Wild Camping on the Wild Atlantic Way

[Mhambi]

Just wondering if its frowned upon to wild camp along the wild Atlantic way or if we would need to book campsites along the route?
We looking at doing the route over Oct/Nov and ive heard that most camp sites are closed. TIA

 

[phase3begins]

Seen quite a few so guess it’s tolerated.
might like to look at safe nights Ireland and Motorhome craic. Both have a small fee but given the costs of ferries they are insignificant.

 

[Winger]

Mhambi
I’ve been following your progress and well done you!
The best advice I could give is to download the Motorhome Parking Ireland app for a fiver, a wealth of parking areas free and otherwise with reviews.
I’ve used it to my benefit and I’m from Ireland!

And when your at it register on the Motorhome Craic website, very useful

 

[bobandjanie]

We did it in 2015 free camped the whole month of June, we crossed to Rosslare and came back Dublin/ Holyhead.
We picked up all the information at the tourist information in Waterford and made our way down to Cork, one thing we liked about the route was once you pick the signs up, there is no argument on where your going next and what route your taking.
There was plenty of toilets and taps on route and we parked in some amazing places, apart from the Irish motorhomes and not that many of those a few German's and a couple of Dutch and English that was it, the biggest problem was disposing of rubbish so every opportunity take it, all the litter bins have tiny holes or slot you will not see a proper bin without a padlock on it, I would say it's expensive to dispose of it.
We had people direct us onto land and point out taps, I said to Janie probably not their land or water but you cant help but love the Irish very friendly with their ' how you doin ' and the parking on the harbour in Galway, the only place we came across you paid to park........... me asking Paddy how much for me to park mid afternoon until tomorrow lunch time, he said just buy a ticket if you have a ticket you have a ticket.
He had a one hour ticket he purchased Thursday morning this was Friday, I said are you buying another he said why I have one , and I'm staying until Sunday.
You can also stop at the marina on waterways and park for free water and dump, if you want to use washing machines or showers you buy a card from lock keepers or some shops and use the credit on them for facilities. Bob.

 

[Otter Spotter]

Been watching your build and amazed at your monster kit.
be a little careful the Irish are (if you believe Travel Trolls on utube) getting a little teed off with Motorhomers and are getting free and easy with tickets.
I personally think you will be fine if you are thoughtful about your parking up and make a point of talking to any one who could own the land you want to park on.

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[Tommo and Ca]

Half way through a 4 week trip around the WAW. Absolutely brilliant. Weather has been glorious and the stopovers both wild and on sites has been superb.
We have been following the 14 day restriction and obeying all the rules. Had a couple of phone calls from the Irish authorities and they are perfectly content with our trip and even wish us good luck, and a safe journey.
By using common sense and remembering the old saying about, 'rules are for the adherence of idiots but for guidance of wise people' I am sure you will have as good a time as we are experiencing.
Enjoy your trip.

 

[TerryL]

We have quite literally today finished the Wild Atlantic Way. We did the first half, anticlockwise as far as Galway, last year but also included going around the top of Northern Ireland. This year we carried on more or less where we left off. Our blog address is in the signature below which may be of help. Also has a link to last years trip.

We entered through Northern Ireland and as such, because of a loophole, have not had to register etc. but still of course obey the restrictions which are pretty much the same as the UK. The Irish seem pretty keen on it but as everyone else soon discovers they are all as friendly and helpful as they can be. Just yesterday we spent 20 minutes with an Irish campsite owner giving us loads of advice we didn't need or had any chance of using - but we enjoyed the chat!

There are many places where you can wild camp, just be a bit careful and use common sense. We seemed to encounter more height barriers this year too. Campsites are generally (but not all) quite heavily restricted as to how much of their capacity they can use so telephone first if you need a campsite. We've used them out of choice this year but last year in 3 weeks we only paid a fee once. Emptying the loo and getting water isn't particularly difficult but my advice is to do so whenever you get the opportunity. As mentioned above, getting rid of rubbish is the biggest problem - Irish householders I believe pay for commercial operators and the local councils rarely provide public bins. But you never see any litter anywhere outside of the cities.

We've used Campercontact a lot which we've found quite good. Also Park4Night covers Ireland quite comprehensively but do read the reviews which will tell you more; some of their "sites" are just somewhere to stop for a short while and not at all suitable for overnighting. The Irish app Motorhome Parking Ireland is similar to Park4Night and paying the fiver gives you hundreds more choices than the free offering - we've used it a few times to cross-check the others.

BUT If that's the OPs truck in the avatar you need to be warned that a lot of the designated roads on the Wild Atlantic Way are not suitable for larger vans and you're going to struggle. Ours is a 7.5m low-profile coachbuilt, standard width, and although we were never stuck we often had to stop and manoeuver when meeting oncoming vehicles. We have seen a couple of smaller A-Class but honestly I wouldn't want the hassle of anything larger than we are. Never saw anything the size of that one.

Before you start find an open (they not all are at the moment) Irish Tourist Information office and pick up the three excellent (and free) brochures covering the route - which incidentally is 2500km long! That gives you a very good guide, including over 100 points of interest, many of which it is possible to overnight at, some of them quite stunning too.