In order for each adult to be comfortable in a tent and to have room for personal stuff, sleeping bags, clothing and so on you need to plan on having 30 square feet per person in a tent. You might need more or less depending on the size of the person but as a general rule, 30 square feet per person is the minimum amount of space that a tent should have.
So when you’re choosing a basic single room tent for two adults, you need to get a tent that is at least eight feet by four feet. That comes out to 32 square feet of space per person. An eight by eight tent is also a good size for three or four kids.
Most experienced family campers agree that a 10-by-10 tent is just about perfect for two people. That gives you the space to have a double air mattress in the tent and still have enough room left over for gear. The additional height will give you the room that you need to stand up comfortably when you’re getting dressed. To make things simple most families that decide to use single room tents get two tents that are the same size.
If you do choose a tent that is larger than 10-by-10, keep in mind that finding a level, even piece of ground to put your tent on that is larger than 10-by-10 might be hard depending on the campsite that you get and the terrain of the campground. If you do choose a tent that is larger than 10-by-10 you should make sure that you ask about the terrain and the size of the campsite before you reserve one.
