This was a van

Good reasonable cost and basic but good friendly service

Stayed in March 2025

Toilet and shower facilities did not work, water tank was leaking from day one. Refilled it but no use. Disappointed as I had specifically requested these facilities on board..which meant we had to stay in more campsites than wild camp as needed to be near facilities. Fridge was temperamental, only worked sometimes. Missing switches for fridge and cooker..was still able to use gas with lighter. The van needs maintenance work, I know they are old but could do with a revamp..cheaper than most other companies but disappointing when you pay and request for something you don't get..doesn't start up easily- again retro van. If you can put these things aside and not allow them spoil your holiday which we managed to do it was a good experience as we made it out own and made lots of memories. Check in and out was easy enough but staff did try charge extra for parking which said was covered on site. This was a hassle as I had to find and show staff where it had said that. This distracted me from checking van over thoroughly before setting off and made me feel uncomfortable. Staff were a bit disorganised in that regard. Checkout was self service as it was Sun so had to wait on deposit but did receive no problem couple days later.

The freedom to be able to go where you want we had a great week travelling around if you can go without luxury, it is a retro van so not very comfortable.

Stayed in July 2024

Would have gone for a bigger model if I was back again

Very happy with Scooby. The great benefit was moving around. Travelled down to wexford and up the coast back to dublin

Stayed in April 2024

Couple of maintenance issues but can be easily resolved.

Good on fuel and reliable van, had everything we needed for a few days on the road.

Stayed in October 2023

it’s really only comfortable for two people to sleep in. didn’t use cooktop because the fumes from the propane were too strong inside

awesome to have lodging and vehicle all in one

Stayed in August 2023

The vans are not really properly maintained, so many thing are in a bad shape.

The van was a classic old school diesel. Old but reliable.

Stayed in July 2023

There was small issues/broken things in the car (nothing to do with driving, but the living area). As a car it worked fine with no issues. The one we had called Tammy would fit maximum of two people in my opinion (to sleep in). The cars are, as advertised, indeed retro so my tip would be to make sure everything works and that you have all the pieces for beds before you leave the site.

Price was good. The staff was excellent. If you are unfamiliar with driving on left side of the road, the location is great for doing a couple of practice laps up and down the road.

Stayed in July 2023

Scooby isn’t easy to drive and needed water twice a day to avoid overheating

Good guys renting it, and willing to help you with anything. The van was clean and comfortable to sleep

Stayed in April 2023

There is a heavy problem to find a place for overnight staying at some areas, mainly outside of parks. It is recommended to Plan your trip in advance.

We enjoyed the old camper very much. It is a retro car, so don’t be surprised that it is an old fashion car, but very well maintained. The technical problems during the check in were quickly solved and fixed. Very friendly owner, he gave us everything we needed for our trip. We had no problem during the check-in and check out. Be careful by planning your trip; the streets and roads are narrow, the average speed is very low. You can use the highway, the highway feels already included in the price. The quality of roads are very good. It is allowed to stay overnight on the way.

Stayed in September 2022

Specifically Van #1 Scooby: The driver’s seat is unable to adjust as the kitchen cabinet is fixed in place behind it - if you’re tall you will not have a comfortable drive. Combine that with the fact that these vans are indeed retro (30+ years old) and require some manual use of the clutch - you have a tricky drive. The ad says that it sleeps 4, if you look at the photos you’d soon see that’s an overstatement. The pop-up tent was old, worn & torn so putting someone (a child/children due to the size) up on that platform would make me feel terrible! It would be cold and damp. We didn’t use the fridge as we were afraid of running the van battery flat and being stuck somewhere at our own expense. So to use that/other electrics/heating you need to be at a campsite. We chose to free camp and go without these items. No TV in the van (not an issue for us, just not as described). The descriptions just seem to be a bit ambitious for what is actually provided - so inspect the photos and be a bit pragmatic.

