Our first proper experience of campervanning was a trip to County Kerry in our very basic, original van build – Shan. This was the holiday that really sold us on van travel. We loved the magic of waking up somewhere different every morning, the freezing cold swims in the sea and lakes and meeting so many interesting people along the way.

Here’s a quick breakdown of our top three Kerry highlights:

  1. The Gap of Dunloe

There are two large car parks at the beginning of the Gap of Dunloe so we spent the night here. Unfortunately we arrived in the middle of a yellow storm warning so spent the night thinking we were about to blow away and most of the next day trying to hide out from the rain. After a full day of relentless lashing rain we made the decision to wait until all of the tourists had left and then drive the Gap instead of walking. We do NOT recommend this. The roads here are not built to support the width of a van. Although slightly terrified of the sheer drops we did still manage to soak up the stunning scenery around us.

2. Slea Head

We brought our own bikes with us on this trip so we cycled Slea Head from Dingle town. For two non-cyclists I’d say it was a moderate level of difficulty as there are some hills involved but there are so many places to stop and explore that you do get plenty of breaks. Doing the Slea Head route whether it’s by car or by bike is an absolute must! 

There are lots of little historic sites to stop at along the way – they don’t take card payments so make sure you have a small amount of cash with you for the entry fees.

Along the way you’ll also see Dun Chaoin Harbour where you can get a boat to the Blasket islands or Skellig Michael but note that these trips are weather dependent and you do need to book well in advance.

3. Ladies View Lookout

In Killarney National Park, just up the road from Torc Waterfall, is Ladies View Lookout point. From here you can see Upper Lake, Muckross Lake and Lough Leen. We drove up here to watch the sunrise and brew up our morning coffee. As we sat and drank our coffees we were joined by a curious family of deer –  well worth the early wake up call!