Hostels are no longer the stuff of drab dormitories, curfews and cold water. Sarah Marriott describes a fun way to get to the heart of Ireland which is not too hard on the pocket.
The gypsy caravan is warm, cosy and - best of all - there's no horse to worry about because it doesn't move. The caravan is safely tucked under an apple tree in the orchard of an independent hostel.
We all complain about the price of going on holiday in Ireland but it doesn't cost a fortune if you stay in the independent hostels dotted all over the country.
Forget the image of hostels with echoing dormitories, curfews, cold-water showers and forbidding wardens; most independent hostels are warm, comfortable, friendly and open 24 hours a day.
Many have private rooms for couples and families as well as dormitories and camping spaces - and charge between €10 and €25 per person a night.
Despite improvements to hostels over the past five years, they seem to be more popular with foreign visitors than Irish residents. "Say hostel to an Irish person and they think down-and-out because we're brought up with B&Bs and hotels. Irish people only use hostels in groups or if they've travelled abroad," says Leo O'Donnell who runs Dooey Hostel in Glencolumbkille, Co Donegal. "Sometimes we have so many doctors and nurses from England, Italy and Germany that we could open a hospital."
Vera and Dieter Jacobs, a Belgian couple with three young children, tour Ireland every year, staying in independent hostels.
"We travel in a big camper van but normal campsites have no kitchens or community rooms," says Vera.
"My favourite hostels are the ones with a bar so we can have a drink and listen to music while the kids sleep outside in the van. I liked the one in Charleville, because the children can play in the sports hall. And they're cheap - one hostel in Beara only charged us €12 a night."
But things are changing, she says. "Last year we met a lot of people who said Ireland was too expensive and they wouldn't be back. This year, most of the people we've met are from Northern Ireland or England."
The remote location of some hostels is one attraction. Hidden down an overgrown lane outside Dunmanway in west Cork, the Shiplake Mountain Hostel - where gypsy caravans cost €27 a night - is nothing like the traditional idea of a hostel.
The heart of the stone farmhouse is the old-fashioned kitchen where you can end up chatting for hours with people from around the world - it also has a garden with hammocks, a cosy living room with a log burner, and lots of information on local walks and drives. You don't even need to cook; meals and home-made bread can be ordered from the German couple who run this organic hideaway.
Hostels often reflect the local culture, environment or history, says Peter Crossan of Independent Hostel Owners. Many hostel buildings started out as something else - a flax mill, a water mill, a monastery, a presbytery - and are oozing with character. J.M. Synge is said to have based Playboy of the Western World on the exploits of the man who, in 1894, attempted to burn down what is now The Valley House Hostel on Achill Island.
The hostel has a faded Big House grandeur with a grand piano and many original furnishings - and regular trad sessions are held in the courtyard bar.
Each hostel is different: at Corcreggan Mill in Co Donegal, you can sleep in converted railway carriages; in Schull, its an Alpine-style wooden lodge; Rolf's in Baltimore, Co Cork, is well-known for its restaurant while Russagh Mill in Skibbereen, Co Cork is an adventure centre run by Mick Murphy, one of the first Irishmen to climb Everest.
"Hostels are very successful because people like the community setting and the friendliness," says Peter Crossan. "Visitors want a bed, a shower and to cook in a clean safe environment. Without needing to hang out a shamrock, it's about people being friendly."
Affordability is another attraction. Lotte and Jan Bäck from Sweden started their one-week holiday staying in B&Bs with their two teenage children but switched to independent hostels because of price.
"We stayed in a B&B in Dingle but it was over €120 a night. It's more expensive than Sweden," says Lotte. She also likes being able to use a kitchen: "A full Irish breakfast is too fattening to eat every day".
Hostels suit sociable, independent people, says Claire Dejong of Independent Holiday Hostels.
"People choose them because of the atmosphere. About 50 per cent of travellers are alone so hostels are a great place to meet other people.
"They're also more casual than B&Bs, so people don't feel they're staying in someone's home.
"We get all kinds of people from all over the world. We had one couple from Canada who were coming on their honeymoon. Elderly people often call to book; the oldest was a 79-year-old woman from the UK."
