Rocks, Ruins and Rainbows

For our family vacation this year (2025), we spent 16 days in Ireland, where we rented a VW T6 California Beach “weekender style” camper van, and drove around the island with minimal itinerary.  This model of the VW bus has never been sold in America, but they were everywhere in Ireland! 

Comparing it to our Metris, and before that - our 2000 Eurovan; there were quite a few features on this van that we really LOVED!  If this post is too technical, I apologize - but I imagine some other van campers out there might appreciate the details. 

First, in the cabin, there were built in, pull down roller shades instead of awkward curtains. The passenger and driver windows had magnetic cloth covers that worked well.  We found it funny that they were made of the same grey material as the snap on curtains for our 2000 Eurovan.  VW must have a warehouse full of that fabric and they have been using it for the past 25 years! LOL!  There was a cover for the inside of the front window made of the same material, but we brought along an outside front window cover and used it instead.  This gave us full access to the dash for storage.  We put the head rests and our hats up on the dash at night. 

The bench bed was easy to make out, and included a thick mattress that went over the top of everything to even out the surface. The mattress folded up into a stack that lived on the back deck when not in use. I really wish something like that were available for the Metris, because we are still struggling with the hard bench, and how awkward it is to store and deploy a memory foam topper.  We rented our bedding, but in Europe, they don't use top sheets, and this was not practical.  We stopped into a home store and bought one, because most nights the duvet was just too warm. The pillows provided with the rental were pathetic, so we bought "pillows of substance" at the same home store, along with a nice 4'x6' outdoor rug that rolled up snug and fit across the back deck when not in use.

The pop-top had nice corner shelves to the front, and if you pushed it up, there were shelves for the bottom bed in the corners back by the rear hatch. We had to make our own "shelf" for our Metris. Our adult daughter slept up top, and said it was "okay."  I know there were nights when we were warm and snug below, and she was chilled up top.  Overall, we had exceptional weather.  The van had a built in heater that ran off the diesel, but we never had to use it. We took fans, and used them every night for circulation and cooling.  Another design feature we were in awe of was the sliding door that covered the section between the pop top and the windshield when the top was down.  This concealed the saggy canvas, and the securing hardware.  The bottom of the pop top (above your head on the bench) was solid.  This made a nice sound buffer at night. 

Under the bench there were three pull out drawers, but they were tiny.  We found the combination of lifting the "door" and then sliding out a drawer a bit awkward.  If you weren't careful, you could push the drawer all the way back into the storage area in back, and it was difficult to retrieve. There was also some storage on the non-sliding wall, but the lack of cup holders in the center cabin area was annoying. 

Lighting was good all around the cabin at night.  The main computer console controlled how and when they came on.  At first we couldn't figure out how to shut them off, so we drove around in the daylight with all of the cabin lights on!  Also, the VW had the same "security feature" as the Metris, where if you try to open the sliding door from the inside when things are locked, it sets off the alarm.  Or if you try to use the lock/unlock from the key fob while inside the van, the alarm also goes off.  Ask me how we know!  

There was a built in single burner propane stove and a metal work surface that folded down into the center area under the side window  They call this the "hob." This sounds convenient at first, but you can not use the stove with the bench bed out, and it means ALWAYS cooking INSIDE the van.  Knowing this in advance, we took our trusty 2 burner Coleman style propane cook stove that came with our Metris.  It is very low profile, with high output.  Unfortunately, Coleman propane canisters in Ireland were unbelievably expensive.  We bought two on our first day out. We used all of one, and half of the other - doing most of our cooking outside the van or in a camp kitchen at a campground.  We only used the inside stove a couple of times for making tea.  

The VW folding table stored in the sliding door.  It was sturdy and very versatile.  You could use it free standing inside or out. But you could also skip folding down two of the legs, and attach it to the pull up stove unit inside, in one of two different configurations.  A brilliant bit of German engineering!

Two camping chairs had their own storage in the hatch.  Another bit of brilliance, if you ask me.  They were nice sturdy chairs, too.  We had a third "bag style" chair, and it was always the least used. 