Friendly service, available at the times described for pick-up/drop-off. Deposit returned quickly. Renting a camper allowed us to travel around Ireland and see a lot more on a budget.

Stayed in September 2022

The renting site is quite far from the airport, so we had to pay taxi to get us there, maybe it is possible for the owner to get a transport for the guests. On the other hand there is supposed to be a train station nearby so you could reach it with public transport.

My Mum and I were renting one camper because of the Garth Concert. Compared to available Hotel rooms the camper was really affordable so we gave it a shot. First impression was mixed, we didnt know what we had to expect. When the owner arrived, I was glad and happy. He is competent and could anwer all questions I had. Very good feeling afterwards. Due to the concert and all the visitors we weren´t able to find a suitable camping site so we just stood nearby the croke park, that was not exactly good for comfort but perfect for what we needed. When renting a van, don´t forget to think of camping sites you want to stay, because there you will have heating, sanataries and electricity. All in all it was a great and different experience and for 2 persons it was perfectly fine. But don´t forget to think that they are vintage cars, no high end luxury.

Stayed in September 2022

Old van that was dirty when given to us. The battery died after first night, they brought us a different van. No heat as advertised. We had many difficulties with the van/company during the trip, but they went out of their way to make up for our unpleasant experience and resolve the situation after we returned the van. Caution, the response given to my to my review from the company is completely false.

It was nice having the freedom to explore Ireland on our own time.

Stayed in April 2022

nothing

lovely to drive by yourself and pick random spots to camp

Stayed in November 2024

Unfortunately, the campervan was not in best shape. A burst hose-pipe risked cutting short the trip, with other issues related to the vehicle's gearbox also acting up during our 5 day rental period. While some things can happen despite best preparations, it felt that the campervan fell far short of the expectations, with a rusted hole around the windscreen also meaning that some of our belongings got wet overnight. Apart from this, it became apparent that there are policies in place related to top speed of the vehicle. While in the vehicle there is a sticker with an apparent speed limit, there was no where noted in the terms and conditions that this top speed is the limit with which the vehicle can be driven, It emerged that the company monitors and tracks your whole trip, while imposing a fine that were not aware of from their end (it was not a speeding ticket, rather a company imposed fine to going over a speed limit that they imposed).

We travelled to Ireland and planned to use a campervan primarily to enjoy the freedom that a campervan can offer. The stunning views, villages and cities that Ireland has to offer, which were made more accessible and enjoyable with the flexibility a campervan could offer!

Stayed in August 2024

Retro camper hire offered me a €50 refund if I posted a 10 star review, they are paying for their good reviews!! I was overcharged for bedding by €30 and after driving for 5 hours we discovered we weren’t even given pillows. I ended up paying 40 euros per person to rent a dirty sleeping bag. I contacted Retro camper hire about this and asked for a refund and they stopped communicating with me after 2 emails. During our 6 day rental the van broke down twice. The accelerator cable snapped due to it being bodged with a bicycle brake cable and we had a blow out on a rear tyre. After the blow out I realised that the tyre was defective when we picked it up from them. The tyre blow out ended up costing me nearly 700 euros. Eventually I became so concerned about the state of the van so I had a good look over it as would do if I was inspecting a customer’s car. (I am a car mechanic) I found lots of problems due to very poor cheap fixes, the worst being with the suspension and steering, the vehicle should not be on the road, it is dangerous. I have tried to write up everything here that I found wrong but with only 1991 characters, there isn’t enough space. From a comfort point of view, the beds are tiny, only 60cm wide and very uncomfortable, bear in mind the drivers seat makes up half of one of the beds, despite the vehicle having a mk5 transit face-lift conversion, this vehicle is actually a mk4 transit so the drivers seat is almost 40 years old – would you want to sleep on a 40 year old mattress? The bed on the drivers side isn’t full length as the steering wheel is in the way. The privacy curtain has been moved from the windscreen to just behind the front seats, this means the curtain is dangling across your waist when you’re lying down and the curtain is pulled across. The pop up roof leaks onto the right hand side bed when it rains and it pops up when driving in windy conditions. From reading other reviews we are not the only ones to have this type of experience.

