recommend campsites

angeldaisy

Hi, relatively new to camping (as in survived 1 night:o)

Planning to get back into it, now my son is 8yrs old. have our tent sorted and various bits and pieces and really want to start looking at places to go.

Quality in Ireland seems to be a bit hit and miss, so thought I'd ask here for some recommendations.

I'm looking for somewhere that has the basics - showers/toilets, ideally a shop, but that's not too important. More importantly is that it is well run, clean and not too far off the beaten track.
I'm not looking for anything too big at the moment, would kind of like to make our mistakes in relative anonymity:D

Planning on a trial run this week in the garden just to make sure we bring everything we need. Tent is up and running and hasn't fallen down yet, so we are half way there.

Thanks in advance

Cabaal

Casey's Caravan Park near Dungarven is good, stayed last weekend....first time in over 20 years.
Place is well run and found the shower blocks spotless. Also pretty strict on getting people to stop making noise at 11pm which is good.

Its right beside the beach and there's two shops within 3-5min walk of the park,

Any particular parts of the country you're looking at?

Sauve

Does location matter much angeldaisy?

One that I'm familiar with is Greenlands caravan/campsite in Rosses Point in Sligo.
It's well run, showerblock (afaik), right beside a beach, and shops/pubs etc are a 5 min walk.

There's another in Forest Park in Boyle that would be good for kids, as it's beside a lake with an adventure centre attached.
Again, well run and clean.
Shops and amenities are a drive away though.

angeldaisy

Location isn't too important, I'm based in Limerick but am hoping to compile a list of places that we could head to for weekends and for longer where possible.

To start with we'll be staying close for practice, but after that distance is no real object!

Hoping to head north to belfast area as well at some point!

Orion

Greenlands is not great if you're in a tent - it's a bare field that's not level. Can't comment on the facilities though as we headed to Strandhill instead. That's a fantastic campsite especially for kids. Only problem is that you can't swim in the sea there - it's too dangerous. So you have to drive south to a beach or north to Rosses Point - either is only 10 minutes though.

Casey's is superb. Facilities are great and the beach is fantastic.

Keep away from Parson's Green in Tipp. Spent a horrible weekend there last month. The facilities were not the most hygienic (pretty grotty tbh) but worst of all was the total lack of security to enforce quiet time after 12. There was a group of tents there that spent the evening drinking inside the games room (where all the kids were) then headed back to the tents for their fire and singsong after 12 which kept going until 5am! I complained both mornings and just got a shrug. Worst experience I've had camping anywhere.

Some people I know went to Ballinacourty House in Tipp and said it was fantastic. They don't have kids but there is a playground, petting zoo, mini golf etc. It's on my list to visit.

Lough Key in Boyle is ok. The facilities are clean and security is good but when we were there the camping zones were a total mess of mud. There'd been a lot of rain and they'd allowed jeeps, vans and campers to drive across the grass so it was destroyed. We camped that time in the lawn in front of the office. That was a year ago and I've heard they've done a fair bit of work to improve the sites but haven't been back there yet to verify that. You've got the forest park beside you there - Zipit is very near the campsite. Also in the main house there's Boda Borg which is great craic for all the family. The kids keep badgering us to go back and spend the day in Boda Borg. Definitely worth a visit.

Bit further afield: In Wicklow there's Hidden Valley in Rathdrum - fantastic for kids. River Valley is grand too. Not as much for the kids to do as Hidden Valley but still a well run and clean campsite. In Wexford there's Morriscastle, Kilmuckridge and Ferrybank - all good sites.

During the summer you could head to Doolin and stay in Nagle's. Then take the ferry across to Inis Oirr and camp there. We spent a week camping there last year. Site is pretty basic but it's right beside the beach and playground, it's 5 minutes walk from the pubs and shops, it has running water on the site and the showers are free. It's also only €10 per night per tent.

[edit]All of these except Inis Oirr are on http://www.camping-ireland.ie/

colblimp

Eagle Point near Bantry is possibly the best, most scenic, caravan and camping park in Ireland. If you pitch near the water, the views looking out of your tent in the mornings are amazing! The shower block and toilets are spotless and the staff are really friendly. Check it out:

http://www.eaglepointcamping.com/index.html

RICHIE.39

You can pick up a caravan and camping guide in most caravan parks or log on to discover ireland. I bought a guide a few years ago and it served me well in that I could research further with the list of names of places I liked in the book.