Best camping, glamping, and outdoor stays in Durdle Door

There’s plenty of opportunity for camping and glamping near Durdle Door but to make sure you stay at one of the best campsites in the area, check out this Hipcamp hand-picked selection. Our travel experts have given the thumbs up to places that range from basic campsites with fantastic locations to all-out luxury glamping pads with bells and whistles. The thing they have in common is that they all offer something a little special – in addition to being within easy reach of iconic Durdle Door.

A limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast, Durdle Door is one of Dorset’s most-visited and most-photographed sites and demonstrates why the area is deserving of its World Heritage status. It reveals processes of coastal erosion in action and, to the untrained eye, looks pretty impressive too. It’s just along the coast from idyllic Lulworth Cove and occupies a position in the middle of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast and the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that accounts for 40 per cent of this largely rural county. Whether you want to pitch your own tent, park up in your campervan or bed down in a bell tent, shepherd’s hut or cosy cabin, our collection of camping and glamping sites near Durdle Door should help you find the perfect place to stay.

If you’re camping or glamping near Durdle Door, it’ll be Dorset’s Jurassic Coast that’s brought you to the area. You can visit Durdle Door itself by parking on the cliff top above the arch, and the crescent-shaped beach that stretches west of it, or by hiking over the hill from nearby Lulworth Cove. The clean water of the beach at Durdle Door makes it a great place for swimming and kayaking – though you’ll have to negotiate the steep cliff path to reach the beach here. An easier launching location is at Lulworth Cove and, in fact, here you can join an expert-led kayak tour around the coast or hop aboard a bigger boat for a cruise. Coasteering, paddleboarding and other watersports are also available. The South West Coast Path national trail tracks a route around the whole of the south west and offers great views and a land-based way to appreciate the unspoilt coastline. For some of the best fossil-hunting on this rich coast, try Kimmeridge Bay a few miles east of here.

Durdle Door’s location between Weymouth and Swanage also means you are well-placed to visit some of Dorset’s other attractions including the fairytale Lulworth Castle, Corfe Castle, the birthplace of the author Thomas Hardy and Monkey World Ape Sanctuary. For more information on place to visit in and around Durdle Door, check out the Visit Dorset website.