Ireland Road Trip: Our Ultimate VW Campervan Coastal Road Trip

When time, energy, excitement, and passion allow, it’s always nice to get away and go out for a holiday. But where… that’s always been the central question! Here in dreary old Britain, it’s common to see people travel out onto the Continent, and maybe drop by Paris, or perhaps the Low Countries, or go even further to the south, and spend the days soaking in the sun in the south of France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, or Italy.

However, when you’re so accustomed to flying and travelling far overseas, you might be surprised by just how much beauty you can find here, in our own backyard. Here, across the British Isles, there’s so much that you’re liable to miss out on at every juncture. That’s what my wife, Kim, and I wanted to try out, at least, by going out on a grand campervan adventure and coastal tour, there across the sea, to the Ireland.

My companion for this trip is my wife, as well as our trusty Volkswagen Transporter campervan, which I’ve chronicled some of my past adventures in before. With that in mind, come along with us as we retrace our steps through a 9-day and 8-night round trip across Ireland, where we encounter adorable ponies, awe-inspiring fjords, mountain tops that touch the sky, beaches that seem otherworldly, and so much more.

Ireland Coastal Trip Map Overview

As you can see here, our entire campervan trip around Ireland was focused on the Irish coastline, going as far north, south, west, and east, in an anti-clockwise direction, with very few exceptions where my wife and I went further inland. If you’re interested in planning a similar trip yourself, then feel free to check out this special little map that I’ve made in Google Maps, including where we departed from with our VW campervan.

The plan for the entire journey was to basically land in Dublin, and then travel straight north into Northern Ireland, sticking to the coastline there, and then going back down into the Republic of Ireland via its gorgeous western coast. By the end of it, there was another long drive to the southern Irish coast, and finally, going back north, past Kilkenny, and lastly, making a mad dash back to Dublin Port to catch the ferry back home.

Day 1 – Outbound Ferry

On that note, Day 1 of our trip was mostly spent trying to cross the Irish Sea. I live in good-old Birmingham, so this meant a long 3-hour drive across the Midlands, into Wales, and onto the port of Holyhead. There, my wife and I were bound on a ferry, to ship us and the campervan onto Dublin Port. Typically, booking a ferry to cross either way across the Irish Sea, like going from the UK to Ireland, is quite easy.

That said, I found a way to make proceedings even easier, thanks to the Caravan and Motorhome Club. Despite its name, the Caravan and Motorhome Club isn’t just a massive directory site for booking campsites, as they could also help expedite booking ferry tickets, with a huge selection of crossings.

You’ll easily find one, no matter which way you want to go, with very competitive pricing on their website, or if you’re a member of the Club, you might also be entitled to some enticing savings on ferry tickets. I’d definitely suggest taking those savings, as well as other discounts and offers on their site quite seriously, as a ferry trip with two people and a campervan, as the outgoing (to Ireland) and return (back to the UK) tickets are expensive.

You’re looking in the neighbourhood of around £400 to £450 total, so it will cost you a pretty penny otherwise. While you’re there, I’d also recommend reading up on some of the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s variety of overseas, European member campsites, including affiliate caravan sites over yonder in Ireland. As such, if you’re planning on taking any ferry crossing into Europe, the Club’s many resources and connections make this a lot simpler.

Now, going back to our journey, there was a decent wait at the port after arriving, and later queuing for the ferry itself, before waiting to get onboard. The specific ship that we were travelling on was the HSC Dublin Swift, a special member of the Irish Ferries fleet. It’s quite a fitting name for the boat, given that it’s apparently one of, if not THE, fastest ferry that shuttles between the UK and Ireland. Indeed, it only took us around 2 hours to cross.

Upon reaching the coast of Dublin, and once the Transporter campervan was offloaded from the Dublin Swift, the first stop on our itinerary was driving north into the Mourne Mountains. In particular, the part of this vast mountain range that we spent time around was the Slieve Loughshannagh trail. As you can see, the weather that day was absolutely beautiful.

