Hi
We are thinking about taking the ferry from Holyhead to Dublin in April and going round the coast of Ireland to Westport. Stopping off at different places along the way.
These are the questions we would like help with please.
1. Is it easy to go on and off the ferry with a caravan?
2. Where do we look to find CL's in Ireland?
3. Do we pre-book sites or book them in Ireland.
Booking in Ireland would be better because if we find a nice site/area we can stay longer.
Cheers
Len.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
1. Is easy.
2. There are no CLs in the Republic, only in Northern Ireland. There are a few ACSI sites.
3. It depends when you go, very busy in school holidays, relatively quiet otherwise
Be prepared for extortionate prices for sites and food, but diesel is cheaper than here.
We stayed at the Glen of Aherlow site last summer booked through CAMC. Lovely site, beautiful scenic area. Lots of places to visit. We did Holyhead to Dublin, easy to get on and off the ferry, decent crossing.
There’s at least one forum member who lives there, I think. I’m sure they’ll respond - and do a Search, as people have asked about sites & ferries before.
(We’ve been but our experience isn’t relevant to your question: tent, wrong area, different ferry.) I’d just say the Guinness made over there is more delicious than the chilled version made here.
That is Ewen C I think. To the OP, don't miss the Ring of Kerry. Pity that you are not going to Donegal, maybe another time, then you can also go over the border and use CLs.
Did start to look into doing a tour just before Covid broke out, but decided overall cost was prohibitive at the time on even cursory costings, I do have a dog, which adds a fair chunk of expense as effectively visiting Europe and incurring all the additional expenses of animal travel, was planning cross boarder twice, plus UK-Eire crossing/return!
Wouldn't say never, but I'd be budgeted as a major adventure, rather than just another caravan holiday. It's certainly not a cheap place to visit!
We last went in 2019 when we had 2 dogs. Luckily it was before the Brexit rule came in. Because we usually go to Donegal, we go from Cairnryan to Larne, which is the shortest sea crossing. Have also gone via Dublin in the past and got hopelessly lost in pre sat nav days, and before the motorway was extended.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Mrs Bonces answers are accurate, nothing to add there.
What I would say is 1/ Ireland will likely be cold and wet in April, imo if you can delay to May or even June that would enhance your visit. 2/ expect to pay 30 to 35 Euro pn even in low or mid season. 3/ Depends on how long you are going of course but from "Dublin ... round the coast of Ireland to Westport" covers counties Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway and Mayo plus nearby inland counties of Tipperary and Kilkenny, each one of which is a tourist destination in their own right. It's a big list. 4/ Check out Charlie and Me channel on YouTube for many good Irish site reviews.
Ok. Always nice to see people planning to come here.
1. I don't have a caravan but I have taken the car to Holyhead and back and seen caravanners. They didn't seem to have problems. You will be taking the port tunnel though. It is tolled. Current prices are €12 peak and €3.50 off peak. Peak time is 6am -10pm if going southbound and 4pm to 7pm Northbound.
No CLs here. UKCS has a good list of sites. There are only a few ACSI sites.
Booking is only needed at bank holidays. I usually phone ahead though.
April is usually wet. May is usually better. You say you are heading round to Westport. Will you be going clockwise through Cork or anti-clockwise through NI?
Roads are good if they are N roads which are like A roads.The motorway system is there to link places to Dublin. R roads (B) can be a mixed batch. Personally, my advice is NOT to set your sat nav to avoid highways/motorways. It WILL take you up some very narrow roads if you do. Last trip I did on the motorbike it took me along tracks which were supposedly 80km roads
Try to shop in Lidl or Aldi. Supervalu and Centra etc will be expensive. Most big towns will have decent shopping. Sites are expensive but you can find some cheaper than others. Facilities vary.
As Arthurdent pointed out. It is quite a big place and you will be covering a lot of distance getting to Westport via North or South. It may be better to head straight there from Dublin and then find a base for a few days.
We are retired, so time not an issue. 2 to 3 weeks.
Would like to go from Dublin clockwise round to Galway area. It is a pain finding sites though. Will look at caravan club sites as well.
Cheers
I agree with Mrs Bonce. If time is no object, I'd take longer. The journeys are longer than it seems on the map and There is so much to see as well.
There are sites all the way round on the coast and inland. The only country that seems to have a lack of sites is my own, Co Kildare. There is only one in the whole county. Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Kerry, Clare, Mayo, Sligo, Galway and Donegal all have good sites. The ones on the WAW would get busier at weekends and bank holidays though. There is a good site just off the N7 in Dublin if you need to overnight before the ferry as well.
In Co Mayo, we tried Westport House years ago. Stupidly expensive. We drove down the coast a few miles and found one for €15, perfectly ok, but don't remember the name unfortunately. If you are going that far ..
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Ireland
via mobile 03/1/2024 at 3:50pm
