Best of Ireland & Scotland — Self-Launched Backpacker Version

Land at Dublin Airport and take the Airlink 747 or Dublin Express bus into the city centre (~€8-10, 30-40 mins) rather than a taxi. Check into a hostel in the Temple Bar / Smithfield / Parnell Square area — Generator Dublin, Jacobs Inn or Ashfield Hostel are all solid, central and around £25-35 for a dorm bed. Spend the afternoon walking the south bank of the Liffey, cross the Ha'penny Bridge, and wander Grafton Street and St Stephen's Green. Skip the overpriced Temple Bar pubs for dinner: hit a proper Dublin boozer like The Cobblestone in Smithfield or the Lord Edward for a pint and a €12-15 pub dinner.

🚌Dublin Express or Airlink 747 bus from airport, ~£8

🛏Central Dublin hostel (Generator Dublin / Jacobs Inn / Ashfield Hostel) — dorm bed ~£30

• →Airport bus into city centre
• →Ha'penny Bridge and River Liffey walk
• →Grafton Street and St Stephen's Green
• →Evening pint in Smithfield or a traditional Dublin pub

Book the Trinity College Book of Kells Experience online in advance (around €18-25, timed slots — cheaper and no queue than the operator's priority-access ticket). The Long Room library is included. Then walk to Christ Church Cathedral and St Patrick's Cathedral (€8-9 each, or €12 combined). In the afternoon, either self-book the Guinness Storehouse online (around €26-30, look for the Gravity Bar rooftop ticket) or, for a fraction of the price, do the Teeling Whiskey or Pearse Lyons distillery tour in the Liberties for €15-20. Evening: free entry to the National Museum of Ireland — Archaeology on Kildare Street if you want a rainy-day, no-cost option.

🚌On foot; Leap Card for occasional buses ~£4

🛏Central Dublin hostel — dorm bed ~£30

• →Trinity College and Book of Kells Experience (pre-booked self-guided slot)
• →Christ Church Cathedral
• →St Patrick's Cathedral
• →Guinness Storehouse or Teeling Whiskey distillery tour
• →National Museum of Ireland

Take an early Irish Rail train from Dublin Heuston direct to Newbridge/Kildare (about 35-40 mins, around €10 if booked in advance on irishrail.ie). Drop your bag in the left luggage, then bus or taxi the short hop to the Irish National Stud & Japanese Gardens — €16 entry, and far better value than the operator's behind-the-scenes add-on. You can self-guide the Japanese Gardens and the stud yards in 2-3 hours. Continue by train from Kildare to Cork (roughly 2h15, €12-20 advance online). Cork's hostel scene is good — Bru Bar & Hostel or the Kinlay House on Bob and Joan's Walk. Evening: walk the Grand Parade, City Hall and Opera House, and grab dinner at the English Market end of town.

🚌Irish Rail Dublin Heuston–Kildare–Cork, ~£25 total

🛏Cork city hostel (Bru Bar & Hostel / Kinlay House) — dorm bed ~£28

• →Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens, Kildare
• →Self-guided walk of Cork city centre — Grand Parade, City Hall, Opera House
• →English Market area dinner

Start with a local bus (route 215) from Cork to Blarney, 20 minutes. Blarney Castle entry is €18-20 — go when the gates open (9am) to beat the coach crowds to the Stone. Then bus back into Cork and take a Bus Éireann Expressway or Killarney-bound bus to Killarney (roughly 1h30, €12-15). In Killarney, skip the jaunting car (€25-30 each) and instead hire a bike from a shop near the park entrance (€15-20 for a half day) to ride the Muckross House and Torc Waterfall loop in Killarney National Park — much better value and you set the pace. Late afternoon bus (route 279) onward to Dingle (about 1 hour, €8-10), one of Ireland's best little towns.

🚌Bus 215 to Blarney, bus Cork–Killarney–Dingle, ~£28

🛏Dingle guesthouse or hostel (e.g. Dingle Marina Hostel / Rainbow Hostel) — dorm or private room ~£30

• →Blarney Castle and Wishing Steps (early entry)
• →Cycling Killarney National Park — Muckross House and Torc Waterfall
• →Evening walk around Dingle harbour

The Dingle Peninsula is a full day out. Rent a bike (€20-25 a day from Paddy's Bike Hire or similar) for the Slea Head Drive loop — 45-50km of the best coastal scenery in Ireland, past early Christian beehive huts, Gallarus Oratory and views to the Blasket Islands. If the weather turns, take the local Slea Head minibus tour instead (around €30-35, bookable at the Dingle tourist office or via GetYourGuide). Book a Blasket Islands Centre entry (€7-8) if you want the emigration story in depth. Evening: find a trad music session in a Dingle pub — most nights there's a free one in Dick Mack's or O'Sullivan's.

