Okay so anyone who has read any of my trip reports would pretty much know how we travel. But for the uninitiated let me explain.

We love to drive with a rough route and not much else; on our previous driving holidays in France, Italy, UK & the USA we have loved finding out of the way Inns or B&B's etc. We will be in Ireland for two weeks in May and will probably do the same thing.

BUT........an email arrived yesterday with a quote for a campervan. I immediately presumed they'd sent it to the wrong email address, but no, it had DH's name on it. He had some explaining to do. ;-)

Obviously we would have to do some homework on van parks etc, but I have to admit I love the thought of having our own little base. We love to do our own breakfasts & lunches so that would be so easy. The biggest downside I can see is the bathroom situation, I do like my 'own' bathroom and the thought of traipsing to an amenities block in the middle of the night, possibly in the rain, is not that appealing.

So I'd love to hear your thoughts? Of course from a cost point of view we will have to work out hire car & B&b's vs. Campervan & parking costs.
Thanks as always.
AD

No bathroom? No deal!

Byrd

The bathroom will be the least of your worries. Instead consider the narrow walled roads of Ireland, lack of shoulders, and the size of the campervan.

We found even in a compact 4 door rental car it was quite a challenge. (We had the additional "handicap" that we were not used to driving on the left which you from Australia don't have but the other factors are enough to consider for anyone.)

Ireland is probably the easiest place on the planet to use a B&B from night to night just get one of the regional or national catalogs and phone ahead in the afternoon where you think you might want to stop and you will likely never be disappointed.

Ha ha ha Byrd, a person after my own heart.

some of these campervans are very luxurious - showers, flush toilets, fridge, etc. trouble is they are the largest too.

Personally I'd go with the B&B idea, if only for the breakfasts - when we went a few year ago they were terrific.

or you could go the other way and hire a gypsy caravan!

here's the link!

http://www.irishhorsedrawncaravans.com/

OK -- you will be wider than most traffic lanes. The offside mirror will fall off on the first stone wall you pass. The folks stuck behind you (in the looooong tail back) will hate your guts. You won't be able to park easily near some major sites. And you can't even drive to the pub or grocery store w/o putting everything away and taking the house w/ you.

It may sound like the way to go --but comfy B&Bs or rental cottages and a small car are easier -- and no one will give you the two finger salute

Oh dear is right.

Call a lawyer!

One other thought while we were in Ireland, especially in the west the car/trailer parks seemed to be rather fully occupied by "travellers" an unwelcome group in the areas you've mentioned. After asking about the idea of a trailer we were cautioned in Mayo county about the situation. Sharing the toilet will be only one of your worries.

You guys are great...............thankyou.

hmmmm...i don't know. i wouldn't say ireland is a place condusive to that kind of travel. as laurie pointed out the roads are very challenging, and though in may any camp sights will likely be open, (maybe who knows) it will be more cumbersome than camping in places that support that kind of travel. (like the american west for example) in ireland, if you want to "go as you please" the b & b route with a small rented car seems to be more logistically feasible.

Bear in mind that in the UK and Ireland we do not have the large Winnebago(is that how you spell it?) type vans that you call RUV's in the states and elsewhere.

It will be big for the roads, but the space internally won't be very big. If it's cold overnight, you will be and if it's warm, you will be.

Not my choice if a nice B&B or hotel is available and amer_can also has a point.

Oh dear is right.

Call a lawyer!>>

you called, St. Cirq?

please, i don't want to be doing this in my spare time as well!

I was driving a teensy little rental car, but the roads were so narrow in Ireland that I still lost three of my four hubcaps.

In England, on those very narrow lanes with the ubiquitous rock wall on one side, my sister and I developed a warning system for when I was getting too close to the wall--she would gasp in terror, and I would then know I was too close.

I agree with the above posters. There are a zillion b&b's where you can experience some of that lovely Irish charm up close.

I sent to the Irish Tourist Board in New York for information. They sent me a couple of booklets with names, pictures, and descriptions of Irish b&b's.

so the people behind you hate you..big deal...when they try to pass it will be great fun CRUSHING their vehicles with your monster for sure

While I hesitate to be the only yea-sayer, I found that when driving a larger vehicle the other drivers gave me plenty of room. But I wouldn't want to motor around Ireland in a campervan either.

Just that there is no mistake: I would NOT want to drive a campervan in Ireland.
But: If it's a campervan the size of a Volkswagen Minibus, the vehicle will not be (much) wider than a regular car.
And OP is used to drive on the left side so should not have the problem to estimate the space of the lanes.
It's not as if Ireland's road were not populated with all kinds of trucks, SUVs, or minivans you can think of. Whether it's fun or pain to drive such a vehicle is another issue..

it'll be fun, we took our small motorhome over from England 18 months ago. Plenty of campsites. Roads in the south a bit iffy! Just think how wonderful it is when you find a wonderful parking spot by the sea and have your own facilities. Sorry but what is that about when its hot you'll be hot and when its cold you'll be cold - motorhomes have insulation and their own heaters, some also have air conditioning - can't see you'll need that in Ireland!

aussiedreamer . . . don't let your DH read ronij's post

I'm with janisj.
Hide his reading glasses.
Apart from the problem of navigating the narrow roads (as I'm sure you want to go on the road less travelled), the number of properly serviced campsites is quite limited and I would not fall for the attraction of the town carpark for an overnight stop.
Maybe an immediate "no" might avoid the need for the St Cirq solution.......

As Lifeman said....there are campervans and campervans and IN the UK and Ireland they aren't the monsters that you have in the US. See what the website says about the vans....it might even be fun....