My wife and I walked around this area for about an hour, taking in the sights, and then went up some hilly bits of the mountains to get a better view of the lay of the land. It was a nice and welcoming break after the 5 or so hour-long drive to get there after leaving Dublin. After a bit more walking, though, I figured that it might be a good idea to head to our first caravan site and pitch in for the night for this grand tour across Ireland.

The spot that we chose required crossing into Northern Ireland and stopping by at the Windsor Holiday Park, in Newcastle, though not to be confused with the other Newcastle. Here, you’ll get to see a familiar routine across all our campsite excursions during this trip… Turning up at 7 or 8 in the night, set up the campervan, cook a hearty dinner, plan out the next day, and off to bed, before checking out at 7 to 8 in the morning… Every single day.

Day 2 – Belfast And North Coast

The crackling of the dawn on Day 2, a wonderful Sunday morning, reveals another long day ahead of us, as we packed up the campervan and drove off to the next stop on our journey, and we drove straight into Belfast. The weather was just as lovely and sunny as it was during the first day, which made for the perfect atmosphere to spend some time stretching our legs again. We took about an hour just walking around this grand old city.

While we were here, we took a bit of a detour while checking out the different sights in Belfast, and stopped by St. George’s Market, one of the few surviving Victorian-era remnants of its kind. Besides the band that played there, brightening the day with traditional Irish folk music, the liveliness of the market area itself was further compounded by all the mouthwatering produce and food that you can shop around in the market.

It’s the perfect place to sit down and have some lunch! As much as we’d love to stay a bit longer in Belfast, there was far too much else to see and do, and there was way too little time. That prompted us to jump back in the campervan once again, and head off further northwards, and the first sightseeing bit past the motorway was The Dark Hedges. No doubt, it sounds pretty menacing at first, but it’s actually very interesting to admire.

It’s basically an avenue of abnormal-looking beech trees along either side of the road, and there’s no shortage of ghost tales and other mysticism about this place. However, I’m sure at least some of you might recognise it from its brief cameo in the Game of Thrones TV series. One thing to note, though, there was a £5 charge for parking here, but it’s probably well worth the cost to surround yourself in a real-world Game of Thrones location.

Further to the north of The Dark Hedges, after a short half-hour drive, we then found ourselves in the ruins of Dunluce Castle, an old medieval castle that was once the home of Clan MacDonnell. They were once one of the most powerful clans of all Scotland, with centuries of history, and the shadows of this castle are intertwined with early Christian pilgrims and Viking invaders that sought its conquest, with an abundance of history elsewhere.

As we were taking in the breathtaking views, we reckon that since we’re already on the coast, and we’re really on the northern tip of the whole island of Ireland, we may as well continue along the coast until we get to our stop for the night. That then led us eastward to Ballintoy Harbour, driving through some of the best coastal roads that I’ve ever seen, and the weather once again held up, casting a ray of sunshine over the land.

Ballintoy Harbour also had a handy little ramp that lets you drive your car right down near to the beach, thus getting you a closer view of the ocean. There were a lot of people there on that day, whipping out their paddle boards, kayaks, or relaxing down by the beach, enjoying a savoury ice cream. Still, it was nice to smell the sea air again.

And, since we’re already there, it wasn’t a bad idea to visit the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridges, either! At this point, however, it was getting a bit late in the day, so we drove further east to our stop for the night. After around 40 or so minutes behind the wheel, we found ourselves at Watertop Farm, as our temporary abode to sleep off the Sunday night. This particular camping site, unlike most of the others, was really out there, in the sticks.

On the bright side, it afforded us an astonishing experience of not having been disturbed by the busyness of civilisation, nor were there too many people to disrupt the peace of the countryside. The grounds around the farm featured its own lake, a waterfall, some free-roaming animals, and endless space for camping and caravanning. Moreover, since it was a proper, working farm, they even would give you a tour of the farm itself during the day.

Day 3 – Incredible Natural Sights

Waking up on Day 3 actually brought us back past where we came from, retracing our steps to Giant’s Causeway, which we had planned to visit the day before, but we simply ran out of time. It was definitely a good call to come here, though, because at first glance, it almost felt like you’re standing on an alien planet! There were more than 40,000 interlocking basalt columns and prisms, completely otherworldly.

