A road trip to Scotland for 10 days must have rules. Here are 5 tips to save by car, to sleep and eat cheaply without sacrificing quality and having fun.
Scotland has two fundamental problems: it always attracts everyone, which isn't a big deal actually, and it's tremendously expensive. The fact that it attracts everyone is normal, it's beautiful, it's green, it's wild, it's Scotland! Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about the fact that it is expensive here too. At least for most things, but not for all.
When I decided to do this trip to Scotland for 10 days on the road, I was prepared for the country not to be the least expensive in the world, but I didn't imagine that much. Had I had some advice, perhaps like the ones I hope to write in this post, I would have been much more prepared. THE five tips that I give you below just the basis of what you need for a low cost trip to Scotland, but maybe from here you can get ideas to come up with new ideas, and if they come to you, please share them with all of us.
Kasko policy for the car
If you want to take a road trip to Scotland, you must first remember that driving is on the left. Not only is the drive on the left, but the roundabouts are taken to the left, the gearbox and handbrake are on the left despite the gears being positioned as in the right-hand drive. In short, it is much more complicated than you think, and if only the straight is all right during the parking lots or roundabouts, especially in the early days, it could be a bit complicated.
In order to avoid spending a few years with the rented car, I recommend that you take kasko insurance. It is done when you take the car keys, so even if you book it online like I did, you will have to wait to get there to do it with the operator in front of you. In Scotland where car rental is low - for 10 days I paid around € 150 for car hire - this type of insurance is a bit expensive and costs around € 180, at least mine for the car I had.
In the end, that money is lost, it is not given back to you and is useless for "nothing", but in the event of an accident even if it is your fault, you will never have to pay a euro. Since driving on the left is not always easy and you can risk making some mistakes, which I honestly do not wish you, I strongly advise you to do it, even to be more relaxed during your holiday.
Coffee thermos
I don't know about you, but I am a coffee lover. Even when I go abroad and I know I shouldn't drink it because it's not as good as in Italy and because above all there are other drinks to try, it's stronger than me, I always order it. I can also take 3/4 coffees a day without any problems. This, although it doesn't seem like it, is an expense on a vacation. If we were in Italy for 10 days I would spend € 40 on coffee, since the holiday we are talking about takes place in Scotland and the coffee there is from £ 1.50 to £ 2, for 10 days at £ 2 four times a day is about € 100.
One hundred euros, do you understand ?! One hundred euros that you could use in many other ways. If there are two of you, then the money is doubled and is around € 200. Don't think that you only take one coffee a day, especially if you are driving and if you necessarily want to wake up during the trip or just take something warm. Also keep in mind that tea in Scotland is more than coffee. here is the fact that I screwed you. So for a road trip, remember to bring a thermos. You will make coffee in the hostel or in the b & bs that always have kettles and you will take it with you in the car. I saw so many people doing it and arriving in front of a castle and admiring it for the first 10 minutes while drinking coffee from their thermos in the car before entering.
Nights in a hostel or low cost b & b
For low cost travel over 7 days in a country like Scotland I recommend sleeping in a hostel like I did. If you don't feel like it or think you can't "do it", then I recommend i b & b selected by the Scotland Tourist Board. As with us hotels, b & bs are rated in stars.
If you take b & b with 1 or 2 stars at most, you will pay no more than £ 30 per person per night, so around € 70 for two. The cost always includes breakfast which, I must say, is a bomb. See the one below :)
Cookies in the car
In case you decide to take the nights in the hostel and save a little something, know that you will always have tea and coffee and also hot chocolate included in the price of the nights.
This means that with a pack of biscuits you can have breakfast at almost no cost since these are found in the major supermarkets also at £ 1. It means that for at least two mornings the cost of your breakfast will be £ 1 in total. However, always leave the cookies in the car, they will be convenient for you when traveling from one location to another and will be a pleasant hunger breaker who will avoid arriving for dinner with a huge hole in the stomach!
Pasta and tomato
When I left for Scotland I brought myself half a kg of pasta and a jar of tomato. Don't think I'm exaggerating when I tell you I needed everything I brought and if I had something more I would have used it. I usually love eating local foods and having dinner out when I'm on vacation I never say no.
In this case, however, sleeping in the hostel and having a kitchen available, I preferred to make a plate of pasta for two evenings. Also consider that Scottish cuisine for 10 days in a row is not the best, certainly for what concerns the liver and, always speaking of budget, prices are never low cost.
