Holidays with children on the Autistic spectrum can seem daunting, overwhelming and sometimes an impossibility, which is why so many of us now choose to spend out holidays in tents, caravans and motorhomes, after all, no planes involved, you can take half your home with you and if it all goes ‘Pete Tong’, then you can abort the mission and return home at any point! As a family of four, two mums, two boys GJ and FC ( FC has non verbal autism) we have discovered that Caravan and Camping holidays can work brilliantly for families with children on the spectrum…….but choosing the right campsite can often lead to hours of research and a whole load of ‘pot luck’, something ASD parents prefer not to rely on! With so little information out there on the suitability of campsites for children with ASD, we decided to blog about each campsite we visited, from the perspective of a family embracing Autism, and record all the helpful details we wish were available to families like us. As we travel with our boys, this blog will grow and hopefully it will help other families to navigate their way round the wonderful and rewarding camping/touring experience without spending hours searching for suitable sites to enjoy precious family time together.
Please remember, once you have met one autistic child…you have met one autistic child, and each of our little bundles of happy, flappy fun will have their own quirks, needs, challenges and motivators so these reviews are a record of our experiences and what worked best for FC. We always recommend calling ahead to each campsite and asking the questions relevant to your child, and hope that the information we offer can act as a guide only.
Happy Flappy Camping!
www.autismcamping.co.uk 
Could you please recommend some campsites that accommodates Autistic children
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Hi! Almost all campsites that are family friendly accommodate Children with ASD, but it really depends what your child needs in order to be safe and happy. Which area are you looking at and what are your key needs?
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Hiya!
What a lovely idea to help ASD families. ☺️
We are hoping to start our camping experience with our 6 year old autistic son this Spring. We live in Derbyshire and so were looking for somewhere in the Peak.Diatrict, preferably. Have you been to any campsite in this area? If so, any you’d recommend?
Our son struggles with busy environments, unexpected noises (particularly loud or upset children) and can become very disregulated when he feels frustrated/ embarrassed.
Thank you so much in advance,
Sarah
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Hi Sarah,
Thanks for getting in touch! Im afraid I have been rather poor at updating the site (life took over!) so have a few more site reviews do upload.
We haven’t made it to the Peaks ourselves yet, but it is on the list. It sounds like your son has similar challenges to ours, so there are a few things we like to do before embarking on a visit to new site. Will you be tent camping or towing a caravan/camper etc?
1. Get a site map, Arial view (google) and look at the photos that guests have uploaded to Trip Adviser/google. These will
Give you a good idea of what the site looks like when it’s busy. Whilst the promotional pics of sites can give you an idea, they won’t give you the whole story.
2. If there are rows and rows of caravans/tents then we tend to avoid this area of the campsite or the site altogether. Many sites have quieter areas or fields just for tents, so check out the pitch numbers and see how far apart they are.
3. Facilities. As caravaners, we are self sufficient so only use the showers if we get very Sandy or muddy! If you are relying on them, you want to be under a minute away from them but not too close, as it could be noisy and busy. Playground- my son loves the playground, but not other children screaming and crying in the playground! We therefore chose somewhere where the playground isn’t in view, and we can come away from it when we need to. This removes the temptation to run off to it all the time.
4. Security- using the site maps and google earth, we look for all possible exits and avoid pitching near them, this includes dog walking access gates. We have dogs, and we found that locating ourselves near the dog walking gates mean my that all the dogs from the site passed our pitch twice a day, which our dogs didn’t like, and therefore neither did our son!
5. Speak to the site- I always call the site, explain my situation and ask their advice. Some are better than others, and some won’t let you reserve a spot but most will.
6. Lastly, be prepared to change your mind when you get there! My son can’t cope with babies or very young children so pitching near a very young family doesn’t work for us.
Our preferred campsite, is a field, with half decent toilets and showers, where pitches sit round the edge and people enjoy the space in the middle.
I recognise that the very purpose of this website is to do all that for you, so I think you have just confirms that we need to book in the Peaks this year!
It would be wonderful if you could share any tips/things that worked well about the site you eventually find. I would like this to be a community for sharing autism friendly places (just need to do a. It more work on developing the site!)
Keep in touch,
Best wishes, Lucy
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