Servus, I am Olli. Since September 2020 I am working at Freeway Camper in the Business Development & Operations area and I am responsible for the new opening of our station and the partner acquisition. Together with my wife Julia, I traveled through Ireland with the VW Bulli 'GUSTL' for three and a half weeks at the end of September.
Why did you choose Ireland?
We both love camping, road trips and hiking through rough landscapes. On our first Bulli trip through the north of Scotland in 2016, we fell in love with this way of traveling. And then Ireland quickly made it onto our travel bucket list. However, it was a long way until then. In 2018 we made concrete plans for the first time, actually Ireland was supposed to be our honeymoon destination, the trip we then unfortunately had to postpone for health reasons. And then Corona got in the way of a flight trip already booked for 2020. To our luck I must say today. Only so the Bulli Trip could finally start this year and we could take a whole 3 1/2 weeks for the long-awaited trip.
How did you decide on the route and what would you recommend for planning?
We decided to start the adventure Ireland right in front of our doorstep and drove from Ammersee across France. Along the way we made stops in Strasbourg, Champagne, Claude Monet and Honfleur. From Cherbourg in Normandy we took the car ferry overnight to Rosslare in Ireland. We only had a rough route in mind from the beginning, always following the coast and the Wild Atlantic Way, peppered with spectacular hikes and visits to dear friends and great restaurants. My wife is the planner of the two of us and her Googlemaps map is littered with flags for beautiful scenery, hiking trails, lookout spots, restaurants, coffee shops, pubs and all sorts of outdoor activities. Additionally, we used the photo travel guide "Exploring Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way" by David Flanagan & Richard Creagh for research, a really great coffee table book that I highly recommend. The captain of our whale watching boat was co-author of the book, but we didn't find that out until we were there, so we got to talking right away.
Do you have any tips for such a long trip with the camper?
Tidiness is half the battle. Pack as minimally as possible (especially when it comes to clothes), so there are also fewer things in the camper that can fly around. And at every campsite, you'll find a washing machine. And clean up regularly.
Where did you spend the night? Large or small campsite and why? Free standing? What do you have to pay attention to?
Since we were traveling out of season, the campsite search was not so easy. We always alternated between wild camping and staying at smaller campsites. And every now and then, especially in cities, we treated ourselves to one of the numerous B&Bs. In general, wild camping is not forbidden in Ireland and is a gray area just like here. At many places, which one would choose because of the location and view, one finds signs that it is forbidden to stand and camp there overnight. However, since we heard more and more from locals that we should not let this stop us, we then also stood freely a lot. It is only important to park there in the evening and to move on in the morning. It goes without saying that you take your garbage with you and a Portapotti also contributes to the cleanliness of the places. Public toilets are rather rare at the beautiful places.
What should not be missing on your packing list for camping?
Our cozy sleeping bags, hiking boots and coffee.
What was your best camping moment?
A night on a lonely pier and dinner with my wife under the stars with the sound of the sea.
Thank you Olli and Julia for your great impressions and all the tips!
