NOVEMBER 2024
In August we did the perfect road trip through Ireland and Northern Ireland. We were surprised at the good weather and little rain we had and were able to see all the sights that we wanted to see. With this itinerary I hope to give you some inspiration for a trip to Ireland and give you a good view of how many activities you can pack into two weeks. Two weeks is not nearly enough to enjoy everything Ireland has to offer, but you can at least pack in some highlights!
Campervan experience
We had booked no campsites in advance for our trip to Ireland, which only turned out to be a problem in Galway. Ireland has lots of free camping spots in parking lots, near parks and hikes and because we can stay off-grid for a few days we never had stress regarding campsites. We didn’t love all campsites, in some areas there is very little competition and campsites are not very good. Campsites can also be really expensive, expect to pay from 30 EUR to 60 EUR, which will not include showers or hot water, for which you need coins. If we specifically liked a campsite, I will include it in the itinerary. Most cities and activities were campervan friendly, you could usually park your van easily.
Itinerary
Please note that our roadtrip started in Rosslare, which is where we arrived by ferry from France
Day 1: From Rosslare it is about 1,5 hours of driving to Avondale Forest Park where we mainly spent our time doing the Treetop Walk. We wanted to break-up our drive to Northern Ireland, which is why we included this activity. If you are traveling with kids, it is a must, and if not, it still is fun.
Day 2 – 3: Insert Dublin here. We didn’t visit Dublin on this trip, as we had already visited two years ago. However, if you haven’t been it is a must on a roadtrip, it is a very charming city with excellent dining and a beautiful botanic garden. I think two days is enough to enjoy the most important sights of Dublin.
Day 4: We made it to Northern Ireland and drove straight into Belfast. No issues parking a campervan in the city. Definitely do an historical walking tour to learn about all the sad things that happened in Belfast. We also ended up really enjoying the botanic gardens. In the afternoon we visited the Dark Hedges, it is only a small sight, but very beautiful.
Day 5: This day we mainly spent at the Giants Causeway, one of our favorite sights of this roadtrip. Definitely worth waking up early for. We discovered that you could park your campervan (overnight) at Causeway Coast Way Car Park, which made it so easy to get to the Giants Causeway in the early morning.
Day 6: We stayed near Donegal for the walk with Alpacas at Wild Alpaca Way. Definitely a fun way to see more of Ireland, this area is truly stunning! At the end of the day we drove down to county Sligo.
Day 7: County Sligo is one of the more undiscovered areas of Ireland, we did the Ben Bulben forest walk, swam at the Glencar waterfall and enjoyed the beach of Mullaghmore. We stayed for free at the parking lot of Henry’s Bar and Grill near Ben Bulben, which was a good one. At the end of the day we drove in the direction of Galway.
Day 8: Number one recommendation for Galway: book your campsite in time. We visited during a weekend where there was a running race and there seemed to be no free spots where you could park. Parking your campervan is a big issue in Galway and you can get fined easily. There are some campsites at Salthill, but they are very busy and overpriced. Galway itself is very cute, lots of street artists, markets, colorful houses. Not an insane lot to do, but a cute place to enjoy a pub or restaurant. We joined the carvery at the Imperial hotel which was really good and affordable.
In the afternoon we visited the Cliffs of Moher. They are incredibly close to Galway and therefore incredibly busy. If they are one of the things that are high on your list, make sure to visit really early in the day. We did love our campsite near Cliffs of Moher: Nagles Camping & Caravan Park in Doolin. Doolin itself is also very cute and colorful!
Day 9: From this day on we did quite a lot of driving as we headed in the direction of Dingle and Kerry, which are best explored by car/campervan. We took the ferry near Killimer to Tarbert and stopped for lunch in charming Tralee. Definitely recommend having lunch or dinner at the incredibly decorated Benners hotel.
Day 10: I added an extra day to this itinerary so you can fully explore Dingle peninsula, which was where we would have loved to have an extra day. Unfortunately the Conor Pass cannot be entered with a campervan over 2 tonnes. We mainly spent our time doing the Slea Head drive. The Dunquin Pier is breathtaking, take an hour to explore. We saw the Blasket’s View, but didn’t go on the beach, don’t make that mistake! Slea Head featured some of the most beautiful landscapes in Ireland and it was our favorite Atlantic view road. If you are visiting with kids, Dingle village has many fun options, such as an aquarium and the delicious Murphy’s icecream. Inch Beach campsite was one of our favorite campsites, and makes it really easy to see the sunset at the beach.
Day 11: This day is spent driving the Ring of Kerry. Again, so much to see here, wake up early! We spent hours at Rossbeigh Strand, unfortunately too much wind to take the drone out, but still great views and an icecold Atlantic.
Another favorite location of Ireland were the Kerry Cliffs, which are a small detour from the Ring of Kerry. We had dinner at the Kenmare Brewhouse and loved the views between Kerry Cliffs and Kenmare. I felt so incredibly spoiled by the beautiful landscapes of Ring of Kerry, how beautiful life can be! We spent the night for free at the parking lot of Bonane heritage park, which was quiet and it was fun to explore the park the next morning.
Day 12: We drove the Ca Ha pass in the direction of Bantry House. Fun part of the Ca Ha pass are all the small tunnels you had to drive through.
Bantry House was the surprise of our roadtrip, with incredibly lush terraced gardens, a must for garden-lovers.
If you are not into gardens, you can swop this day and visit the Lakes of Killarney or hike the gap of Dunloe.
Day 13: We reserved this day for Cork, which has an insanely good reputation, but didn’t really live up to this. One thing Cork does well is the food scene, we spent the afternoon at Marina Market food hall, just outside of the city center. Please note that they don’t serve alcohol in Marina Market. The English market was also surprisingly fun to visit!
Near Cork you will find colorful Kinsale, which we much prefered to Cork. Kinsale has that small-town waterside holiday feel! Near Kinsale and Cork you will find Garrettstown House Holiday Park, which was one of our favorite campsites, which featured a great outdoor and indoor playground, without feeling crowded.
Day 14: We parked our campervan at Five Foot Way Camper Van Facility in Cobh, where you can stay the night for 10 euros. You have to be lucky to find a spot though as it fills up quickly. I really wanted to see the colorful houses with the cathedral in the background, but discovered that lots of pictures were photoshopped. Despite this nasty surprise we loved Cobh, most of the city center is very colorful and charming. There is a Titanic museum too. After Cobh we drove back to Rosslare.
