Where to go in Europe on a budget?

Hi everyone!

I'm new to the TT forums (I know, you've all heard that a million times before), and I have some questions for the more experienced travelers out there. But before I ask my questions, here's a little info on my plans for my trip.

I'm a 21 year old female, who's planning to leave for Europe from the U.S. at the end of May. I'll be buying an open jaw ticket, and staying in hostels during my trip. I'll be traveling on a small budget of 1,200 Euros. This is also my first trip to Europe, and I'll be doing it solo. I've also realized from reading some of the posts on here, that bigger is definitely not better when it comes to visiting Europe. So I'll just be visiting one or two countries.

My first question is, what's a good country/countries for someone like me to visit who's a big outdoors person (kayaking, scuba diving, hiking, etc.), but who's also a huge history/museum buff? Just looking for some suggestions on this, but if it's too broad of a question, some suggestions on what country or region is your favorite would be very helpful also.

My second question is with that small of a budget to travel on, how long would you all recommend I make my trip for?

Thanks for your time!

I would consider buying a return ticket. It is going to work out cheaper than two open jaw tickets.

I'm assuming your budget does not include flights and insurance?

Transatlantic return is going to work out about 800 Euro (flying into a major city). That leaves you around 400 Euro. That is going to get you about 10 days in Western Europe. Eastern Europe is cheaper, but you are going to spend more money getting there. You are not going to be able to afford activities like scuba on that budget. You could do something like fly into Paris, a few days there then travel to the French countryside for some hiking/outdoors stuff.

My honest suggestion would be to re-think your plans. Save up some more money and visit Europe when you can afford to spend 3-4 weeks minimum. Spending 800 Euro on flights to spend 10 days somewhere does not seem economical.

Actually it's 1,200 Euros total that I'll have to spend over there after I buy my flights. Sorry, I should've included that in the post.

If you have an oen jawed, then go home when you have little money left.

No kayaking on your budget.:(

Eat at little mom and pop cafes in paved alleyways. Its where locals shun tourist prices. Also kabob shops. They have other great dishes too.

have fun, not schedules.

BTW museums can cost $12.

I would choose Spain and Portugal.

Travelling from A to B internally will take a fair bit of your budget and visiting museums galleries that charge an entry fee will also kill you.

I would suggest between 14 to 21 days. It really does depend on what you do/drink/eat. Do not listen to the naysayers that say wait until you save enough money as it is not long enough. A short time is better then not going at all.

In Spain compare trains to Buses as buses can be a fair bit cheaper (not always). As our Universal Bacpacker friend said, dorm accommodation in Hostels will be cheapest and breakfast is mostly included.

Thank you guys so much for your input on my trip! I appreciate it a lot!

Gawkabout: that's ok about the kayaking, as long as I get to go travel for a little while I'll be happy :)

Backpackeruniverse: The hostels with dormitories was kind of what I had been looking at, I just wasn't sure if I should book in advance or not. But I'll definitely check out hihostels.com...thanks for all your tips! Greatly appreciated!

Gerardkenny: I agree, a short time is definitely better than not going at all! Any suggestions on what cities to go to in Spain and Portugal?

In Summer definitely book your hostels ahead. The good and cheap ones usually book out the earliest. Read reviews on site like www.hostelworld.com to get an idea on which ones are better to stay at.

Have a look at overnight trains for some longer distances also as it will save on paying for accommodation and not waste a day travelling when you only have a short amount of time.

In Spain my favourites are Seville in the heartland of Flemenco dancing. great archetecture and a fantastic vibe to the place. But it can be 40 degrees celsius or more during summer.

San Sebastian in Basque country. Packed with little Tapas bars, great beach and the independent fighting spirit of the Basque people.

Porto in Portugal I found really photogenic. Portugal makes me feel like I am back travelling in South America for some reason.

Barcelona is a favourite with most people and Madrid is under rated. A day trip out of Madrid to Segovia i would also recommend. Even Toledo on a day trip is good.

Have a great trip

Portugal is cheapest. go there if you're tempted. its off theusual tourist routes, between other countries.

Thanks for the tips, gerardkenny! That gives me a lot to think about for my trip!

Thanks again to you too, gawkabout!

thanks for your thanx.
We don't get that much.

Lotta times, we don't hear how it went or what they learned on their own.

Backpacking made me the listener,

I should have been as a salesman.

Any school is only the bricks....
If we ever quit learning, we may as well channel surf forever.

