How Much Does Backpacking Scotland Actually Cost?
The UK can be a budget buster. It's not cheap - actually it's notoriously MORE expensive than the US. So a lot of people told us we were crazy when we said that we wanted to go to Scotland and stick to our budget of under $25 a day for the pair of us - that's $12.50 per person.
But, we did it! And we weren't bored for a second. We actually exceeded expectations by spending just over $10 per person per day. Here's how. Plus, advice to go even cheaper, if you want. Of course traveling so cheaply isn't for everyone, but many of our tips can be applied to any budget. Don't let the pound stirling scare you away.
Budget for 15 days: £293.68/$375
What we Spent: £264.13/$337.26
Daily Budget: £19.58/$25
Actual Daily Average: £17.61/$22.48
*note all prices are per pair unless otherwise noted - divide by 2 and add a bit if you're looking for the cost per person (it's always cheaper to travel in pairs!)
Budget Breakdown
Accommodation
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Total spent: £0/$0
Whoa now. Did we really spend no money on accommodation at all during our time in Scotland?
That is correct.
Stay with us, because this is totally possible for many people.
Now, our main goal in Scotland was to hike. Which is, honestly, one of the best reasons to go to Scotland. Of course, you could go a completely different direction and B&B hop around the country or rent a motor home, both of which would be very much fun and very expensive.
But, if you are looking to budget backpack and keep it cheap, you can very easily spend nothing on accommodation.
We were in the backcountry (in our case on the Cape Wrath Trail) for 13 nights. Thanks to the brilliant bothy system - which we will write more about - we were only in the tent for 7 of those nights. The other 6 were spent in those cozy cabins, often with a fire and jovial company. That's right - half of our time was spent in free, basic accommodation. Which is one of the reasons we love Scotland so much! Plus, wild camping is ALWAYS FREE. It is magical even when you accidentally sleep on someone's (pristinely) manicured lawn. Which, for the record, is not allowed.
Our final two nights were spent in Edinburgh with a friend (cheers Steve). If you don't happen to have friends in the UK, we're almost positive you'll be able to find a good Couchsurf in Edinburgh. If you're new to the site, check it out here. We've recently fallen in love: it's a great way to meet new people and see the city like never before. If you'd prefer a hostel, you'll likely find one for between 12 and 25 pounds.
Food
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Total spent: £58.54/$74.75
Percent of Budget: 22%
Daily average: £3.90/$4.98
Daily average while hiking: £3.20/$4.08
This budget does not include a single meal out, as we were camping most of the time and cooking in Edinburgh the rest. While we wouldn't do this in most places, we weren't stoked on Scottish food.
As you can see, if you want to cook for yourself, it's very cheap! Lidl, the budget German chain, is a godsend. If you want to throw in the occasional restaurant meal, we would suggest doing that in Edinburgh. It's a student town, and you can get dinners for under 10 pounds quite easily.
While we were camping, we ate mostly grains and sauce, with the occasional vegetable tossed in. Granola was for breakfast, and biscuits for lunch with maybe some sausage or cheese. Pretty standard backpacking fare. In Edinburgh, we ate very well - nice, full meals with lots of meat and veggies.
We also brought a tiny bit of fancy dehydrated food from our pantries. We wanted to bring enough for our whole trip, but that's another story!
Activities
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Total spending: £0/$0
The best activities in Scotland are free: the nature is truly stunning and Scotland commits to protecting access. For us, that was enough. We actually got to Edinburgh expecting to spend about $60 a day on museums and such. But this city is quite enchanting to wander around, so staring at old buildings and going for picnics proved to be very enjoyable.
Transport
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Total spent: £164/$226.24
Percent of budget: 67%
Average daily spending: £10.25/$15.08
Airport bus ticket: £4.5/$5.9 per ticket
The overwhelming portion of our budget was spent on transport in Scotland. We decided that we wanted to hike in a very rural, northerly section. This meant that it took hours to reach by train/bus/ferry.
Was it worth it? We think so. But we would legitimately consider a different route to cut cost and time on the road. We found a mix of trains and busses to be the cheapest option, while both methods are by far more affordable when booked in advance.
Edinburgh is very walkable, and public trans isn't often needed.
But here comes our biggest tip: if you really want to go cheap, try your hand at hitch hiking.
We did plenty of it over small distances in Scotland, and it was very easy and enjoyable. You still might need the occasional ferry or bus in a rural corner of the country, but it would probably be no problem at all to cut this outrageous transport budget in half. If you can take your time.
Just remember that if hitching isn't as fruitful as you had hoped you have 2 options: wait and spend less time doing what you like or suffer expensive last minute busses.
Beer
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Total spent: £4.50/$5.90
Percent of budget: 2%
Six pack (store): £4.50/$5.90
Alas, we didn't drink much on our journey. Only one celebratory six pack at the end of the trail, and a bottle of Prosecco kindly donated to us. Beer is not absurdly expensive in the store, though. In pubs, especially in rural areas, a pint will hover dangerously close to $10, but at student bars you could probably manage for much less.
Tidbits
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Total spending: £17.1/$30.37
Percent of Budget: 9%
Large Canister of Camping Fuel: £8.50/$11.16
Not much extras in Scotland, except a few runs to the pharmacy! If you need camping gas, make sure to purchase that (along with anything else you forgot at home) while you're still in the city. We would highly recommending buying all other gear at home
Visas
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Total spending: £0/$0
No visa fees for us! 90 day visa free travel for US citizens. Despite the UK's obnoxious stickiness with borders, many other nationalities get the same perks.
Think you could stick to this budget? Let us know your thoughts on traveling cheaply in Scotland.