There was a TON of space on the back deck and underneath the bench.  We had three suitcases, two duffles, two backpacks, a tent (JIC), a giant trunk, a 5 gallon bucket, plus our bedding and pillows, and there was still room in the back for firewood, a Dometic 12v cooler box, a 5 gallon water jug and our food.  There was a significant shuffle every night to make things out for sleeping, but it got easier the more we did it.  The only thing we ever left outside overnight was the water and the trunk (locked).  

The van had a separate auxiliary house battery, which we used when not connected to "the mains." We found that the cooler box drained the battery pretty fast if we kept it on high. But on medium, we could make it through the night, no problem. I never felt like the food was actually cold, though. We have considered buying an electric cooler box, but using theirs has made me reconsider.  Outlets were mostly 12V, but in the T7 I understand they have been replaced with USB.  Knowing this, we took adapters. One of our first technical issues was having to buy fuses and replace one so that all of the 12V outlets worked.  This made our daughter very happy.

 Enough technical stuff, you say?  So how was Ireland?  Well, driving there was much more of a challenge than I had anticipated.  We wanted to explore, and that meant using the "lesser" roads.  By "lesser" I mean, there was a lot less to them!  Super narrow and twisty, they kept us wondering if we would make it through the trip without an accident.  Fortunately, we did.  You drive on the opposite side of the road, and the speed limits are set way higher than you can actually ever go, due to the turns and dips.  There were rarely shoulders, and usually a stone wall on either side, overgrown with hedges.  Kudos to the husband! He did a great job.  He even precisely parallel parked a couple of times without so much as a wiggle.  I spent the majority of the trip in the main cabin area, trying not to watch.  Taking in the scenery as we traveled was not really a thing.  The driver has to maintain 100% concentration, while the passenger helps navigate, and the worrier hides her head in the back seat.  So, we stopped frequently, and gawked while parked.  Our daily mileage was much lower than anticipated, and our stops were longer and more frequent. But oh, there were some beautiful views!  

Van camping in Ireland is very different from the same activity in America.  There are caravan parks available, where you get a small "slip" and use of the facilities - which were usually very nice - for an average of about 35 euros a night.  Often, they included camp "kitchens" which meant somewhere for you to do dishes, and a table or counter for preparing and eating your food. Sometimes there was a fridge or even cooking option, for a fee.   Bathrooms, showers, and often laundry were available.  There were dump stations, trash disposal, recycling, playgrounds, game rooms, etc...  One time there was even a bath tub!  But you have to remember that everything is on a much smaller scale there.  The slips were tiny, and very close together.  Most of the time, there were no trees or even shrubs separating the spots.  Campers there have a much smaller personal bubble that we were used to!   We used caravan parks when we needed a shower, but weren't quite ready for a full on bed and breakfast or hotel.  This was one of the nicer caravan parks.  The spots were extremely generous, everything was modern and well maintained, and the view was incredible!  Nagles in Doolin: 

Another option was wild camping!  To me, this was the most exciting option, but not always the most practical due to lack of an onboard toilet. Remember that 5 gallon bucket I mentioned earlier? Well I also packed a seat to fit it, and liner bags.  This was a last resort, and worked better for the gals than for the guy.  Using the Park4Night app on our phones, we found a few great places to park where we were either all alone, or only with a couple of other camper vans.  A few of them had public toilets close by.  Some were right on the beach, in the middle of a golf course, at the start of a trail head, or in an overflow parking area behind a pub.  All of them were free!  This was the part of our vacation that made it really feel like an "adventure."  These were the best "wild" spots we used - one in the mountains, and the other right on the ocean: 

When we needed a break from camping, we booked a BnB or checked into a hotel.  Both were expensive options, because they set a rate per person.  You would think someplace was a good price, but then remember that you had to multiply it x3, and suddenly it wasn't such a great deal anymore. The BnBs were the only time we really interacted with people, so that added to the value.  The hotels were nothing to get excited about, and none of them had A/C, so HOT!  

Our daughter polishes rocks, so the beaches were a big attraction.  We stopped at a whole lot of ruins, because almost every town had one.  And the weather was great! After the few rain showers we had, we usually got rainbows!  What more could you ask for? 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, the trip was a success, and we would do it again in a heart beat.  But it really did make me wish that VW had released the versions of their last few generations of camper vans in America (The California Series).  We have been missing out!  The ID Buzz might get there some day, but it is not there yet.  In the end, we were happy to come home to our Metris, and are looking forward to our next stop down the road here in the USA.