I'd rather have that full life, they mumble about at funerals.

Talk mostly with foreigners. A question about street sense is a great ice breaker.

It too, is a folk art. Like customised cars in da states.

That's what I'm looking for on this venture...to become a better listener, and to also keep learning about life and it's lessons :).

Many many many years ago when I travelled round Europe I used an Inter-rail pass. To keep things cheap, when moving between countries we would look for overnight trains (included then in the pass) as that way we saved on the costs of staying somewhere. We didn't lose any time as you depart in evening, sleep on the train and wake up in the morning where you want to get to. OK, you didn't get fantastic sleeper cabins but we were young and sleeping in seats (or across several seats was fine. Meant be "bounced" back and forward across Europe a fair bit but ... great fun.

Well Eastern Europe is going to work out a lot cheaper than Western Europe. So I am going to suggest somewhere in Eastern Europe, based on your budget, and say Bosnia and Montenegro. Not too difficult to get by on 20-30 Euros a day in these places. Plenty of history in Bosnia, plus a few museums in Sarajevo, amazing countryside and Mostar could be the most scenic place in Europe. Then Montenegro is great for countryside and trekking, check out Kotor. You could add on some other destinations to the Balkans/Eastern Europe on top of this.

If you want to visit Western Europe, I might suggest flying into London. Very expensive city, but a lot of the museums are free, plus France is only a Eurostar journey and the rest of Europe a cheap budget flight away.

Hi, deimosp! It does sound like those overnight trains are a pretty good way to get around, from what you and some others have said about them. And I really like that you guys who've been commenting on the post have pointed out that you don't waste a travel day at all. That's a huge benefit for me on this trip, since my stay won't be as extended as I would like. Thanks for the input!

james2020: I had considered traveling to Eastern Europe, mainly to Romania. I'd never thought about Montenegro or Bosnia though. That would be fun to go a little more off the beaten path. Thanks for the ideas!

I would suggest Spain and Portugal. Also the last thing you want to do when going to Europe on a budget is kayaking and scuba. Save that for the Caribbean and back home. Europe is for historical sightseeing and experiences you can't get back home.

Stay in dorm room hostels..less then $20 a night and eat mostly supermarket style. Pack light and be mobile. Your money will be better spent on transport by bus which altho cheap can add up. At 1200 Euro that should take you 24 days at 50 Euro per day, you may even be able to reduce that with careful budgeting and planning.

Romania is not a bad option also. But would probably cost more to fly to.

I would stick to Spain/Portugal to begin with and then on a future trip head to Romania.

Marichel1981: I think you misunderstood the post...I wasn't saying I was going to go scuba diving or kayaking, I was just giving an example of the different kinds of activities I like to do so I could get some good suggestions about where to go :). Sorry, I should've clarified that more :). As for Spain and Portugal, do you have any favorite cities in both those countries? Another person who had posted on here had mentioned some of his favorite cities, so I'm just trying to get some more ideas about what to see there. Thanks also for the other tips!

That was also my thinking about Romania. I figured it would be quite a bit more expensive flying into Romania than it would flying into say Portugal or London maybe. So like you said gerardkenny, I'll probably be saving that as a future trip for when I have more a little more money saved up.

I am with #14 on this one. The vast majority of Eastern Europe is cheaper than the Western part. From accommodation to eating and trains to sightseeing, you should get a lot more for your €

Greece because of the economic problems.

Istanbul.

hello I too am in the same boat as you, except I will be traveling to Europe with my sister. We will be traveling to Paris (which is kind of expensive but filled with history and lots of museums ) and Italy (which is also filled with lots of history). So I am not an experienced traveler as this will be my first trip. however I will also be going in May for two weeks. The first thing I wanted to recommend is statravel.com which has really good rates on plane tickets for people under the age of 26 and for people who are students. so you would qualify for their best rates. I got a one way ticket from Cali to London on virgin atlantic for $395 I haven't bought my return ticket yet but my options were a return ticket from Dublin to cali for 453 (with american) or a return ticket from rome to cali for 601 (with british airways)... I haven't quite planned out my whole stay but so far that is the biggest savings I have found for me. My budget is $1700...

