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Backpacking & Hostels

KristineAPKristineAP Member ✭✭
in Planning and Practicalities
Haggis used to run a hostel to hostel bus service.  Is there any other groups doing this now?  I was in Scotland about 20 years ago and took the Haggis Bus service with my mom.  It was wonderful because the bus drivers would tell stories of the areas we drove through and stopped at interesting places along the way.  My daughter and I will be backpacking in Scotland at the end of March and beginning of April.  

Comments

  • HorizonsHorizons Member, VisitScotland Ambassador ✭✭✭✭
    I think they still do run multi day tours, here's an example: https://www.haggisadventures.com/2-10-day-tours/5-day-hebridean-hopper-tour/
    I'm Anirudh, an Indian travel blogger who has explored a lot of Scotland by public transport. My blog. Find me on Facebook | Instagram

    Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)

    My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Harris, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Speyside fest)

  • KristineAPKristineAP Member ✭✭

    I know they have the organized tours, but what they had before was a hop-on-hop-off unstructured system.  Almost more of a shuttle service from hostel to hostel. So I am looking for something similar to that.


  • HorizonsHorizons Member, VisitScotland Ambassador ✭✭✭✭
    @KristineAP I don't think anything of that form exists anymore, sorry. You can, however, self-organize a public transport tour of the country using Citylink busses and it's excellent value-for-money [Explorer pass](http://www.citylink.co.uk/explorerpass.php).

    If you have an idea of the spots / hostels that are on your visit list, I will be happy to create a public transport based itinerary for you (this is my area of expertise)
    I'm Anirudh, an Indian travel blogger who has explored a lot of Scotland by public transport. My blog. Find me on Facebook | Instagram

    Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)

    My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Harris, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Speyside fest)

  • KristineAPKristineAP Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    Horizons, I've been reading your Best of Scotland in 1 week!  We are looking into following your path as it gets us to most of what we want to see and both travel on our own time with some tours mixed in.  We are still planning, but I think we will get to Edinburgh on March 30 (we start our trip in Paris March 22).  A couple of questions...should the tours be booked before we go? I like the flexibility of booking once there in case we extend or shorten our visits along the way.  Also, I can't find any tours to Orkneys at this time of year, I'm guessing we can go public transit without problems? This is as far as we are in planning so far.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!
  • HorizonsHorizons Member, VisitScotland Ambassador ✭✭✭✭
    Hey @KristineAP, sadly the Orkney day trip from Inverness that we went on runs only for 3 months (June - Aug). Doing that trip by public transport is a nightmare honestly unless you can spend 2 nights on the island. There seems to be a private tour which is pricey (£530 for 2 people) but covers all the important spots with enough time at each. I have not taken this specific tour so call the guide / do some research online to see how the reviews are. I'd also check with @YourScotlandTour on whether he'd be able to make a bespoke day tour for you.

    If going for a private tour is a bit too pricey, I recommend cutting out Orkney from the original itinerary and spending an extra night in Oban, Isle of Mull or even Skye.

    Speaking of which, you unfortunately have to book your Skye accommodation as well as the Skye daytrip I recommend (Skye scenic tours) asap as the island is quite literally full the whole summer and it is impossible to go there without a booking. The 3 isles tour from Oban generally has plenty of availability as all public transport companies (CalMac and West Coast Motors) work closely to deliver the tour. So you can leave this for later. I know it sucks to have to pre fix the dates especially as the weather is a toss up but that's the price for being a popular tourist destination.

    If you'd like, I'll be happy to set aside some time to chat with you in real time over my blog's Facebook page. I am planning to heavily reduce the time spent on the community due to increased commitments, hence the note, I do plan to drop in once a week to respond to threads. I also know it can be painful to plan a public transport trip around Scotland if you don't know the nuances :smile:
    I'm Anirudh, an Indian travel blogger who has explored a lot of Scotland by public transport. My blog. Find me on Facebook | Instagram

    Best of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)

    My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Harris, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Speyside fest)

  • YourScotlandTourYourScotlandTour Member ✭✭✭
    Hi @Horizons thank you for the mention :) 

    Hi @KristineAP fill me in via private message on what, exactly, you’re trying to achieve and I’ll have a look at pricing it up for you. Beware though that ferry prices are expensive which will make any private tour from the mainland to Orkney expensive straight away :) 
    Bespoke tours.
    Whisky, Castles and Food a speciality.
    yourscotlandtour.co.uk
  • KristineAPKristineAP Member ✭✭
    I will do that! Thanks! I was thinking of 2 nights on Orkney.  I will msg in a day or 2 with more specifics. Thanks again!
  • VisitScotlandJulieVisitScotlandJulie Member, Moderator, VisitScotland Staff ✩
    Hi @KristineAP

    Rabbies does an Orkney tour at that time of year and you can choose hostel as an accommodation option or book your own accommodation separately:

    https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours/from-inverness/1-3-day-tours/orkney-explorer-3-day-tour (March 19th, 26th, April 2nd and 9th)

    https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours/from-edinburgh/5-6-day-tours/orkney-scotlands-northern-coast-5-day-tour (April 6th and 8th)




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