It wasn’t that far from the camp site, either, and it was only a short 40 or so minute drive to get there. This natural rock formation was basically born out of lava that spat out of a volcanic eruption in ancient times, and as the magma cooled and settled back into the ground, from whence it came, all that lava split apart and thus formed these unique and bizarre stacks of columns. There was even a visitor centre that offered tour guides.

Nevertheless, be mindful that I couldn’t find any free parking, and the only one here that’s available costs £10. Now, after our tour of the northern-most tip of Northern Ireland was concluded, we followed it up by driving to the south and ended up stopping by Londonderry, the second-largest city in Northern Ireland. It took us around an hour and a half to drive to the city, but the scenic views made that expense worthwhile.

We then spent some time walking around, and marking a remembrance of the time during The Troubles, before solemnly taking in the many memorials, street art, as well as the Peace Bridge, as a reminder of those difficult times. We hadn’t planned on staying for too long in Londonderry, and time was running a tad short, so we had to hurry ourselves over north, out of the city, and straight to the ominously-named Murder Hole Beach.

I can hardly call that a welcoming name, but upon arriving, on the contrary, it’s actually one of the prettiest and most stunning beaches that I’ve ever seen and been to. It is quite a remote location, and as a result, parking was a bit of a challenge. On the other hand, its remoteness also meant that there were only a couple of people there when we arrived, and with barely anyone else present, we practically had the entire beach to ourselves.

There was never-ending, gleaming blue water, blue skies, lots of sunlight, in addition to the wonderful scenery all around us. It’s not even that far away from the hectic streets of Londonderry, as it was merely an hour and a half drive. Just bear in mind the tide, as this seemingly singular, large beach splits into two once the tide is in. With our visit to Murder Hole Beach cut short by the passing of time, we then drove on for another 40 minutes.

This brought us past Fanad Head Lighthouse, though we didn’t have the time to stop by and walk around, but it certainly looks quite beautiful in photos. Further down the road, south a bit, we then arrived at our stop for Monday night, Knockalla Camping and Caravan site. It’s tucked neatly inside a valley, with steep hills around us, and it’s definitely one of the prettier camp sites that we visited during our round trip around Ireland.

Day 4 – We Start To Head South

The fourth day started off with a rather long, nearly 2-hour drive once we departed from the campsite, and first stopping by the small town of Donegal. The town was host to a handful of fascinatingly rustic sightseeing spots and old buildings, and after a brief walk around town, we ended up at the Blueberry Tearoom for a delicious slice of cake. As per usual, we didn’t have much time to linger about, so we quickly packed up and left.

Departing Donegal shortly thereafter, we then arrived at Lower Lough Erne, which is a series of outstandingly spectacular connecting lakes, briefly bringing us back into Northern Ireland. We were looking around for scenic viewpoints to properly take in the view of the lakes, we headed for the Ely Lodge Forest, Carrickreagh Viewpoint Walk. Unfortunately, on that day, it was closed off to the public when we visited.

It was a bit of a shame, and it didn’t get any better once we walked a bit off the trail to take a closer peek at the nearby Blackslee Waterfall, slightly up the hill, which was also closed off to the public for some forestry work. Oh well, it happens, I guess, and after a quick lunch by the side of the road, we carried on our way, and drove down the Wild Atlantic Way for a tiny bit, which is the start of an incredibly long, 2,500 km scenic coastal route.

This tourism trail runs along the entirety of the western coastline of Ireland, and it’s well worth experiencing if you have the time, and maybe even the right car! A short drive later put us right on the Mullaghmore coastline, and interestingly, the Mullaghmore Head, where we saw even more fantastically, out-of-this-world rock formations, with a vast landscape of flat rocks as far as the eye can see, which drops right into the sea.

The final stop for the day, at least before we reach the campsite, is the town of Sligo, with an awe-inspiring view of the ocean, set against the backdrop of this medieval town. Just like Donegal further to the north, this town featured a number of ruins, which makes for a neat place to spend time at if you’re into history, as well as feudal castles and old cathedrals, so no doubt this town is filled to the brim with history!