Ireland is beautiful and the ability to free camp in a camper van is great.

Stayed in August 2024

Fridge position. Need to watch out for your head.

Freedom to roam and stay where you like comfortably and flexible. Pickup and return was really easy and the staff was kind and helpful.

Stayed in October 2024

We did not receive clear instructions on how to set up the campervan, the table was broken and we could not use it, the tv did not work, the remote had disintegrated batteries in it, it was not clean and the drivers side would not open with the key, we had to open it from the inside. It was definitely not worth the price we paid.

Stayed in August 2024

Only issues arrived after the return of the vehicle. Deposit came back 15 days after drop off after they claimed it was processed already (which wasnt the case). Wont be using again due to the customer service.

These vans are exactly as stated, real head turners and its great to see them still on the roads. Just be mindful that there may be no power steering and can be a little difficult to manoeuvre.

Stayed in September 2024

Very kind People and a nice campervan! We really enjoyed exploring beautiful Ierland.

Stayed in September 2024

Disappointing!

Had potential to be great!

Stayed in August 2024

Betsy, our van, was old. The driver's seat was stuck in the highest elevated position, which made reaching for the hand brake quite a challenge! The side mirrors are usable, but the left hand one is cracked and stuck in an awkward position, while the right hand one moved occasionally. The 12v charger on the dash is worn so our sat nav connection kept coming loose. There is no TV set. That said, the water worked well, and nearly all the interior lights worked, and the beds were acceptable. There was a missing curtain on one of the rear doors, but we used a towel, so that was OK. A significant issue was the noise of the engine, which meant that we mostly couldn't hear the music from the radio (only one speaker working) and had to raise our voices to hear each other. Essentially, the campervan worked and did what an old (nearly 30 years) campervan does. It got us around Ireland, and provided a home for five days. It wasn't perfect, but it had charm, and it brought out the best in us, and ultimately we had a memorable and enjoyable holiday. Each to their own what they do. But if you go into hiring from Retro Camper Hire with a positive attitude, prepared for minor issues which you resolve yourself, knowing there'll be back up from the company for major issues, and are not expecting everything to work smoothly, let alone being luxury, then you're likely to have a grand time. We did.

The folks at Retro Camper Hire are friendly and supportive. Though old and somewhat tatty and noisy, Betsy the van got us around, and we became fond of her. Overall, despite the various problems with the van, we enjoyed the experience. We are keen to have a campervan holiday again - though we'd likely be looking to pay a bit more for a more up to date and reliable model. The girl at reception was polite, cheerful, helpful, and the pick up was quick and easy, as was the drop off. We had a problem when the radiator sprang a leak, and phoned support. The guy there was very reassuring and helpful. It was clear we couldn't fix the leak ourselves, and he said to call out the AA. We actually wanted to carry on, rather than have our holiday disrupted by the van being taken to a garage, so he allowed us to carry on driving by topping up the radiator and keeping an eye on it. And he phoned back later to check we were OK. And we were allowed extra time for dropping off the van on the last day because we had to stop a couple of times to put more water in. Betsy appears to be the oldest van the company have. It also appears to be the cheapest one to hire. You pays your money and makes your choice. With a positive attitude yourself, and support from the company, Retro Camper Hire can make for a cheap and memorable experience.

Stayed in August 2024

Very clean & upkeep on maintenance was good, wasn’t worried.

Stayed in August 2024

Campers are very old and very basic , but I suppose you get what you pay for , I’m a 1st time camper so expected more , if I was to do agin I would definitely get a newer camper

good location and helpful staff , price was good on booking .com

Stayed in August 2024

We couldn’t get the water or heating to work we managed fine as they had facilities on our campsite

The bed was very comfortable

Stayed in August 2024