Lennythelion & cobb: Thanks for the suggestions guys! Much appreciated! :)

Traveljazz: Italy was going to be one of my destinations also. However, I figured I'd better leave that for a future trip when I have a little more money saved up, because unfortunately that'd be just a little too expensive for me now, especially with all the things I'd love to see there :) Thanks so much for suggesting statravel.com! I checked it out, and that should save me a lot of money to book through there! Do you know how you are going to get around while you are over there yet? Like by trains or buses? Just curious as to what another shoe string traveler will be doing :)

My cheapest flight went from DFW to Frankfurt. I changed flight to Madrid. Baggage was booked right through.

Jasmyn.. let me share my 2 cents here.. idk where u would be flying from.. but Aerlingus to Dublin or Shannon is your cheapest flight option out of all... then do a lil bit of Dublin, check out Belfast if money allows, take a ferry or a cheap ryanair flight to mainland, u would like Amsterdam great fun city or Arnhem or Eindhoven, not pricy, from there hop on a train or a cheap flight to Dresden east Germany, great historic city, from there check out Prague, if u still got $$ hit up Venice and from there if u still wanna explore, hit up Croatian coast, but with that 1200 euro budget ur kinda limited so dont do sched. just have fun

Hi Jasmyn!

Like people mentioned before, Eastern Europe is the place to go for strecthing your bucks. But I lived in Spain for a summer and I consider it dirt cheap as well, basically it's only Northern Europe and the big famous cities in Europe that are expensive.

Hint: Flights from Scandinavia to USA and vice versa can be as low as 200 dollars one way. From most cities in Scandinavia you can fly on with Ryanair or, even better for Eastern Europe, Wizz Air. I flew from Gothenburg to Budapest for 20 euros last time...

Wherever you go, good luck and all the best!

I am surprised no-one has specifically mentioned Poland and Slovakia yet. Great outdoors, in Krakow and Warsaw, two of the most fascinating cities in Europe, history all over the place (a lot of it pretty grim.....) and one of the best budget places in Europe.

How much more are flights to say Warsaw than anywhere else?

I actually just did a quick search of return flights from NYC (I know I don't know that is where the OP is from but had to start somewhere) to various cities across Europe for 3 weeks landing last week of May and they were all coming in around the £650 mark; Warsaw, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Belgrade and Lisbon, London was £550 and Krakow £589. All of these were via somewhere, mostly Moscow with Aeroflot, but also via Zurich with Swiss and Dublin with Aer Lingus.

I would be getting straight to Krakow on those prices.

I would imagine it would cost around 40 Euros more to get to Poland (thinking fly into major hub then easyjet/wizzair from there to Krakow). Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine and the entire Balkans are all great destinations and a lot cheaper than Western Europe. I am suprised more people have not suggested them based on the budget of the OP

tryfan I'm Polish but the reason i didnt mention Krakow, Warsaw... overpriced especially city centers and if shes flying in the summer flights from US can be hectic on her budget. and its only pretty in summer time til mid sept. if shes keen on visiting Poland.. hit up Torun, Gdansk, Leba ( last 2 are Baltic coast cities.. gorgeous. granted she can get alot for her $ in Poland aka $1 big pints of beer but outside of museums in Krakow and old square were the fun is at or Cultural Palace in Warsaw there isnt much else. but if she ends up in Poland.. deffinately hit up Zakopane.. major mountain chain in southern part.. its gorgeous. plus james u gotta look at the fact that shes a female traveling solo, extended eastern Europe by herself is like telling her to check out middle parts of India . but agreed on the balkans on her budget, just let someone know where u headed to

You can not compare Eastern Europe in any way to India. No reason that she would not be fine in any of the places I suggested.

are u a female traveling solo and have you been to eastern Europe?? mentioning is 1 thing, experiencing is another. all those places are cheap and fine for a visit but shes gotta watch her behind 5x more than whereever shes from.. yes those places are gorgeous but they still got issues. Jasmyn i dont think anyone mentioned how long to go for.. but from my experiences on that kind of budget would be 12-21 days.

eurofun you are making no sense first you say Warsaw and Krakow are expensive and then say the OP will get a lot for their $!

I have met loads of lone girls from all over the world travelling in Poland and Eastern Europe in general and not one complained of any problems whatsoever, in fact they had more problems in some large Western European cities.

I am sorry if you have had a bad experience but I find your advice extremely negative, misguided and misplaced. Hopefully the OP will see through your prejudices.

However I whole hearted agree with you that the High Tatras are stunning on both Polish and Slovak side, as is Slovensky Raj in Slovakia.

Why would she need Two open jaw?

OP, eat at small mom and pop cafes in paved alleyways. Its where locals eat. No tourist prices there. And kabob shops.

