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Wild Camp and Scenic Locations Ireland - Google Maps

I camped overnight at a couple of those places when I drove along the Wild Atlantic Way with Ben and Jack last summer.

We had a fantastic three weeks.

Here’s a gratuitous sunset shot at one place where we did have to pay to camp overnight. £10 I think.

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Try Hook Head in Wexford. No official site but a few vans camp at end of the road by the lighthouse. It is aspectacular spot right by the water. We were there in 2021 and loved it. This is the view from our van early eveningIMG_6669.jpg
 
Didn’t know about these maps - thanks a lot!

Park4night is also very useful in Ireland. Most spots aren’t there of course but it has enough great spots to always find somewhere nice if you’re not familiar with the area.

A few tips having wild camped around Ireland for a few months now:

- to find really quiet spots, use the “surrounded by nature” filter in Park4night. It’ll dramatically cut down the noise and show the spots in the middle of nowhere.
- if you’d like complete peace, search Google Maps for a nearby mountain then drive up there. Most mountains in Ireland will have hillwalking/viewing/picnic spots where you can stay overnight. Nobody drives up there at night. You’ll be as far from civilisation as it gets.
- avoid nature car parks located near large towns. You… don’t want to be there at night.
- Ireland can get really extremely windy. If you need to pop the roof, check wind speed and direction ahead and use Google Satellite view to try and find a spot against something that’ll provide shelter (side of a mountain or hill).

Happy Irish wild camping!

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Thanks for that @Jonathan Duke
I’m in the early stages of planning a 2 week trip to NI/RoI. Thinking of a ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast and then following the coastal roads as far as say Sligo and then cutting back across country to Dublin for a ferry back to Holyhead. Any suggestions/recommendations?
 
Local knowledge, please remove the Cleveland Arms at High Ercall, Shropshire in your Wild camping UK map. It's been closed and fenced off for a good while now.
 
Thanks for that @Jonathan Duke
I’m in the early stages of planning a 2 week trip to NI/RoI. Thinking of a ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast and then following the coastal roads as far as say Sligo and then cutting back across country to Dublin for a ferry back to Holyhead. Any suggestions/recommendations?
The Antrim (Causeway Coast) is an excellent drive, just follow the signs from Belfast. You can skip the first section between Belfast and Larne by just taking the more direct route, from Larne Northbound you will want to be on the Causeway Coastal Route proper. We normally overnight at Glenarm (near the marina) or Ballintoy Harbour (follow signs down the steep road to the Harbour.) The toilet block stays open 24hrs. Another favourite of ours is to park overnight on the Beach at Benone, as you drive on to the beach park to the left (there are no camping signs to the right, but these are mostly ignored anyway) and always a good idea to check tide-times or park close to the sand dunes. From Ballintoye there is a nice walk to Elephant Rock. Whilst on the beach in Benone, check out the hot-box sea-sauna (google it.) Donegal and then down to Sligo are more remote, and you’ll stumble across park-ups a plenty.

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Thanks for that @Jonathan Duke
I’m in the early stages of planning a 2 week trip to NI/RoI. Thinking of a ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast and then following the coastal roads as far as say Sligo and then cutting back across country to Dublin for a ferry back to Holyhead. Any suggestions/recommendations?

I did that with our two boys last summer, but the other way around.

Holyhead to Dublin, Wicklow Mountains, then across country to Kerry. Wild Atlantic Way to the Giant’s Causeway, south to the Mountains of Mourne. Then Belfast to Cairnryan.

We had 3 weeks. It wasn’t nearly long enough.
 
We rounded Ireland and NI on our bicycles and were verry happy to cycle from South up North, driving on the left side of the road and so no busses obstructing our view (there were many).
 

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