🚌Bike hire ~£20, or minibus tour ~£30

🛏Dingle guesthouse or hostel — ~£30

• →Slea Head Drive by bike or local minibus tour
• →Gallarus Oratory and beehive huts
• →Blasket Islands viewpoint and centre
• →Trad music session in a Dingle pub

A long but rewarding transit day. Take the early Bus Éireann bus back toward Tralee or Killarney, then a bus to Ennis and on to Doolin / the Cliffs of Moher (check bus timetables in advance on transportforireland.ie — connections are limited, so plan around them; total roughly €30-40). Alternatively, the Shannon Ferries crossing from Tarbert to Killimer (€6-8 as a foot passenger) is the same route the coach takes and lets you link Kerry with Clare via a more scenic, cheaper bus-and-ferry combo. Cliffs of Moher visitor centre entry is €12 online (€10 booked direct at cliffsmoher.ie). Three hours of clifftop walking, then bus on to Galway (about 1h30, €10-12). Galway's Latin Quarter hostels — Snoozles, Barnacles, Kinlay House — are right on Eyre Square.

🚌Bus Dingle–Tralee–Ennis–Doolin–Galway plus ferry, ~£40

🛏Galway city hostel (Snoozles / Barnacles / Kinlay House) — dorm bed ~£30

• →Shannon Estuary ferry crossing as a foot passenger
• →Cliffs of Moher — visitor centre and clifftop walk
• →Arrival walk in Galway: Eyre Square, Lynch Memorial, Church of St Nicholas, Spanish Arch

Use the day's early hours for a Connemara half-day — either the local Bus Éireann route that skirts the Connemara coast to Clifden (about 1h30, €10), or join a self-bookable Connemara and Kylemore Abbey day tour from Galway via GetYourGuide (around £45-55, cheaper than a private guide). Walk Kylemore's walled gardens. Then take the afternoon bus from Galway north to Sligo (about 2h30, €15-18). Sligo is a compact, musical little city — walk down to the Garavogue riverfront, look at the Yeats memorial, and eat cheaply at a local pub. Overnight in Sligo — try the White House Hostel or a town guesthouse.

🚌Bus Galway–Connemara–Galway and Galway–Sligo, ~£30

🛏Sligo hostel or guesthouse (e.g. White House Hostel) — ~£28

• →Connemara coastal drive and Kylemore Abbey
• →Sligo town orientation and Garavogue riverfront walk
• →Yeats memorial and Sligo town centre

Early bus from Sligo to Derry (Bus Éireann/Translink cross-border service, about 2h30, €17-20; bring your passport, though checks are rare). Drop bags at a hostel near the walled city — the Derry/Londonderry YHA or a guesthouse on Bennetts Hill. Join one of the free walking tours of the 17th-century walls and the Bogside murals (the Bogside walking tours take donations; the city walls walk is essentially free and excellent) and drop into the Guildhall. If you're the driving type, the Giant's Causeway is far easier to reach from Belfast than Derry — for a self-launched version, take an afternoon Translink bus/train to the Causeway Coast (Ballymoney/Portrush), or, more practically, book a small-group Causeway day tour from Belfast for the following morning and travel to Belfast instead. Simpler option that keeps this route intact: overnight in Derry, enjoy the walls and music scene at Peadar O'Donnell's, then do the Causeway en route to Belfast tomorrow.

🚌Cross-border bus Sligo–Derry (Bus Éireann/Translink), ~£18

🛏Derry hostel or city guesthouse — ~£30

• →Free self-guided or donation-based Derry city walls and Bogside murals walk
• →Guildhall visit
• →Peadar O'Donnell's trad session, evening

Morning: take the Translink train or bus from Derry to Coleraine and the Causeway Coast (about 1 hour), then the Causeway Rambler bus (seasonal, ~£6) to the Giant's Causeway — free access to the stones, the visitor centre is £14 if you want the exhibition; the walk down is free. Then continue east to Belfast (train Coleraine–Belfast ~£9, 1h15). Lunch in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter. Late afternoon, take the Stena Line or P&O ferry/bus link to Cairnryan and onward bus to Glasgow — the classic route is a Cairnryan–Belfast ferry plus onward coach, or an easier option is a cheap Ryanair/easyJet flight Belfast–Glasgow (often £25-40 booked ahead, 45 mins). Rest of the evening in Glasgow: walk George Square, eat at a cheap Merchant City cafe.

