The Best Glamping Sites in Ireland

Slane is best known for its huge once-annual rock concerts (Guns N’ Roses headlined in 2017), but it has plenty more to offer, with the Hill of Tara and Newgrange both nearby. As the only glamping site amid the best part of Ireland’s Ancient East to make our list, Rock Farm is the ideal base. This languid eco-tourism spot is tucked in amongst the trees overlooking Slane Castle. As well as high-end glamping facilities, it is home to fantastic yurts and shepherd’s huts. Electric bikes, kayaking, hiking and tree-climbing (yes, it’s a thing!) are all on offer locally.

Set on 90 acres (36ha) of wildflower meadows and heather-covered hills along Ireland’s famously beautiful Wild Atlantic Way, Lough Mardal Lodge makes glamping in Ireland an eperience like no other. Here, luxury yurts are primely positioned on the shore of the Lough. While there is no electricity in the yurt, the nearby lodge provides a kitchen, loos and a warming stone-clad fireplace. For the eco-conscious, there’s a charging point for electric cars, too.

Kerry should already be on your list of spots to visit if you have more than a week or two in Ireland. Just a couple of miles outside of the town, this simple but lovely destination is a great base. Killarney Glamping in Kerry is very much a family affair, a small site with beautifully presented and pleasantly heated tents tucked on top of wooden frames to ensure they can withstand the Kerry weather. Horses live in the nearby field, while you get your own kitchen area and some lovely spa options.

Located way up in the rural north of Ireland, with yurts overlooking the Atlantic, Portsalon’s collection of just five isolated yurts is a real “perfect peace and quiet” offering. The yurts come kitted out almost like a hotel room, with carpets and king-sized beds, wood burning stoves and views straight from the front door. There are three miles (5km) of award-winning beach a short stroll away, and an outside chance of seeing the Northern Lights. In a word: romantic.

Located in a county that’s a byword for “rural nowhere” in Ireland, Teapot Lane is the ultimate gorgeous escape, taking a pretty field and turning it into an almost magical, quirky corner, filled with yurts and caravans. There’s an entire garden laid out for fairies. Aside from the magic (which has made this spot a popular wedding location), there are also luxury cabins on offer and breakfast eggs fresh from the on-site hen house. For the adventurous, there’s surfing down the road, too.

Another lovely Leitrim spot, Pink Apple’s rugged, comfortable yurts come within a campsite that has a real sense of magic. The most popular activity (pre-book!) is the pizza – make and bake your own in a wood-fired oven; the homemade organic cider comes highly recommended as well. There’s a sense of community around the shared evening fires and kid-leaning set-up at this Ireland glamping site. It’s also a spot for adventure, be it on the local lakes and rivers with a kayak or one of the foraging walks. Look out for the hobbit house, too.

Wicklow is an essential stop-off for any hill-loving visitor, with the “Garden County” home to the Wicklow Way and St Kevin’s Pilgrimage walks, and easily accessible from nearby Dublin. Old Forge is a great base, a tiny corner consisting of a log cabin, four yurts and a three-bedroom cottage (for those that don’t like camping) tucked into the Wicklow hillside. There’s an outdoor bar, personal cooking areas, a fire pit and lots of those rugged, crumbling walls that are so beloved in rural Ireland. You can also ogle the highest in the East of Ireland, Lugnaquilla, from your tent door at this glamping site in Wicklow.

Irish festival goers know this particular spot for its location down the road from the country’s biggest musical offering, Electric Picnic. Unless you’re heading to Stradbally’s finest, try to avoid the first weekend of September, then. The rest of the year, however, this family-run rural glamping site in Ireland has a kind of thrown-together rugged feel to it, but it also manages to provide luxury bathrooms, a fire pit and pleasant dining corners. Horse riding is the big thing nearby, while Glamping Under the Stars’ kid-friendly tents have plenty of cushions and mini-beds for the little ones.