overnight parking in ireland

edwin privitera

My wife and I from Malta will be visiting Ireland in our motor home June. Can anyone let us know if overnight parking in streets is allowed in Ireland. Also, are there quite a few caravan sites in Ireland.

peasant

Officially, camping by the roadside is not allowed. This has mainly to do with with the Irish Travelling Community (itinerants) who sometimes set up camp by the roadside and then stay there practically forever. So a law was introduced making this illegal.

As a tourist, especially with foreign number plates you should not have a problem though. Just follow a few basic rules:
- leave the place at least as clean as you found it
- do not make a nuisance of yourself
- use common sense in picking your spot i.e. do not inconvenience others

I would not recommend staying overnight in towns or cities, definetly stay on campsites there, just for safety reasons.

Respect the signs saying "no overnight camping"


You will find that it is not always easy to find a suitable spot, because Irish roads are narrow and usually surrounded by walls, fences or hedges, leaving no room for parking. Some possible parking spaces are also blocked off by 2 m high bars (once again mainly to keep the itinerants out). But if you keep your eyes open, you will always find some place where you can stay without inconveniencing anyone.

There also are a multitude of campsites, ranging from simple fields with facilities to fully developed "holiday parks". See for example http://www.camping-ireland.ie/ and http://www.gocampingireland.com/campingparks.html. There are quite a few more, which aren't listed on these websites. On some campsites you will find leaflets advertising other campsites form the same organisation (which might not be listed on the internet)

Also some hostels offer camping facilities. http://www.hostels-ireland.com/camping.php

I have also found that some country pubs are quite happy to let you stay overnight on their parking lot, once you ask nicely and maybe have a meal and a few drinks there.


With a bit of planning, you will never be stuck for a place for the night.
June should also be a good time, because everything is open, but it isn't full season yet and it shouldn't be too crowded.

Hope you will have good weather and that you will enjoy your stay!

3ps

an easy way to find somewhere to park up if you are stuck is to go to a marina or harbour!