A budget break in Scotland

Traveling to Scotland can be quite expensive especially for those traveling from countries where the currency exchange rate is not very favorable. There are however more cost effective ways to see Scotland, ways of getting more bang for you buck.

The two highest expenses on any trip abroad are usually the flights and the accommodation, so if you want to save money these are the places to start.

If you a traveling from Europe then there are a good selection of budget flights run by Ryanair and Easyjet which offer bargain flights from £25 each way. If you are from outside of Europe then you can still find bargains, it just takes a little research. You can use a website like Expedia to find various flights and they often give reasonable rates. Remember that traveling in May-Aug will be more expensive as those are the summer months. You may look at booking a flight in April or September which are both outside of the peak rates but offer decent weather.

Also book flights as far in advance as possible, ideally 6-8 months as you often get cheaper rates. You may want to check which airlines fly to Scotland from your country and be on the look out for any special offers they may have (these tend to happened in Jan and April). Always check the airlines official site before booking as they often guarantee that you will get the best fare from them (this is not true of all airlines, so compare the airline price to a comparison website like Expedia).

Now that you have your flights its on to accommodation and again it is good to book early but also better to book online. Many online accommodation websites offer preferential rates and special offers for accommodation that you don’t get if you just turn up at the hotel. Many of the top hotels run seasonal promotions which are well worth checking out and again if you travel outside the peak months you will find accommodation cheaper.

If you are booking a hotel then Expedia offers a good selection of hotels but you may also want to consider other types of accommodation such as a hostel or bed and breakfast. Both offer considerably lower prices than hotels especially in main city areas such as Edinburgh.

A hostel is great for younger travelers and they are often equipped with great facilities such as free internet and even sometimes free meals! If you are traveling alone it is a great way to meet people from all around the world. The hostels often have excellent city or town center locations which are ideal for sightseeing and with prices as low as £12 you wont find cheaper accommodation.

If you are traveling with a family or don’t like the thought of bunk beds and sharing a room with 10 other people then a bed and breakfast is probably more suitable. Again they are often very reasonably priced and they include breakfast each morning and a more personalized service. They are a popular form of accommodation and depending on where you stay they can sometimes offer better quality accommodation than a budget hotel. The Scottish Tourist Board rate bed and breakfasts from 1-5 star like a hotel which should give an indication of the standard of accommodation provided.

The main place to book hostels is from Hostelworld they also have some bed and breakfasts available. A good website for finding a variety of accommodation is Rooms in Scotland which has Hostels, Bed and Breakfasts and Hotels available to book.

Now that you have your accommodation and Flights there are still further ways to save money. Some attractions can be very expensive; especially castles but they are a variety of free attractions available throughout Scotland. Most of the museums a free to visit and in Edinburgh and Glasgow there are some excellent exhibitions on display.

If you are planning on visiting a lot of castles or abbeys then you may want to look into the Historic Scotland Explorer Pass. This pass is offers as a 3, 7 or 10 day pass and for one set fee you get free entry to Historic Scotland owned properties such as Edinburgh and Stirling Castle for the duration of your pass. This can save quite a lot of you are planning a trip to multiple locations in Scotland.

Finally if you are using public transport to get around Scotland there are another couple of money saving tips. Firstly if you are traveling by train it is often cheaper to buy tickets in advance (ideally around a month) and you can do this on Scotrails website. It can also be cheaper to sometimes buy 2 single tickets rather than a return, so always check the cost of both fares.

If you are traveling by bus there are regional tickets which can save you money depending on where you are in Scotland. In a major city like Edinburgh or Glasgow you can buy a day pass which gets you unlimited bus travel within the city for the day. In fife you can get a Fife Day rider which gets you unlimited bus travel within Fife for the day. In the Highlands CityLink runs many bus routes and it is cheaper to buy a ticket online a couple of days in advance of travel. Also if you are planning to travel between cities on the bus then check the Megabus website, they offer fares from a couple of pounds between Glasgow and Edinburgh and many other routes.

Cheap Hotels in Edinburgh
Dozens of Hostels and Cheap Hotels in Edinburgh