marnold09

So as a couple of inexperienced college students from the U.S, my girlfriend and I are planning a 10 day trip around Scotland. We have never been to Europe!

This trip is scheduled for the middle of March and we've had no difficulty booking hotels/hostels. As typical college students, however, we are a bit strapped for cash and naive with transportation.
Itinerary is as follows:
Edinburgh > St. Andrews > Inverness > Isle of Skye > Edinburgh. Each place we will be spending a few days in before moving on to the next.

We would greatly appreciate any advice on what to do about booking trains/buses to get to all of these places. The itinerary is of course tentative and is subject to change based on what we can find via transportation. I've looked at ScotRail's offerings, including the "Travelpass", but I'm confused as to how these passes function exactly --i.e. do they work at -any- station? Is this the most cost effective? etc.
We are also thinking about booking each train ride between these major locations individually but that has been confusing to say the least as well.

If there are any readers out there with knowledge on how the trains work around Scotland, or how to get around with minimal spending and maximum efficiency, please post a reply.

Thanks!
-Matt

Barbara

ttt

GBbabe

When I was in Scotland in 2002, I took a Citylink coach (bus) from Inverness to Ft. William and back and loved being able to see the scenery, so might look at Citylink www.citylink.co.uk and see if it will fit your schedule. Are you staying at the Youth Hostel in Inverness? That's where I stayed and thought it was a great place.

ingy

If you are 25 or younger, you can get a young persons' railcard for a 1/3 discount on rail journeys throughout the UK. I have booked many train journeys from Canada on the net through National Rail. I personally use the qjump site; just do a google search for 'qjump'. There is a link for Railcards on the site. If you are going in March, you will want to book the train now, if the train is going to be your mode of transportation. The Young Persons' Railcard is 20 GBP and is good for one year. It is worth the savings if you are going to be using the train a fair amount. You would get better deals now, than if you booked closer to your dates of travel. You can book online, and choose a station to pick the tickets up from; since Edinburgh is your starting point, you could pick all of your tickets for the trip up there. The Citylink buses are great for places where the train does not go to.

Danna

The bus is MUCH cheaper than train and goes to many more places. You have to work around the schedule, but in my experience you have more of a chance of meeting and chatting with folks on the coach.

GeoffHamer

I don't think any train or bus journeys in Scotland need to be booked in advance. You just buy a train ticket and get on the next train, or get on a bus and buy a ticket from the driver.
You can check fares on www.nationalrail.co.uk or the bus companies' web sites and decide whether a pass is a good idea. A pass
allows you to hop on or off any train at any station, but probably isn't worth getting for your itinerary.

amelie

Yes, but buying a train ticket ahead of time often has "saver" rates.

GeoffHamer

For some journeys, yes, but not for most of these.
One reason why train companies offer cheap advance-purchase fares is that, because the ticket can only be used on one specified train, that train company gets all of the revenue. On routes where more than one train company operates, the revenue is shared, because a standard ticket allows passengers a choice of trains. On most of the lines in Scotland, there is only one operator, so there are no cheap advance-purchase tickets: it costs exactly the same whether you book in advance or buy a ticket at the station before boarding the train.
The Scottish Highlands include some of Europe's most beautiful railway lines. My favourite is between Fort William and Mallaig, with mountains, lochs and unspoilt seashores. In March, there will be few other tourists and snow on the mountains - it's an experience you won't forget.

marnold09

Thank you all for the advice, it's been very helpful

rogerdodger

I am many years past your ages, however, I do enjoy train travel in Great Britain. As I really use my rail passes they work for me. I think you really should check out the Scotland youth pass. For 217 you can get a pass good for 4 days out of 8 or for $292, an 8 day out of 15 day pass. You don't have to be concerned about what train you take as long as it departs after 9:15. Also, you get somw free ferry rides and Citylink bus rides. I recommend you check it out. You can order on line and when you wish to begain using it you just go to the ticket office at the station and they will stamp it making it valid. Also I would check out the Citylink site for schedules and fares.

_jinx_

Another link is www.traveline.org.uk for bus/train travel in Scotland.

Cheers,

Jinx Hoover

palmettoprincess

The train doesn't go into St. Andrews. You will need to get off at Leucars.