Ask folks at next table, if they speak English. Then ask about street sense.

If you don't understand the menu, see what others are eatting and sheepishly point for the waiter. "I want what he is having."

I laugh at my speeking mistakes. They like that.
If the ask, "What did you say?'

I answer "grzlgmndnd."
Warms a crowd real quick. :)

The Tatras are not that great on either side. If you are in the area, yes, visit. But do not make a special trip to them. I have been twice in summer. Maybe in winter they are better.

Poland, for such a big European country has so little to see compared to Spain.

That is my personal opinion only.

Eurofun, welcome to Thorntree.

The cheapest countries in Europe are Armenia, Georgia (but those are really remote), Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia.
For accomodation (away from big cities) in more expensive countries, camping is cheap and popular. France has the most cheap campsites.

Thanks Gerard hehe. Tryfan maybe i was misunderstood, im not being prejudice here, yes Krakow and Warsaw can and are expensive ( on that budget ) how i know.. ( cause im from there - born ) what i meant to say that, outside of those cities she can get more for her $ and i mentioned them ie: Torun, Gdansk, Leba, Poznan, Gdynia, Malbork,( all of which are in northern/central part and if shes goin south like i said Zakopane is worth checking out, totally different world, with morskie oko ( sea eye ) or northeastern parts - Mazury.. gorgeous lakes and when she crosses that border to belarus its a whole different world.. so im not hating on anything i never said i had bad experiences i just know that region :) no matter how many lonely girls u know, everybody will have different experiences.

There's new saying in Texas;
No matter how beautiful she is
or how smart
somebody
somewhere
is tired of her shh....

Hi guys! Lots of comments since I last logged on! I have to say though, you guys have made it very hard for me to decide where to go on this adventure, lol! And I mean that as a good thing, because you guys gave me so many good suggestions and tips on what to do and where to go! :) I also have some updates for my trip below!

First, I found out that I have relatives in both Ireland (further south in Ireland is what I've been told, not sure which city yet, will find that out in the next few days), and also in London. I was told today that the relatives in both countries are willing to let me stay with them.This is great, because that'll really help my budget out! So, I've decided to travel around the UK mainly since I'll have contacts and places to stay there. My UK relatives also have friends through out both countries that are willing to let me stay at their places. So if you guys have any more favorite places in the UK that you think I should see, don't hold back! :)

Second, I should mention for those wondering where I'm flying out of, that I'm from Minnesota. So I'd be flying out of and into Minneapolis. I'm not having any problems finding cheap flights around the UK (well, most places anyway) for my departure date. Its the return flights that I'm having trouble finding a good price for. But obviously that should be expected since it'll be starting to get busy around the time I'm ready to leave (end of June most likely).

I was going to try and reply back to all of you individually for the posts you put over the last few days, but I figured that'd be a post that's WAY too long, lol. So instead, I'd just like to thank all of you guys for the information and help you've provided! I appreciate it more than you know! :)

yay Jasmyn gave birth to an idea :) check out skyauction.com for flights to/from London or other parts of England. If u end up goin to Ireland... Deffinately check out Dublin, and since u mite be going south.. it just gets gorgeous from there, try hitting western coast, ur budget will love u for it :) Belfast in N. Ireland is worth checking out too... and since u gone be there summer time.. sunlite goes on forever hehe. 1 thing about London. its really really pricey ( was there last sept ) so if u wanna enjoy ur getaway try not converting British pound prices into euros or $ its not a pretty sight in ur head. Also Dover.. its a port city in south England, ferries can take you to the main continent ( 90mins each way ), but Dover cliffs are worth checking out and lastly Scotland is in the backyard so thats worth a look.. have fun .

Favourite places in the UK? Where to start?

The coast of SW Wales.
The mountains and Castles of NW Wales.
Bath & Cotswolds.
London (obviously!)
The Lakes.
Norwich.
Liverpool.
The Highlands - Glencoe & Skye
Brighton is seriously cool.
Hay on Wye - if you like books you have to go there (although it is a pain to get to on public transport.)
Of course Bristol is the greatest city on the planet, not that I am biased or anything!

I'll stop now before I overload you!

Tryfan: Lol! That's ok, I asked for the overload! So you can keep the ideas coming! ;) Liverpool and London are for sure on my agenda. I'm a huge Beatles fan, so it's on my bucket list to go see Abbey Road and Liverpool :) The highlands would be amazing to see also.

