5 best tents for camping in Florida in 2023
Our roundup of the best tents to fight humidity, heat, torrential rain and unwanted critters
Planning on going tent camping in Florida?
Florida camping is a different breed of camping to most other places.
The humidity, the heat, the rain. It’s an eclectic and peculiar mix of extreme weather.
Whether you’re planning to camp on a campground or looking to venture off into the wilderness, you’ll find a tent or hammock suitable for your Florida adventure on this list.
In a hurry? Here’s out top 3 picks for the best tents for camping in Florida.
Best for the ever changing weather in Florida
With a separate rainfly with multiple configuration options, the tent is perfect for both the humid and rainy weather in Florida. The oversized fly allows you to leave the doors open during rain, while also protecting the inner tent.
Easthills Outdoors Jungle Explorer
Best budget hammock and tarp combo
The Jungle Explorer comes with everything you need to set up camp in the trees, including a removable mosquito net, tree straps and a seperate tarp/rainfly. You can breathe easy during humid weather, and stay dry during rain storms.
Best for large families
With its vast mesh windows, doors and inner panels, the Core instant cabin allows for maximum ventilation and breathability. The ground vents also allow cool air to be dragged in, while the mesh roof allows hot air to escape.
5 best tents for camping in Florida
NTK Savannah
Seperate rainfly with multiple configuration options to tackle the ever changing Florida weather
The NTK Savannah tent is available in 5/6-person and 9/10-person sizes and is the most versatile option for car camping in Florida. It offers so many advantages over a standard tent for camping in the heat and humidity of Florida.
The overhang on either side of the large, separate rain fly ensures your interior tent wont get wet when it’s raining, even with your doors open. It allows you the luxury of plenty of ventilation and breeze in a rain storm.
Standard tents tend to require a trade-off. Either you allow air to flow and get wet during the rain, or you shut everything down, block out any fresh air and remain dry. But not with the Savannah. You can have the best of both worlds.
The rain fly can be set up in practically endless ways to suit your needs using the four heavy duty poles supplied. It can be used as a sunblock, windblock, full shelter or standard fly. Due to being independent from the tent itself, it’s also super easy to change up the configuration if you need to.
Being “semi-open”, the tent uses ultra-thin no-see-um-mesh. This ensures that even the smallest insects and mosquitoes can’t get into your tent. Even the doors include a separate full mesh door, so you can keep your main doors open at night to allow air to flow through without worrying about bugs.
The 5/6-person tent measures 9.8ft x 9.8ft, with a peak a height of 6.5ft. The 9/10-person version measures 12ft x 10ft, with a peak height of 6.1ft. Realistically, at these measurements, they are more like 3/4-person and 4/6-person tents if you want plenty of room to be comfortable and store your gear.
The tent also includes storage pockets and a place to hang a light or lantern from the ceiling.
If you need any more convincing, then let us tell you that this tent was actually designed for use in the Brazilian Amazon to ensure maximum comfort in heat, humidity, rain and wind. Sound familiar?
Core 9-person instant cabin tent
Large mesh ceiling, windows and doors ensures maximum breathability and ventilation
The Core 9-person tent is a great choice for car camping in Florida with your family. It excels at breathability and ventilation.
The tent features plenty of mesh windows and panels, large openable doors and ground vents for maximum airflow to prevent condensation and keep your tent cooler.
The air vents and large mesh ceiling are particularly helpful at night when you may want to have your doors shut. The ground vents draw cool air in, while the mesh ceiling allows hot air to escape.
The tent features what CORE calls “H20 block technology”, which basically means the seams are heat sealed from the rainfly to the floor, so you can be sure no rain water will leak in through the seams.
While it’s not a tent that would be at the top of our list for rain use, it can more than easily stand up to the thunderstorms and rain that you will more than likely experience while camping in Florida.
In terms of space, the tent can sleep up to 9 people (at a push), or two queen size air mattresses. There is also a detachable room divider which is perfect if you have kids and want privacy. It measures 14ft x 9ft with a peak height of 6.5ft, so there is plenty of space for most people to stand up comfortably, with lots of room for storage and chilling out.
Other nice to haves include plenty of wall storage pockets, places to hang clip on lanterns/lights and an electrical port that is fully closable when not in use.
Easthills Outdoors Jungle Explorer Hammock
Best hammock for backpacking in Florida
In warmer, humid weather nothing beats a hammock and tarp combo for maximum comfort. The Easthills Outdoors Jungle Explorer is the perfect budget set up if you want to try out hammock camping in Florida.
