc) camping in isolated places is a godsend for me. I need my space, and time to regroup from being around people.
Hope this clears that up.
Lorraine

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Rallying for A Wild Life — THE FILM!
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Coming at this from another angle- the cheapskate approach- I say do not buy an expensive tent and sleeping bag. Any $30 department store tent with fiberglass poles and a modest sleeping bag will suffice for emergency summer weather camping. I haul a tent and sleeping bag along for the odd occasion when I find a nice free camping place or in the US seek refuge from overpriced hotels or commercial campgrounds. I have camped out all over Europe and Australia , but only occasionally in thirty years of trips in Mexico and Central America.Last trip to Honduras did not use the tent even once, but it was nice to know I had it in case.So what good would it do me knowing I had $600 of camping gear on the bike and not using it? Money better spent on cheap hotels.And even expensive gear wears out eventually needing $$$ replacements
Also, when folks say camping they usually mean they also cook their own food. This means they will have to haul food, feul, cooking gear, cleaners etc. Waaaaaay tooo much junk to haul on a bike.
If you are willing to camp out and fight the bugs then the occasinal hotel which you might find distasteful to your genteel constitution should be easy to take if you classify it as indoor camping.

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http://advrider.com/index.php?thread....207964/page-5 then scroll down to post #93