Eurofun: Dublin and Belfast are also on my bucket list :) I may have to spend a few hard earned euros to get to see the Guinness factory..lol! The Dover cliffs I'd love to see too. So many places, so little time (and money)!

A flight in to London and out of Dublin makes sense, if you can fix your dates then should be a pretty good price.

Your main issue is that rail transport, which is most efficient, is very expensive in the UK unless you can plan in advance. The cheapest option is usually by coach with National Express or Megabus, although their services are mostly focused on London to other cities and vice versa.

I am sure you know that you will not be able to do everything and with your budget it makes sense to prioritise a smaller area. I am afraid to say that on this trip you may need to skip Scotland and N Ireland as the travel costs and or times will really dent your budget.

Something like London with a day trip down to the Kent coast for the white cliffs. Bath and the Cotswolds. LLangollen and Chester. Liverpool. NW Wales Castles and Snowdonia. Holyhead to Dublin Ferry.

Somehow I have never been to Ireland so don't have any suggestions.

If you have to get to Scotland maybe: London - Liverpool - Glasgow - Glencoe - Edinburgh flight to Belfast or Dublin. I just feel this may be out of your budget and time scale.

Of course there are loads of other options. Maybe think about a possible itinerary and post it on the UK and Ireland forum and see what feedback you get.

eastern europe is, generally, cheaper than western europe. You can also kayak there (we spent a few hours kayaking down the Vltava River in Cesky Krumlov, Czech republic) for cheap. A lot of those eastern european countries also have really interesting history - not just the normal castles-and-medieval-history that you get all over europe, but also the communist history. The Czech Republic is the only eastern european country I've had any experience in though. Food and transport is cheap (our taxi from the historical centre of Cesky Krumlov to the train station cost the equivalent of AU$6, and one night my husband and I had two courses each, a side of garlic bread, and a drink or two each for under AU$30). Accommodation is also cheap - we had a private double room with ensuite in a self-catering pension which cost something like AU$30/night for the two of us. A bed in a dorm would probably be half that, or less. I can't wait to go back and discover more of eastern europe.

Edited by: LeahMaria

Tryfan: Unfortunately I know that I won't be able to do it all. And I don't want to make the mistake of trying to do it all, and then strech myself too thin. What would think about this course of travel? Dublin (or which ever city my relatives are in, hopefully northern Ireland so its not too far to travel.) to Liverpool, Liverpool to London, and London to Amsterdam. Then fly back from Amsterdam. Is that possible with my budget? Or am I being to over ambitious? I know those are expensive cities to travel in, but if I'm staying with relatives in both Ireland and London that should save me quite a bit of money.Then I woud only have Liverpool and Amsterdam that I'd have to pay for lodging. I'll work on a better itinerary this week, and then post my travel plans, expensives for travel, lodging, etc.

Hi Jasmyn.

Whilst not commenting too much on your route, I would like to suggest that you buy any trains/bus travel in advance.

In the UK you can book trains 12 weeks in advance. This could mean that a train from Liverpool to London could cost under £15. I tend to use Eastcoast.co.uk as I have a loyalty scheme with them. If you plan to take more than a few trips on English trains it may be worth buying a 16-25 railcard (£28) which gets you a 1/3 off on all journeys.
Similarly you can book cheap travel on many bus lines in advance. The cheapest is probably megabus, who often have £1 fares. Realistically though you can expect to pay £5 for a long distance journey in the UK if booked more than a few weeks in advance.

The same could be said about ferry lines leaving from the UK - however I don't know quite as much about this.

If heading to Paris after London, Eurostar tickets can be bought for as little as £33 one way if booked in advance. This leaves from the centre of London to the centre of Paris, meaning there will be no costs getting in and out of cities from bus depot's, ports or airports.

If travelling to Spain, they have a great online booking system for trains. I believe the train provider is called renfe and you can book from up to £62 days in advance.

Whilst it is a great when travelling around to have the freedom just to make a last second decision on where to go, in the UK espicially and also in Europe, there is often a trade off between money and this luxury. In my experience, a little planning of where to go and when you can save a lot of money on transport (& thus guesthouses etc because you have your dates early) and then travel for longer.

Hope this helps!