🚌Translink bus/train Derry–Causeway–Belfast plus flight or ferry to Glasgow, ~£55

🛏Glasgow hostel (e.g. Euro Hostel Glasgow / Paisley Road West independent hostels) — dorm bed ~£30

• →Giant's Causeway (self-guided walk down to the stones)
• →Causeway Coast scenic sections
• →Belfast Cathedral Quarter
• →George Square, Glasgow

Buy a Scottish Citylink Explorer Pass or a single advance ticket on the Citylink 915 / 914 route up through Loch Lomond, Glencoe and onward to Fort William — this is the exact scenery the tour bus covers, for about £25-35 one way with a long-distance saver ticket (booked ahead on citylink.co.uk). You can break the journey in the small towns for photos and walks. The Commando Memorial near Spean Bridge is a short stop (a quick taxi or an extra local bus if the main coach doesn't stop). From Fort William, take the Citylink 919 up the Great Glen to Inverness (about 2h15, £15-18). If you have time, the Loch Ness Cruise from Inverness is bookable independently for £18-25 (or free — walk the Caledonian Canal towpath for views without the boat ticket). Overnight in Inverness near the Old Town.

🚌Citylink long-distance coach Glasgow–Fort William–Inverness, ~£45

🛏Inverness hostel (e.g. Inverness Youth Hostel / Bank Street Lodge) — dorm bed ~£28

• →Loch Lomond, Glencoe and Ben Nevis viewpoints by coach
• →Commando Memorial, Spean Bridge
• →Loch Ness by boat cruise (self-booked) or canal walk
• →Great Glen scenic drive

Morning in Inverness: walk the riverside, cross the Greig Street Bridge, and do a cheap self-guided loop around the Old High Church and Inverness Castle viewpoint (free). Catch the no.11 bus to Culloden Moor (about 20-25 mins, £5 return) and spend 1.5 hours walking the battlefield and visiting the National Trust for Scotland visitor centre (£13 online, book direct). Afternoon: book a distillery tour. Uile-bheist in Inverness is a small craft distillery with tours around £20-25, but you can also hop the bus to Tomatin or Glen Ord for options from £12-20 with a tasting. Evening: a pub dinner and a look at the Inverness music sessions.

🚌Local bus to Culloden ~£5; local buses to distillery ~£6

🛏Inverness hostel — dorm bed ~£28

• →Inverness riverside and Old Town walk
• →Culloden Battlefield visitor centre
• →Highland distillery tour and tasting
• →Evening pub session

Take the Citylink coach from Inverness to Perth (about 2h30, £18-22) with the Grampian Mountains and Blair Castle country out the window — or break the drive for an hour at Blair Atholl to see the castle (£10-12 entry, self-guided). From Perth, take a local bus or train to St Andrews (about 1h20, £10-14) and walk the Old Course, West Sands Beach and the university quadrangles — all free. Then bus or train St Andrews–Edinburgh (about 1h15, £12-15). Arrive in Edinburgh early enough to walk the Royal Mile in the evening light. Check into a hostel in the Old Town or Tollcross — Castle Rock Hostel and Kick Ass Hostels are both well located.

🚌Citylink Inverness–Perth–St Andrews–Edinburgh, ~£38

🛏Edinburgh Old Town hostel (Castle Rock Hostel / Kick Ass Hostels) — dorm bed ~£28

• →Grampian Mountains and Blair Castle scenic drive
• →St Andrews — Old Course, West Sands Beach, university
• →Evening walk along the Royal Mile

Book Edinburgh Castle tickets online direct (about £19-21, timed entry, cheaper and quicker than joining the queue). Allow 2-3 hours for the Crown Jewels and Mons Meg. Then walk the Royal Mile down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse (exterior free; interior £18 if you're keen), do a self-guided loop through New Town (Princes Street, Scott Monument) and climb Arthur's Seat for free sunset views — the best value in Edinburgh. In the evening, do a haggis dinner and a ceilidh at a local venue — the free ceilidh nights at the Royal Oak or the Sunday-night ceilidh at Sandy Bell's are legendary and free or near-free, though a ticketed ceilidh dinner will run £35-45 if you want the full version.

🚌On foot; occasional city bus ~£4

🛏Edinburgh Old Town hostel — dorm bed ~£28

• →Edinburgh Castle including Crown Jewels and Mons Meg
• →Royal Mile and Palace of Holyroodhouse
• →New Town — Princes Street and Scott Monument
• →Arthur's Seat sunset climb
• →Haggis dinner and free ceilidh night

A final morning: coffee on Leith Walk, a walk in the Meadows, or a quick pop-in to the free National Museum of Scotland if you have a few hours before departure. From central Edinburgh, the Airlink 100 bus to the airport is £5.50 (25-30 mins) or the tram from Princes Street is £7.50 — both much cheaper than the £25-30 taxi. If you're on an evening flight, book a late checkout or use the hostel luggage store.

🚌Airlink 100 bus or tram to Edinburgh Airport, ~£6

🛏None — onward travel

• →Leith Walk morning coffee
• →Meadows or National Museum of Scotland (free)
• →Airport transfer