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If you like the idea of taking to the open road without a set itinerary, enjoying early morning swims and watching sunsets on headlands before falling asleep to the sound of waves or under the stars, then a road trip in a campervan is the ideal holiday. Best of all, you get everything – transport, accommodation, cooking and washing facilities – all in one.

Wild camping is not allowed in Ireland unless you have permission from the landowner, but most areas have designated camping grounds and there are usually plenty of rest stops and viewing points along the way. To find local legal camping places for you to spend the night, check blogs and websites such as Total Camping, Safe Nights Ireland or the Campercontact app.

Driving is on the left in Ireland and larger campervans might want to keep to motorways (prefixed with an M, such as M1), national roads (prefixed with N in the Republic of Ireland, A in Northern Ireland) and regional roads (prefixed with R in ROI and B in NI) and avoid roads which are smaller than these. In high season during the summer months (July and August or local festival times), book your overnight parking spots in advance.

So where should you go? Here is our campervan itinerary for Ireland for some great road trips:

To enjoy some of Ireland’s rugged Atlantic coastal scenery and the culture and traditions of an Irish-speaking Gaeltacht area, the Dingle peninsula in County Kerry is the place to go. Your first stop might be at Inch beach, which stretches 5km out into Dingle Bay with views of the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks mountain range.

It’s an ideal spot for walks or surfing. Stock up on supplies in Dingle town itself, also a good base for a whale-watching or dolphin-watching safari. Drive the peninsula clockwise, to Ventry and then Slea Head.

Take your time on the Slea Head drive, enjoying the views of the uninhabited Blasket Islands as you sweep around past Dunquin, stopping at the Blasket Centre to learn more. For an overnight stop, book your camping spot at Campail Teach an Aragail (Oratory House Camping) near Ballyferriter. Don’t miss the beaches at Castlegregory and Brandon Bay for golden sands, surfing and sunsets.

Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coastal Route is one of the world’s most scenic drives, with this north coast full of castles and glens on one side and dramatic cliffs and bays on the other. Soak up the sea air on The Gobbins path on Islandmagee, with rocky caves and bridges. Spend a few hours at Glenarm to visit the forest, river and Glenarm Castle and make your overnight stop the campground at Glenariff Forest Park, to enjoy woodland walking trails and waterfalls.

Don’t miss the scenic fishing villages of Cushendun and Cushendall, plus the campground at Cushendall Holiday Park. Further north you will come to some of most dramatic features of this drive, with the rope bridge across a gorge at Carrick-A-Rede and the 40,000 basalt columns at the Giant’s Causeway itself. Lookout for the cliff-side ruins of Dunluce Castle and Game of Thrones filming locations such as Ballintoy Harbour and Downhill Strand.