Camping options in Ireland - for all budgets

From free places to pitch a tent, to high end glamping, we've got all bases covered

Camping on the coast on Ring of Kerry

There’s nothing like a camping break in Ireland. It’s zipping open your tent on a dewy summer’s morning, the sound of kids of excitedly rumbling through a caravan and the secret envy towards how your enigmatic Dutch neighbours construct their awning. True, we’ve a storied tradition of camping holidays in Ireland but while recent years have seen us hedge our berths towards the Continent, this “season of staycations” is singing a very different camp tune. Camping is back. And when it comes to seeking a budget-friendly and eco-friendly getaway - where social distancing comes as standard - could the Irish camping holiday be sounding like the perfect holiday pitch?

This week, I woke up at Hungry Hill on the Beara Peninsula; one of West Cork’s most scenic campgrounds, located on the foothills of the Caha Mountains. And even considering Sunday night’s gusty windfall, it hand’t deterred my eclectic mix of fellow- campers. There was a group of US semester abroad students on a road-trip West, a Polish family camping for the night, and a large yellow-reg contingent, mostly from Northern Ireland. “Usually at this time of year, we’d be full with Germans, Dutch and French,” explains Owen Johnston, who manages the park along with his wife Barbara.