I basically just want to plan a trip to get away from American capitalism and to see a different part of the world. After doing lots of research on places to backpack, I first decided to go to South America, I then did extensive research on the area and found that it was not was I was looking for.

I then looked into the British Isles specifically Scotland and decided that it would be a better place to go. I am young and inexperienced but I have been on a few short backpacking trips (20 mi) across my homeland. What I had in mind was a friend and I would fly there and spend the next six months actually HIKING (not taking trains, buses, or cabs) across significant landmarks of Scotland.

I have used Google Maps/Earth to map out a route I want to take and it looks pretty good to me. It is a total of approx. 625 miles round trip starting in Edinburgh. We plan to hike about 10-15 miles on the days that we do travel, leaving the rest of the days to explore the towns. We will end up actually hiking approx. 50 days out of the 180 days we will be there if my calculations are correct.

I also calculated independently that we would be spending approx. $20 per day on food and other things (Hostels?). We are prepared to NOT eat three square meals a day and actually intend to "rough" it a little. I came to a total of about $6500 of total trip cost each including airfare.

Does this sound like correct estimate of my budget, keeping in mind that food and accommodation are our only significant costs? Is six months too long, even though we want to rough it?

Is hiking 625 miles in the least bit reasonable? Most of the stories I've heard are people taking trains or buses to and from the different places they travel. We would be hiking. Any feedback would be great.

I can't comment on the hiking part, because I've never done significant hiking. Your budget, though, seems too low - even if you got an extremely cheap flight from the U.S. ($500), that only leaves you with $6000, or $1000/month, which works out to a little bit over $33/day. Unless you decide to camp for free, that $33 a day would basically cover your hostel and nothing else. You wouldn't have any money left for food, the occasional beer, or entrance fees to any landmarks or sights that charge money.

Hiking through Scotland sounds like fun, though.

Scotland is great and very popular with walkers/hikers/climbers. There are many established walking trails (such as West Highland Way) and Scotland has a law that makes it legal to traipse across anyone's land (obviously without interfering with it or livestock etc) but makes walking/hiking easier. There are also plenty of hostels dotted along the way, as well as 'bothies' in some of the more remote places (small stone huts where walkers can make a fire and camp the night).

There are so many maps and books and probably websites on the subject, as well as groups and guides with info and advice. Definitely recommend taking a look as there are some local issues (the main one I am thinking of is WEATHER) which you may not be aware of.

Regarding finances: the other poster is probably right about the $33/day. I know there were a few hostels that charged GBP/10.00 a night or even less (in places like the Western Isles/Outer Hebrides). There are 2 main types of hostels in Scotland, the HI/YHA (SYHA in Scotland) and independents (they have a website so you can check out location and prices before you go).

If you are on a tight budget: you may be able to work for your accommodation. This is not uncommon and the first place I did it was in a SYHA, then a Macbackpackers (independent chain - aligned with the tours of the same name). I then managed an independent hostel where the renumeration was so low, travellers who were willing to work for accommodation were sometimes my only option (or do the whole place myself). It will vary depending on time of year - during the busy summer months hostels may be desperate for cleaners but have no spare beds. My predecessor used to sleep cleaners in the office, in the reception area and one guy even lived in the storeroom under the stairs...

Anyway: it is an option. Most places like people to stay for at least a week, I think. I imagine you will not be on working visas so will not be able to supplement your travel funds with work?

Also: a bus pass or rail pass (ie: pay a certain amount for 5 days travel within a 1 month period or pay for a certain amount of 'legs' in a journey) might also be a good option: I did not do much hiking in Scotland (my loss!) but I imagine some parts would not be that great (ie: getting out of the cities) and might be better done by public transport to get you more quickly to the next (more) thrilling destination? Just a thought!

Anyway, take a rainjacket and don't travel when the midges will be fierce (usually Spring/early Summer) as they will make life unbearable!

This sounds like a great idea. It is a beautiful country and great for hiking. There are lots of good routes, in addition you can walk over most land if you are careful (watch out for hunters and be nice to sheep!).

I would second what the others have said about budget. the UK is not v cheap, so even a bed in a hostel dorm will cost about £10-15(last time I looked). I've got a feeling (check it out) that you can free camp (ie, pitch your tent anywhere) in Scotland - you can't in England, so I'm not sure - which would save you a lot of money. However, the climate in Scotland is pretty ropey - lots of rain and sometimes quite cold even in summer - so you'll need to plan your timings and equipment carefully.

There are lots of small villages dotted about, so your distances should be fine in terms of buying food etc. However, these small village shops are typically a lot more expensive than the ones in big towns, which is something you may need to factor into your budget. Scotland is covered in rivers and lakes (burns and lochs), so you'll always be able to find beautiful drinking water - all that rain's got to end up somewhere!

I would also agree about maybe getting the bus or train out of the big towns and cities. There is a lot of industrial stuff and miles of suburbs on the outer edges of large places that aren't very picturesque. The best maps are published by the Ordinance Survey - the biggest scale ones show individual buildings and fields, so are great for working out your route.

You'll have a great time as long as you have the right clothes!

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closer

Thank you all so much for the replies, after more research I think we've decided to carry our own tent and sleeping bags. At first I thought this would be impossible but apparently there are affordable tents that are designed to weigh between 2-3 lbs. Splitting that weight between two people should be quite reasonable. So if I wont need to spend money on accommodation, I can use a bigger budget on food.

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At first I thought this would be impossible but apparently there are affordable tents that are designed to weigh between 2-3 lbs.

An affordable tent that weighs 2-3 lbs is unlikely to be able to handle the weather in Scotland.

I can see walking Scotland throughout the Summer, but I'd imagine your probably looking at a 4 month period or so of agreeable (at least more agreeable weather).