The above poster has it right. To get the most days out of this trip you will need to plan in advance. I would suggest your absolute maximum time possible is 20 days. That budgets out at €60/day. Budget €20 per night for accommodation then let's say you have 8 nights at family so you spend €240 on accommodation. You will probably be best flying from Dublin to Liverpool and London to Amsterdam. Currently flights around that time are £19 (€24) and £29 (€36) respectively with Ryanair and Easyjet, hold luggage will be extra. A train from Liverpool to London booked in advance will be £25 (€30), this is better than a £10 coach as it only takes 2-2.5hrs not 5.5hrs.

So if you budget say €150 for you transport (I always add extra on), you have a total budget for intercity transport and accommodation of €400 (rounding up). So now you have €800 left so €40 a day for local travel, food and attractions/activities. This is right on the edge of what is possible, but it just about is. Make the most of the free attractions in London. And book your ticket from central London to the airport early as well.

So let's say you have 5 full days in Ireland, 2 in Liverpool, 4 in London and 3 in Amsterdam. Plus travel days at the start end and in between each destination gives 19 days, that should do ok.

Definitely try to narrow down where you're going. The more the travel, the more your budget will be eaten up. I spent a month trying to do everything, and really regret it. I never really got to "see" anything cause I was trying to keep up with travel companions that wanted to see everything there was to see in Europe in four weeks or less.The places that we went that I will be going back to (by myself, mind you), would be Scotland and Paris. For your purposes Scotland would be the cheaper option.

Scotland was beautiful with lots of outdoor activities, even in the big cities. Edinburgh has a fun hike to the top of Arthur's Seat, and Cragsmiller Park is really beautiful and includes a castle to tour. If going to Scotland, I'd suggest getting the "Explorer Pass." This includes admission to as many historical sights as you want within a certain time period. I think there were one day up to ten day passes. Depending on how many sites you visit you can save a lot of money, I know I did. We used ours for Cragsmiller Castle, Edinburgh Castle, and a couple of other sites and saved a lot of money compared to purchasing each admission separately. The national museum in Edinburgh is great. I could have spent an entire day there and admission is free.

Eating mostly out of supermarkets is your best bet. In Scotland they have pretty good deals that include a sandwich, side, and drink for three pounds at most markets. I also would pick up fruit, bread, hard cheese and salami that would last well in my pack. I ate that a lot. Pubs have good happy hour specials if you can plan ahead. I did well getting soup specials at happy hour for around two pounds. I also carried really good protein bars with me (like Luna bars) and that made up my breakfast a lot of the time. Or lunch if I couldn't find something affordable.

Staying in dorm style hostels is your best bet. Bring your own travel, quick-dry towel to save more money by avoiding towel rental (usually one to three pounds). You'd save a lot more money on accommodation by going during the "off" season, but that doesn't sound like a viable option for you. If you're a light sleeper but still want to save money, book into the highest number bed dorms (cheaper) and take comfortable ear plugs. This is what I did and slept fine, whereas my travel mates were woken up A LOT due to inconsiderate roommates being really loud in the middle of the night. Summer is extremely busy, so you'll want to book accommodation well in advance. August is the busiest month to visit Scotland due to the Festival. You need to book accommodation at least a year in advance to stay anywhere near Edinburgh during August.

Having a ScotRail pass was really handy for us, as we were going everywhere. This also included some buses, but be warned it's really hard to get a listing of exactly what buses are covered. We got around Edinburgh without using public transportation much at all. We stayed close to the Mile so didn't really need it and walked everywhere. Bus passes are super cheap though if you need them (like two pounds for a day pass). Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get to the train/bus. They will not wait and are never delayed. I was very frustrated with my eternally late travel companions as we missed several trains that way because they thought, "We'd only be a couple minutes late."

Going to the Isle of Skye is a must if you can. We were only there one day and I will eternally regret that fact. Tons of beautiful hiking (free) and gorgeous scenery. Public transportation on Skye is limited and only runs on certain days so you need to figure you what you're doing in advance. Also, some of the most beautiful places don't have immediate access to food, so plan accordingly. We ended up at the SkyeWalker Hostel in Portnalong. Great hostel, and such a gorgeous area!! Lots of great walking. However, I was unprepared and didn't have any food and had to beg someone for some of their groceries.

Scotland CAN be done on a budget if you're careful and do lots of planning ahead of time. Stay out of restaurants and away from guided tours. Do your own tours by studying ahead of time. Above all: Don't try to do too much.

Hai jasymin,
just read ur post .. I am curious to hear about ur travelling with that budget .
I am having same plan too..
Can u share me some ineteresting story ?