Skip to content
Lough Mardal Eco Lodge, Ballintra, County Donegal

Photographs by Lough Mardal Eco Lodge, used with permission.

Lough Mardal Eco Lodge

Ballintra, County Donegal, Ulster

Skydome yurts and shepherd's huts on the shore of a Donegal lake, lit by lantern and candle.

Why we love it

The yurts here are properly off-grid — no switch on the wall, just lanterns and candles — which changes an evening more than any amount of design does. They sit on the shore of Lough Mardal, near Ballintra in south Donegal, alongside shepherd's huts and a main lodge for anyone who wants a plug socket after all.

Open all year, which in Donegal means you can take the winter version: short days, long weather, and a lake with nobody on it.

Best for: a night with no electric light in it

Worth knowing

  • The yurts and hut are off-grid — lantern and candlelight, an en-suite compost toilet, and showers over in the communal lodge building.
  • Quiet time from 11pm, and no non-resident visitors during your stay unless pre-approved.
  • It is ninety acres of bogland: the lodge tells guests to bring sensible waterproof walking or hiking boots.

The practicalities

Check in
From 3pm
Check out
By 11am
Bring
  • Sensible waterproof walking or hiking boots, for the peatland
Included
  • A wood-burning stove and a full supply of firewood
  • Crisp white linen, heavy duvets and Donegal woollen tweed blankets
  • Cotton towels
  • Rechargeable lanterns
  • Hot water bottles
  • Refillable glass bottles for the well water
Extras
  • Dog, in a pet-friendly yurt — €20 per stay, one dog per yurt
  • Child in a yurt — €30, maximum two
  • Lost key — €40

What is around it

Towns

  • Donegal Town

Days out

  • Slieve League
  • Glenveagh National Park
  • St John's Point
  • Muckross Head
  • Maghera

Where it is

See every place on one map →

Checked August 2026 · We re-verify prices and opening every quarter.

If you like this, you’ll like these

  • The Living Room Treehouses, near Machynlleth, Powys
    Cabin

    The Living Room Treehouses

    near Machynlleth, Powys · Sleeps 2–5

    The original Welsh eco treehouses: six wooden hideaways in a hidden valley on the edge of Eryri (Snowdonia).

    £££

    • Off-grid
    • Dark skies
    • Dog-friendly

    Checked

  • Agriturismo Montelovesco, Perugia, Umbria
    Cabin

    Agriturismo Montelovesco

    Perugia · Sleeps 2–11

    A family agriturismo in the Umbrian hills, running on its own photovoltaic array.

    Check site for latest prices

    • Family-run
    • Organic farm
    • Solar-powered

    Checked

  • Hinterlandes, Lorton Valley, Cumbria
    Cabin

    Hinterlandes

    Lorton Valley, Cumbria

    A fully off-grid hidden cabin (and a converted double-decker bus) that periodically moves location in the quiet north-western fells.

    ££

    • Off-grid
    • Stargazing skylight
    • Wood-fired heating

    Checked

€€

per night

Check site for latest prices →