It contrasts sharply against how modern and hip the rest of the town is, and I also have to remark how great it was to have these little towns along our journey and in the middle of our routes, as a place for us to do a bit of shopping and stocking up on supplies. Still, with the sun setting on the lovely Irish countryside, we then drove a bit further west, right up against the coast, and ended up at Strandhill Caravan & Camping Park.

It had direct access to the beach, and after a walk to stretch our legs after a lengthy drive, we came across some shops, and there was even a pizza van! The weather was still superb, though being right by the sea made it quite a bit windy, but for the view of the sunset that it afforded us, it was 100% worth it. A couple of boxes of pizzas and some ice cream later, it was a good time to tuck in for the night and prep ourselves for a busy day ahead.

Day 5 – Horses, Costal Drives, Ruins & Lovely Beaches

After leaving the caravan site with Day 5 ahead of us, instead of going straight south, we wanted to stick close by Ireland’s criminally underrated western coastline, and see a bit more of that Wild Atlantic Way. With that in mind, it prompted us to drive westwards, before arriving at Downpatrick Head. You can park pretty much right up on the cliff’s edge, so we thought to spend around half an hour or so here just walking around looking over the cliff edges.

Plus, with so much sunlight out and pleasing weather all around, this rather interesting rock formation made that backdrop all the better. There was also a lot of wildlife in the area, including birds, and some adorable wild ponies grazing on the foliage. Past the baby horses on the way back out and into the campervan, we continued driving westwards for a bit further before turning south, ending up at the Portacloy Loop-Cliff Walk.

We parked our van around one and a half kilometres down the path, and then walked along the trail to where I took some awesome photos, showcasing the outstanding scenery, as we enjoyed the fresh sea air, this beautiful coastline, and much more besides. At the end of the trail, there was even a small, abandoned lookout point, of which I reckon was left here quite some time ago, perhaps during the Second World War or around then.

Having readied ourselves for another huge jaunt on our Irish adventure, we then finally drove southwards, entering County Mayo, and toward Achill Island. While the drive itself took us 2 or so hours to complete, I can’t complain about the sights and views along the way, which were nothing short of spectacular. To get to Achill Island, there was a small bridge that took us over and then past the quaint and pleasant little village of Achill Sound.

Additionally, while we were at Achill, we were pretty curious about checking out some of the many abandoned, very old and rather ancient-looking deserted villages. As always, the scenery was nothing short of outstanding! We then drove past and checked into our stopping point for the night, which was the Keep Camping grounds to pitch our caravan. But, before settling in, we were curious and thought about driving a bit further west.

There, we found the Keem beach, and as you can see here, this amazing coastal road down to Keem is pretty much the same as most of the other seaside asphalt that we’ve driven through, and they were undoubtedly very pretty. Upon arriving at the extremely secluded beach itself, it nevertheless showed us the gentle waters that rushed into the bay, which would’ve allowed for a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing swim.

Anyway, it was time for us to rush back to the campsite for the day, and Keel Camping was, unlike most of the other caravan sites in our journey thus far, very open and flat. Thankfully, given that there weren’t many other caravans in the way, we had a lovely view of the surrounding hills, and best of all, it was situated right next to the beach.

Day 6 – Connemara National Park & Bike Races

Driving past County Mayo once more on our way out of the caravan site and journeying onto the southern tip of Ireland, Day 6 started with another very long stint behind the wheel of our trusty VW Transporter campervan. The first planned stop of the day was Doo Lough and the valleys surrounding it, but on the way there, we could not help ourselves but to stop by the Tawnyard scenic point just a couple of miles down the road.

We parked the campervan, and walked for 20 seconds, and we got this absolutely stunning view, which was made all the more memorable thanks to the equally glorious weather. After a quick snack, we carried onwards to the picturesque Doo Lough Valley, with the massive freshwater lake dominating the landscape, and there were very few people or tourists there to spoil this otherwise untouched atmosphere, on top of that.

Even those narrow country roads that led us to the valley were nothing short of staggering, and these kinds of photogenic views constantly kept us distracted, which is certainly no bad thing.

On our way south, we also came across Killary Fjord, which is one of the few fjords that you’ll ever see in Ireland.

in addition to the Aasleagh Falls, which is a great place to stop by for a few minutes, park up, walk down the river, and enjoy the waterfall.

