Hostels – The Smart Way to Travel

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Port Charlotte with the youth hostel on the right
Port Charlotte with the youth hostel on the right (c) Robin McKelvie

Once the idea of staying in a hostel in Scotland filled people with horror. While Scots enjoyed relaxed hostel stays in independent and official hostels around the world at home in Scotland there were few independent hostels and many of the official youth hostels were blighted by stiff curfews and communal chores, not the sort of place you’d often like to spend a holiday.

View from Port Charlotte Youth Hostel
View from Port Charlotte Youth Hostel (c) Robin McKelvie

All that has changed over the last decade or so. Scotland is now home to an array of hostels. The official SYHA Hostelling Scotland properties have significantly raised their game, and an ever-growing array of independent hostels also shine the bright. You will find hostels the length and breadth of the country –  from the rolling hills of the Scottish Borders and the coast of southern charmer Dumfries and Galloway, right through the busy cities of the Central Belt and in on up into the remote Highlands and Islands. You will even find hostels today on the ultra remote Shetland Isles and Orkney Isles.

Ring of Brodgar, Orkney
Ring of Brodgar, Orkney (c) Robin McKelvie

Anyone travelling around Scotland today will find that youth hostels provide a budget friendly base from which to explore the country. Of course hostelling is not limited to these shores and as travel writers we have also stayed and written about hostels all over the world. We have stayed at both independent and official hostels from Amsterdam to Adelaide and Perth to Prague. Whether you are looking to bed down without breaking the bank in Scotland or enjoy a cheap night elsewhere a hostel is the smart way to sleep when you are travelling.

 

*This blog comes in association with SYHA Hostelling Scotland