Camp Accommodation and Facilities

Your accommodation will depend on the Camp, but will usually be a cabin or standing tent housing between 10 - 15 campers and counsellors. Living arrangements are usually quite basic and communal, but are designed to build a sense of community.

The most common accommodation types are:

• Cabins: These are wooden structures that contain several beds or bunk beds. Some Camps will have larger cabins with in-house bathroom and shower units, while other Camps will have a centralised bathhouse with communal toilets and showers shared between multiple cabins.
• Standing tents: This type of tent can vary but usually consists of a wooden platform with a thick sheet or tarp draped over it. These usually contain several bunk beds.   
• Dormitories or lodges: Most Day Camps will have dorm-style accommodation for all international staff, since the children will not stay overnight. These will have shared bedrooms and communal bathrooms.

In your Camp accommodation, you should expect: 

• Limited personal storage (a wardrobe, shelves, or space under your bed)
• Electricity, but usually limited Wi-Fi or mobile signal
• Some Camps will have air conditioning while others will not

Accommodation is completely free and provided for all staff members at Camp.

In most roles at overnight Camps, you will be expected to live with your campers. The only exceptions to this are if you are at a Day Camp where the children do not stay overnight or if you are in a specialised or leadership position where you may be in staff-only housing. 

Don’t let this put you off, as living with your campers is part of the fun of Camp. This is how you form incredible bonds with the children in your care. 

At most overnight Camps you will be living with between 5 - 15 campers within a certain age group, as well as 1 - 5 other members of staff who support you in caring for your Camper group. These campers and counsellors will be separated into boys and girls sides of Camps that are co-ed. Campers and counsellors can be from all across the world and will share their unique culture with the cabin group.

In most roles at Camp, you will be sharing bathrooms with both campers and counsellors. Some Camps will have larger cabins with in-house bathroom and shower units that you share with your cabin group, while other Camps will have centralised bathhouses with communal toilets and showers shared between multiple cabins. These will always be separated into boys and girls sides.

Some Camp will have air conditioning in their accommodation, while others will not. It is likely that there will be at least one indoor space with air conditioning at Camp for when staff or campers overheat - whether this is in a medical center, office or dining hall. 

Facilities will vary from Camp to Camp, but most Camps will have details of their facilities or even a Camp Map or Virtual Tour on their website - check this out before you head out to Camp so you know what to expect. 

In general, these are some of the facilities you can expect to see at a traditional Camp:

• Activity Areas: Most Camps have a range of dedicated activity spaces, depending on what activities they offer. This could include sports fields or courts, arts and crafts studios, theatres, climbing walls and high ropes courses, archery ranges, nature trails and outdoor education areas, horse riding stables, and so on.
• Dining Hall: Used during meal times, these usually contain large tables where campers and staff eat together.
• Other event spaces such as Amphitheatres, campfires or Rec Halls: Used for large scale Camp events and performances.  
• Infirmary or Medical Center: These are staffed by nurses who are there to help campers or staff with injuries or illnesses. This is also where any prescription medication will be held and administered. 
• Bathroom facilities: At Camps that have centralised bathhouses with communal toilets and showers shared between multiple cabins. 
• Boathouses or Lifeguard staff areas: At Camps that have a pool or lakefront. This is where all safety equipment and waterfront activity equipment will be stored.

You might also find: 

• Laundry rooms that are accessible to staff 
• Staff lounges or common rooms
• Administrative offices
• Maintenance buildings
• Leadership staff housing 

The majority of Camps have designated laundry facilities but the way these are used varies from Camp to Camp. At some larger, more affluent Camps there will be designated custodial staff that will do the laundry for both campers and staff. Whereas, at other Camps it may be your responsibility to do your own laundry, which you can do by using the laundry facilities available during your time off.