Finally, after a bit of driving, we reached Connemara National Park, and this gargantuan expanse of mostly untouched land had a few distinct trails that you could walk through, including the Diamond Hill route, and you could pick either the higher trail or the lower trail (we chose this one). Even if you do stick to lower ground and avoid the peaks, which might be easier to walk through, the sights that you get are still marvellous.

The national park isn’t completely isolated, since you could find a visitor centre, an abundance of parking areas, some restaurants, eateries, wild horses, and more. As we left, we came across something quite random to add to our travel diary… As we were driving along the country roads, down to our next stop, we then came across what we later learned was the 70th edition of the Rás Tailteann bicycle road race.

We weren’t even aware of what was going on until we saw a flurry of police bikes clearing traffic out of the way, as well as a fleet of support cars assisting the riders. This even happened to us twice on this road, which meant that we unintentionally, without knowing, got front row seats to one of Ireland’s biggest road races! But hey-ho, an hour’s drive later, and we arrived at another big town on Ireland’s western coastline, Galway.

Unlike some of the earlier towns that we stopped by further to the north, Galway was much more populous and certainly quite a bit more lively, with lots of people walking around, and many different things happening all at once. If you crave civilisation and the chaotic goings-on of a large city, this here is it. Galway is home to loads of shops, restaurants, pubs, public spaces, a vast harbour, and a variety of ancient ruins and heritage sites.

After stopping by for a quick lunch at what we’re told is the best fish and chips spot in the whole of Galway, we drove off and carried on south, past The Burren and its unique ecological features, though we sadly didn’t have time to stay there, even for a quick walk. But hey, after one pretty long day of driving, walking, as well as some sightseeing, it was about time that we got some rest into the night, at Nagles Camping & Caravan Park.

The weather was good and the night remained clear, and the caravan site was a commendable one, too, with nice pitches, and it was also very open and kept pretty tidy. If that wasn’t enough, the site was placed next to the Cliffs of Moher, and from where we were camped up for the night, we had a clear view of the cliffs, past the coast and the rough seas, allowing us to experience this breathtaking sight as we had our dinner cooked next to the camper.

Day 7 – Cliffs of Moher – Long Drive To Dingle

Ah, and speaking of the Cliffs of Moher, it was the first thing that we saw on the morning of Day 7, and we had hoped to walk down the trails there as soon as we got up, as tantalisingly grand and eye-catching as it looked from afar. It probably would’ve been another remarkable little trail off the beaten path, though unfortunately for us, much of the area was shut off, and around 14 km of pathways had been closed to the public.

Instead, on that day, there remained only 1 or 2 km of trails that were left open, due to some safety concerns, which was understandable. So, we decided not to go there for a walk, or even around the visitor’s centre, and rather, we thought about driving up and around the top of it, and along the coastal roads near the cliffs. We stuck to the coastline roads all the way south, but at some point, we were getting a tad famished.

As such, we were lucky to have found this rather superb restaurant as we passed the old medieval village of Bunratty, and on the southern end of County Clare, just across the iconic Bunratty Castle. It’s called Jilly and Joe’s, and I’d absolutely recommend them if you’re ever in the area. With such a long day of driving ahead, an early lunch certainly didn’t hurt! As we proceeded south, we also stopped by the small town of Ballybunion.

It was a good opportunity to jump out of the caravan and spend some time walking up and down the coast for a few moments to break up the monotony of driving.

Another long stint in the campervan later, and we ended up in the Dingle peninsula, as well as the main town of Dingle. Tucked inside a bay, it’s a most charming seaside town, and one pretty fascinating bit of town lore and history that I learned there concerned a dolphin.

Apparently, since 1983, there was a male bottlenose dolphin that essentially lived in the bays off Dingle, and especially in the Dingle town harbour, named Fungie. He was a friendly dolphin, and he had been courting the townsfolk of Dingle and other visitors in the area for many years, though sadly, Fungie disappeared sometime around 2020. As a reminder of how much he meant, the town of Dingle even made a memorial for him.

