Camper van or mobile home with Automatic Transmisson, where to rent?

Last year we travelled around Scotland with a camper van Automatic Transmission (AT). We had a wonderful time. W\e rented a Fiat/Westfalia Amudsen 640 in Edinburgh from a rental company, specialised in AT.

This year we like to rent a camper van in (Northern) Ireland.
We asked already many rental companies. But no one  rent Camper van or mobile homes with Automatic Transmission.

Who knows a company who does rent small camper vans with AT?
We do like to have a toilet, small kitchen and standard beds in the car.

Saskia and Jan
Groningen, The Netherlands.

Hallo Saskia en Jan,

I'm delighted to hear that you want to travel around Ireland with a camper van.

To begin with, I'd suggest you to read this article about camping and caravaning in Ireland. Do you already have specific itineraries in mind ? 

To rent a camper van or a small camping car with automatic transmission, you can take a look at the rental section of the Camping Ireland website. The rental companies often offer the option, as there are many foreign visitors who don't use manual cars.

I am sure other community members will have great suggestions.

Een hele prettige dag gewenst,

Antoine

Dear Saskia and Jan,

Great to hear that you are planning a trip to Northern Ireland! 

Causeway Campers are based in Portrush, a seaside town on the Causeway Coastal Route.  They have a rental fleet of VW campervans and motorhomes.  I contacted the owner regarding the hire of a campervan with automatic transmission and he told me that he was getting one to add to his fleet in March 2018.  If you would like to explore this option further please take a look at their web site: www.causewaycampers.com or email: hire@causewaycampers.com.  Causeway Campers have 8 pick-up points in Ireland, 4 of them at airports and 2 at seaports.

The Causeway Coastal Route is a great way to start off your exploration of Northern Ireland and it stretches between the cities of Belfast and Derry in the north west.  A campervan would be an excellent way to see the beautiful, rugged coastline with its long golden beaches and varied attractions including the Giant's Causeway, Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge, Bushmills Distillery, Dunluce Castle and the Glens of Antrim.  You have the freedom of the open road and can stop off for photo opportunities any time you like!  For more information please visit our web site: www.visitcausewaycoastandglens.com 

You will find when travelling around Northern Ireland that everywhere is within easy access and that by driving even a short distance, you can experience changing scenery and many places of interest.  There are other beautiful regions to explore including The Mourne Mountains, the Lakes of Fermanagh, Strangford Lough, Armagh and The Sperrins.  For more information and ideas please visit: www.discovernorthernireland.com 

All the best with your preparation for the trip!
Anne

Dear Antoine and Anne,
We know some parts of ireland. My wife lived in Galway in the eighties for half a year  and we hitch hiked around Galway and the southen part in the nineties. We like to travel now around the nother part of Ireland and around Nortern Ireland
I did read the article about camping. I did checked the list of rental companies and mailed t almost all of them. some of them had some interesting tips. 
To my surprise no one offered us a camper with Automatic Transmission. So there could be a huge market for it due to  many retired elderly people (although I'm 53, not too old I hope) and Americans and Canadians who are are used to AT's and like to go back to their roots. The company with a big supply of RV with only AT near Edinburgh (we used last year)  was sold out for months. 

Thanks Anne for the address. We will contact them. 

Jan

Hi Jan, 

Happy to read Antoine and Anne were able to point you in the right direction. You and your wife are quite the adventurers! :-)

I'm sorry to read you weren't able to find any camper van or mobile home with automatic transmission so far. I would suggest contacting the Car Rental Council of Ireland. They have a list of members on their site that would provide you with an excellent way to continue your search.

It sounds like you are well on your way to finding a proper solution and I'm sure you will have a great time in Northern Ireland. Have you checked the Tourism Ireland website? They have listed several routes through Northern Ireland.  

I hope you enjoy your time here on the island.

Groetjes, 
Annelies

Dear Annelies and any other interested in Campers with AT,

Thanks for your reply. The car rental website shows only a few rental companies for camper vans and all of them I mailed to. Like I replied to the ones on the bigger list for camper van rental companies on Ireland.com.

Good news: Causewaycampers will have a camper van with AT this year, although it is quite a big one (we wonder not too big for 2 people like us and like to drive along small roads). We are talking to them right now

In Holland there are websites with private owners who rent their camper vans. Any one knows about something like this for Ireland?

But I still think there is a big market for Rental companies to enlarge the supply with AT's.
Our story will be continued...

Jan

Hi Jan,
had a look online and came across the below companies offering AT vans ex Dublin
https://www.spaceshipsrentals.co.uk/campervan-hire/premium-camping-car/
https://www.wickedcampers.co.uk/

Fingers crossed you will be able to locate a van.

Hi Christoph

I asked 6 companies in Ireland which rents campervan/motorhomes. No one had one with Automatic Transmission.

Spaceship rentals was the only who replied and said they would have one in 2018. But those rental are big normal cars. So no toilet, fixed beds and not much extra space. 
So far the only one, also just starting in 2018, is CausewayCampers. They offer from march 2018 now 1  with AT but that is a very big motorhome for several people and therefor also more expensive.  Far too big for us and for the small roads and area we like to go visit.

Rental companies: there is really a market for you!!

As I mentioned before, the company near Edinburgh was sold out for many months up to October and they had a big range from busses to huge motorhomes.

jan

Hi Jan, 

Sorry to hear you have yet to find a solution. Have you thought about renting a regular AT car and sleep in B&B's along the way? Ireland has accommodation to suit everyone. You could also rent mobile homes on a number of sites throughout the country or - if you still want to experience waking up in the great Irish outdoors -  you could consider glamping! 

Hope this helps!

Groetjes, 
Annelies

No. It is lovely to travel around a country with a car or public transport and stay in B&B's etc. We do it regularly, like last Xmas in Colombia.
But.... 
traveling around a country (like Ireland) with a campervan / mobile home is a wonderful and special way of exploring the country side and feel completely free where to go and to stay. And meet people in a different way.
We did it around the world. Camper van lovers: go to Japan. Cheap, public toilets are clean, free and 24 hours a day open and there is even special parking spots around national roads (with special signs) where you can park and stay overnight.