# touring southern ireland



## firefly55

Hello im thinking of touring southern ireland next year . anybody got any tips for us. i own a cipro55f go away in all weathers and a member of the caravan club for the past year. like to go away about once a month if poss. look forward to all your replies . :wink:


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## sallytrafic

Welcome to MHF

My take on the Republic is that Kerry should be seen especially the Dingle peninsula but County Clare and Mayo in the West/North are far nicer and much less touristy. When we go back for our fourth trip we will head again for Mayo and probably Donegal which we found breathtaking.

We have a Blog of our last Ireland trip on MHF >click here<


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## iconnor

Great place, been twice. This summer we did the ring of Kerry and Dingle. The sites tend to be on the expensive side and usually you pay extra for showers.
Make sure you allow plenty of time to get to places, for example the average speed you can expect on the South part of the ring of Kerry is about 30mph, the roads are truly awful.
If you drink (esp wine) then take plenty with you, it is very expensive in Eire, similarly if you smoke.
Don't discount the North esp the North East coast which is beautiful.


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## Jented

Hi 
You will never regret going across the sea to Ireland,every nook and cranny has something magical to see. Do the West coast,start at the top and work your way down,for us it is Inch beach,drive on,there are a couple of lines of poetry on the wall as you go on,have a read. Cork,the county they cannot sink,lol,Waterford Chrystal,up the middle,Tipperary,Kilkenny,Carlow,The only problem i can see,is you may love it so much,you will never come back,enjoy yourselves.We cannot go back,they have burnt the beds.(Joke)
As said above,Northern Ireland is super,but thats another trip to plan.
Jented


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## erneboy

Another nice trip is to follow the Shannon Erne Waterway. It runs from the Shannon estuary all the way up through the midlands and into Co. Fermanagh and meets the sea again in the southern end of Donegal. There is a flying boat museum at Foynes on the Shannon estuary, it's well worth a look. It commemorates the first commercial trans Atlantic flights. Limerick has very little to recommend it, I would avoid it, the crime rate is high there but a few miles out of the city there is no problem. There is a ferry crossing the Estuary just west of Foynes which cuts Limerick out very neatly and takes you through some lovely countryside. There is an Aire at the leisure centre in Askeaton not far from Foynes. As far as I know it this the only Aire in the country.

The carparks at the southern end of the waterway have height barriers but as you move into the midlands these disappear and you can use many of the boat facilities for water and toilet disposal. You may need a smart card to get into the toilets etc., these can be purchased in local shops and are not expensive. Along the waterway you will find many lovely small villages with plenty of places to wildcamp. Wild camping in most places in Ireland is no problem, where we are not wanted there are no camping signs.

Have a good trip, Alan.


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## havingfun

hi,

just to add on to what erneboy has said,the waterways,including the canal systems are so easy to wildcamp along,and a lot of the harbours are in towns,so you have somewhere to park for free,music in the pubs at night,and great walks during the days,and of course if you buy the smart cards,you can have showers,washing machines,sinks dryers,all for a very small amount of money,because a lot are completely free,except for the washing machines,i bought a card for 10 euros,and after 8 weeks i came home with 4 euros still left on it. and that was after wildcamping every night.

but just to finish,i only went to ireland the first time because when bernard was a teenager he went a lot to ireland fishing,so the first long trip was his choice,we have been 3 times now,and i love it so much,the people are so friendly,even youngsters speak in the the street,my grandchilden at twenty something still grunt....,the scenery is awesome,whether coastal,or mountains,all right,the downside is,a lot of things are more expensive than over here, but we take wine with us for in the van,but think it is cheap to buy a couple of rounds in a pub,for the music that we have gone to listen to.

dont forget though,when they say music this evening,evening starts ay maybe 10.30,shutting time is when they stop playing.......,
i,ve never managed to stay that long,and i,m a late bedder...,oh and dont be surprised if they come round with snacks,for free. last time that happened in england,i was at a darts match in preston,it must be at least 35 years ago......

mags


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## firefly55

THANKS TO ALL WHO REPLIED TO MY POST WE WILL STUDY YOUR REPLIES. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO A NICE RELAXED TRIP THROUGH 
SOUTHERN IRELAND. THANKS AGAIN NIGEL 8)


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## JockandRita

firefly55 said:


> THANKS TO ALL WHO REPLIED TO MY POST WE WILL STUDY YOUR REPLIES. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO A NICE RELAXED TRIP THROUGH
> SOUTHERN IRELAND. THANKS AGAIN NIGEL 8)


Shhh Firefly55. :wink:

We'd love to go back, but it is just so expensive to get there, and from what we gather since our 2006 trip, (see blog), it is now very expensive when you do get there. 8O

Why is it that we can get to France and back for £50 - £60, but can't get to Ireland for much less than £300? 8O

Cheers,

Jock.


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## smurfinguk

Despite the cost go because its worth it. Dublin has just won the friendliest city award. ( and I am not biased of course). My problem is that I have too many relatives to visit so I dont have time to enjoy the place as a tourist. I plan on going and not telling anyone I am there
Resa


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## Nora+Neil

For Campsites this might help.

www.camping-ireland.ie


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## GypsyRose

These sites only claim to be open late in the year....in fact, they are NOT!! We are off Dec/Jan for a month and I have never found a trip so hard to plan!! :roll: 

If anyone know of one (know one that is open in Co Kerry and that is IT!)....would be grateful for any info, thanks!!


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## Nora+Neil

GypsyRose.

If you are in the Galway area. You are free to park in our backyard. We are within miles of Connemara. (Sorry no views)


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## rugbyken

had a wonderfull tour of the south in june this year we copied a pasted loads of overnight stop's from the database on here and had a wonderfull time only stopped on 4 sites in 3 week's not the original plan but just such good wildcamping.
as someone posted earlier the crossing is very expensive we went out to rosslar and back from dublin about £280 but with tesco vouchers only £70 i know the trade in has gone to 3-1 now but still worthwhile , 
a naughty tip is though the voucher's are non transferable if the holder changes them to travel voucher's with tesco ,the ferry companies only ask for the number of the voucher's when you ring up.


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## TwinTravellers

Hi,
We have just got back from Ireland, we spent 4 weeks there. Have a look at our Blog, it may give you some idea's how to plan your trip. 

maisieandlenka.blogspot.com Enjoy, we did!!!! We are going to add a final post showing a map with the route we took! 

Ros.

P.S. Maisie and Lenka are our dogs!!


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