Saddened about the fate and memories of Fungie, we left the town of Dingle, and while doing so, I came across Connor Pass, which was a scenic mountain road, and one of the highest mountain roads in all of Ireland. It was just a smidge north of the town of Dingle, but as you can see here, the merry days of bright sunshine are gone, and in comes weather that’s more typical of the British Isles.

Given how thick the fog was and how heavy the rain was up there when I went up, it’d be an understatement to call this a fairly dangerous road to drive on. Furthermore, much of the pass also narrowed into a single lane, and the roads were often placed right next to steep cliffs. We drove up the pass and gave it a look anyway, but with such poor visibility and the hazardous climate, we certainly didn’t endeavour to stay for that long.

After coming down from Connor Pass, we finally arrived at our stop for the night, the Inch Beach Camp Site. The weather didn’t let up, regrettably, making the entire day drizzly and quite miserable, though at least the caravan site was conveniently placed right next to Inch Beach. With refreshing ocean air and the prospect of heading down and walking to the beach in a mere jiffy, it did at least lift our spirits for the time being.

Aside from that, the campsite was 2 minutes walk from Sammy’s Restaurant and Beach Bar, among other handy facilities, where we had a really pleasant dinner that evening. I can say with absolute certainty that it was definitely better than having to cook outside the campervan in such bad weather. As always, we planned the day ahead for tomorrow, as we’re approaching the end of our grand campervan tour across Ireland, and we promptly went to bed.

Day 8 – Park Run, Ring of Kerry & Cork

Upon waking up on Day 8 of our Irish grand tour, the first thing my wife, Kim, wanted to do was take part in the Inch Beach Park Run. This organised run happens every Saturday, and while it mostly takes place in actual parks, this time around, they did it right by the beach, not far from the campervan site. It was a 5K run, going up and down the length of the beach, 2.5 kilometres each way, and it looked like a good bit of fun.

The only thing that dampened the mood slightly was the weather, which looked far worse today than it might show in these pictures. It was also exceptionally soggy and damp, with quite a lot of rain in the air, and there were heavy winds, too. It’s probably not a surprise, then, that this park run, which might’ve otherwise had a lot more people turn up, only had around 19 people taking part, though the remote location didn’t help.

After a tiring, yet invigorating run, we then left the caravan site by Inch Beach, then went on our way onto the Ring of Kerry, which is a 179-kilometre scenic route that loops County Kerry. Most of the roads, as well as the jaw-droppingly serene atmosphere all around us, looked exactly like in these pictures, with ample views of the impeccably beautiful Irish countryside.

Granted, the weather didn’t exactly improve by then either, with on-again and off-again rain, but that wasn’t nearly enough to spoil the quality of the road, nor the view. Of course, we didn’t do the whole Ring of Kerry, as we couldn’t spare the time, we did around three quarters before turning off and heading to the Killarney National Park, which I have learned since then that this place was, in fact, the first ever national park in all of Ireland.

Once again, we didn’t really have time to savour the entire national park, and we drove through most of it, but we did try to stop and get out at some of the prettier landmarks and locations. The first was Ladies Viewpoint, but despite the rather awful weather, with an abundance of unwelcome rain and the terribly strong winds, the view was nothing short of first-class! After that, there was also the Torc Waterfall, not too far away.

From the nearest car park, the waterfall was only a 5 to 10 minute walk, and the trees also helped shield us from the weather, if only for a moment. If only we could stay for a bit longer, but alas, time was running short, and after a 2 or so hour drive later, past the national park, we then found ourselves inside Ireland’s second-biggest city, Cork. Nevertheless, the weather hasn’t been on our side, and it hasn’t afforded us a lot of time in the city.

On the flipside, we still managed an hour’s walk around Cork to see the sights, and we even popped by the local shopping district and checked out the nearby markets, before filling our spirits with a plateful of delicious street food and some cake. 2 more hours of driving later, which concluded a fairly busy day of driving (nearly 7 hours overall), and we zoomed northwards out of Cork and straight to our campsite, the Tree Grove Camping Park.

