Holiday Camp versus School Camp

At Sugar Bay Resort, we offer two types of holidays; a holiday camp and a school camp/tour. Our holiday camps are typically held during the holiday period whilst schools are on break, at least four times in a year. Our school camps/tours are held throughout the year and typically host both local and international schools out of peak holiday periods. 

Sending your child to Sugar Bay on a school camp, however, isn’t the same as sending them to a holiday camp. There’s a misconception between the two, whereby, parents assume that their kids have reaped all the benefits that the complete Sugar Bay experience has to offer during a school camp. A school camp/tour is merely a taste of what can be experienced during our holiday camps, where the opportunities and fun are endless.

Here are 7 differences between holiday camps and school camps/tours:

1. The Leaders


During school camps/tours, learners are accompanied by their headmasters and educators. This sometimes leaves kids very intimidated and doesn’t allow them to be themselves. During holiday camps, we leave the teachers and headmasters at school and our campers are led by an extraordinary group of young, enthusiastic and fun adults we call counselors. Kids are freer being led by these trained professionals and enjoy every moment in their company.
 
2. Themes

Whilst school camps/tours have their own categories dividing the type of experience they want, such as; fun, bonding tour, leadership tour, team building tour and educational tour, holiday camps are based on and planned accordingly to incorporate certain themes. The themes picked out are usually chosen from the latest movies or trends and amplifies all the excitement. A good example of a themed holiday camp we hosted at Sugar Bay would be Avatar week. During these themed weeks, all activities and games are planned to incorporate the theme, for example, during Avatar week, we hosted activities such as; “Create your own Avatar”, and “Become an Avatar, Blue Colour Run”. You will not experience this attention to detail based on a theme during a school camp. 
 
3. Activities

Due to school camps/tours operating for between two to four nights, the number of activities run is limited. The opportunity to participate in a variety of activities isn’t possible due to the time restraints. However, during holiday camps, there are guaranteed over one hundred free choices of activities being offered at Sugar Bay, and, the opportunity to experience a better variety of activities is provided because of the extended duration of these camps as compared to school camps/tours. 
 
4. Excursions and Day Trips

On very rare occasions do school’s get to on an excursion or day trip during their school camp/tour at Sugar Bay. Our holiday camps, on the other hand, have at least one exciting excursion during the week. We also offer a complimentary excursion if the camper is staying for another consecutive week. Our excursions are all about having a fun day out and learning something new. Some of our most popular excursions include; ice-skating at the Ice-Rink, water-sliding and marine biology classes at Ushaka Marine World Aquarium and Themed Water Park, water sports at the Durban Beachfront and biking on the Promenade, marine biology-themed Boat Cruises at the Durban Harbor, educational trips to the Crocodile Farm and the Umgeni Bird Park, game drives at the Hluhluwe Game Reserve and trampoline fun at the Jump for Joy indoor trampoline arena. 
 
5. Themed Dinners and Themed Party Night

Only during our holiday camps do we host a themed dinner and party night. This is an event that campers look forward to all week as it allows for them to express their creativity through our fancy dress parade and dramatic dance-offs. We recently hosted a Beauty and the Beast-themed holiday camp where we ran a themed dinner based on the first meal Beauty and the Beast shared together. Thereafter, we hosted the Beast’s Ball at his castle where our male campers dressed formally and the girls showed off their ball gowns. 
 
6. Duration

Whereas school camps/tours are usually between two to four nights stay, holiday camps are seven days of unlimited fun and opportunities. This longer period of camp doesn’t only allow kids to experience more, but, also allows them to create new meaningful friendships and develop as an individual from a social perspective.

7. A Clean Slate

Most campers have shared stories of how at school they were classified into groups such as “The Jocks” or “The Nerds” etc. However, once they attended holiday camps, they realized that at a Sugar Bay, you aren’t conformed to a certain group or label. During holiday camps, everyone is free and it’s your chance to build a new reputation based on who you are and not what others think of you. This fresh start has been considered a breath of fresh air that no individual ever wants to be deprived of. 
 
As much as school camps/tours may have their perks, a Sugar Bay holiday camp is certainly not to be missed. 
 
Visit our website for finer details, check out our rates and dates and book online now.