It features a removable mesh mosquito net to protect you from bugs while you sleep, while allowing you to fully remove the mesh to chill out and relax on the hammock during the day. Being off the ground also ensures no snakes or other creepies can sneak their way into your sleeping area at night.
The included rainfly completely covers and protects you from torrential rain, while still allowing maximum air flow throughout your hammock.
It features four internal hanging loops and two gear pockets to store small belongings and hang lights or lanterns.
The hammock is also super easy to set up with the included tree straps. You wont need to learn any difficult and confusing knots to hang this hammock successfully. Always a win.
Measuring 9.8ft x 6.5ft, there is enough room for two adults, though for maximum comfort and gear space, it’s more suited to one person.
Weighing only 2.5lbs and packing up small enough to fit in your bag, it’s also a great choice for backpacking, bikepacking and kayak camping in Florida.
Kodiak Canvas Flex Bow Deluxe
A tent that is perfect for ALL weather conditions and will last a life time when taken care of
The Kodiak Canvas Flex Bow is one of the best all-weather tents on the market. Its heavy, hydra-shield canvas fabric means that it stays cooler in hot weather, warmer in cold weather, is naturally waterproof and prevents flapping and draughts during strong winds.
Another neat feature of the hydra-shield 100% cotton duck canvas is its ability to filter out sand. Florida is known for its sandy environments, even the soil is extremely sandy. So during windy storms, the tent will prevent any sand from blowing in and getting all over your gear.
It has two large D-shaped doors at either side of the tent that are perfect for allowing plenty of cool air through the tent during the day and in the evening.
The doors can also be zippered up completely to block out any wind or rain, or the canvas part can be unzipped from the inside of the tent with the no-see-um mesh left zipped shut, to keep out bugs but let air flow through.
The Flex Bow Deluxe is available in various sizes, all of which are super spacious for the amount of people they recommend.
The Kodiak Canvas is definitely an investment that, if looked after correctly, can easily last you a lifetime.
Tentsile Stealth
A unique way to spend your time camping in Florida
If you fancy a completely unique experience on your Florida camping trip, the Tentsile Stealth is your…man. With the stunning views, scenery and surroundings available to you in Florida, where you hang the Tentsile is limited only to your own imagination.
With the whole inner tent (minus the floor) being made of mesh, you won’t have to endure the experience of entering a tent that feels more like a sauna. The three separate compartments for each person also allow for individual ventilation control. Using an ultra-thin mesh also allows for you to sleep with the rainfly off without worrying about bugs in dry weather.
The clip on rainfly is quick and easy to take on and off, and is waterproof rated to 3000mm, meaning you’ll stay dry as a bone during any storms.
As touched upon at the beginning, the Tentsile Stealth allows for you to “pitch up” anywhere with trees. The ground in Florida is notorious for being not only uneven, but sandy too. Finding a convenient place to set up camp that isn’t at a dedicated campsite can be tricky. So if you plan to venture off the beaten path, a hammock tent is your perfect bet.
While it’s not quite as easy to set up as a traditional hammock, particularly upon first use, once you get the hang off it you can set up within 10-15 minutes no problem.
Where it does excel over a normal hammock however, is its comfort when being shared with other people. Standard hammocks tend to make the lighter occupant roll onto the side of the heavier occupant. You don’t get this problem with the Tentsile Stealth. It’s super taut, sturdy and the individual sleeping areas also obviously help ensure you don’t end up on top of your camping buddy.
Recommended accessories
OFF! Deep Woods insect & mosquito repellent
While all the tents recommended on our list above, some pesky little insects still manage to get to you, within inside or outside of your tent, and Florida is notorious for mosquitoes, so its a wise idea to take some bug repellant with you.
The OFF! Deep Woods insect repellent is a non-greasy aerosol spray. The spray functions makes it easy for you to quickly blast your entire body in one motion.
It protects against mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies, gnats and chiggers.
O2COOL mains or battery powered fan
The 02COOL is a decent sized personal fan that will definitely make you feel more comfortable when chilling out or sleeping in a hot tent.
It’s a lot more powerful than a mini fan, so if you have the space, it’s a great option.
Odoland portable LED light and fan
The Odoland LED light and fan is the perfect miniature fan for smaller tents and hammocks. It can be hung from the ceiling or balanced on something stable.
The light is bright and the fan provides a decent amount of breeze to make you a little bit more comfortable in hot, humid weather.