If you’ve been keeping count, this will also be our last night here in Ireland! This caravan site is actually just right outside the city of Kilkenny, a major tourist hotspot, with heaps of history, shopping, and discovery to be found. On top of that, the campsite was quite densely packed with other caravans, but there was a neat little field with ponies roaming around, and some greenery in the surrounding area, which was at least great to look at.

Day 9 – Wicklow MountainsReturn Ferry Trip

Since we arrived very late at the campsite, we sadly didn’t get a lot of time to visit Kilkenny itself, but maybe we could make an exception the next time around, hmm? And here comes the dawn of Day 9, the final day of our caravanning trip around Ireland, which we mostly spent prepping and planning a mad dash back to Dublin, then onto the port, and back on a ferry bound for the UK, and finally, back to where we started, Birmingham.

We started early, and it’d be a shame if we didn’t get to see at least a bit more of Ireland in the meantime. So, with spirits high and there being time for even more adventures, we took off from Kilkenny and headed towards the Wicklow Mountains, just south of Dublin. There were a few noteworthy landmarks around the national park area, such as the Glendalough Tower, an iconic backdrop here, and apparently, it’s over 1,000 years old!

After that, we also came by the endlessly phenomenal Glenmacnass Waterfall, and after a bit more driving on the roads connecting the national park areas, we then had to glimpse at Lough Tay. The locals nickname it the Guinness Lake, as it is owned by the Guinness family and estate, and just like an actual pint of Guinness, the waters of the lake have this rather distinct, and somewhat evil-looking, black hue, instead of bright blue.

When you look at this lake from the side, between the dark, blackish water and the tiny beach at the end, it even looks like a pint of Guinness beer, with a bit of foam at the top. It’s just a shame that we had to leave all this behind so soon, as it was time for us to depart the Wicklow Mountains, and onwards to Dublin, lest we miss our boat back home. With a return ticket from Irish Ferries, we queued up and boarded the MS James Joyce.

This particular ship wasn’t as fast as the Dublin Swift, and it took around 3.5 hours of sailing to get us back to Holyhead in Wales. Still, that’s not too bad, and this ship was a lot larger, and it also had more facilities, with multiple levels of bars, cafes, restaurants, and other entertainment. Plus, it gave me some time to whip out the laptop and do a bit of editing, while enjoying the calmness of the sea, despite all that horrid rain and wind.

Again, I totally recommend booking your ferry tickets via the Caravan and Motorhome Club website, as it makes the entire ordeal so much easier, more seamless, and potentially even leaves you with additional savings, too. You can now book ferries such as the two that we took, between England and Ireland, as well as other parts of Europe with ease, and there were even multiple different crossings across the Irish Sea besides what we picked.

After landing at Holyhead, it was a non-stop 3-hour drive back to Birmingham, which caps off a lot of driving throughout this Irish grand caravanning tour, though we knew from the get-go that this round trip came with a lot of time spent behind the wheel. In summary, we drove practically the entire coastline of the island of Ireland, from Dublin and into Northern Ireland, all the way down the whole of the west coast, and the south coast, too!

Summary

All in all, we spent 9 days and 8 nights during our Irish trip, drove 1,600 miles or thereabouts in total, including the drive to and from Birmingham, and walked approximately 160,000 steps, between all those cities and towns, beaches, hilly countryside, mountain trails, farms, waterfalls, ancient landmarks, scenic routes, and more. We met many kind people, and perhaps just as many four-legged friends; sheep, cows, and baby horses.

It really was quite an enjoyable and impressive trip, and I’m surprised by just how much we were able to see and do, despite the fairly limited time that we had. I reckon you could easily spend at least a couple of weeks basking the Irish countryside (or ideally, more!), and had more time to devote to all those sightseeing spots and activities that we had to skim through, and those that we missed out on or had to skip entirely for a lack of time.

This trip was basically just a snippet of what we could’ve done, and no doubt, we’d do it again if time allows. In addition, there’s also the bang-for-buck value from this trip, which is no doubt appealing to any would-be traveller on a tight budget. There were no expensive hotels or flights… Just a campervan and loads of driving, as monotonous and tiring as it can feel sometimes to be spending 4 or 5 hours at a time behind the wheel.