RAIL PASSES
BackpackEngland offer passes through Europrail and Rail Connection to destinations in Europe. The Eurail pass is considered by many as the best option for travelling through Europe. It is especially good for those with limited time. There are 15, 21, 30 and 60 day passes available and prices vary depending on the countries chosen for travel. Discounts are available for those under 26 years. Make sure you buy your pass before you leave for Europe. Also remember that rail passes do not guarantee seats on trains.

There are also other options for travelling on British trains. These provide unlimited access to the entire rail network in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland. You can hop on and off the train as often as you like. There are 15,000 daily departures throughout the UK from 2400 stations. The passes for Scotland include:

Britrail Classic
The original Britrail pass is valid on most train services in England, Scotland and Wales. It offers unlimited travel on participating services within the validity of the pass. Youth fares are available for those aged 16-25. There are various time passes available starting at 4 days and rising incrementally to 30 days. Britrail passes are not sold within the UK. But you can order this pass online .

Britrail Flexipass
This pass is similar to the Britrail pass, except your travel is restricted to a specified number of travel days within a two month period. It has 4 days, 8 days and 15 days options. This pass is not available within the UK. You can order this pass online .

Freedom of Scotland
This pass is good for train travel on ScotRail and Strathclyde Passenger Transport services and all scheduled GNER and Virgin Trains within Scotland, including services to Carlisle and Berwick-upon-Tweed. The pass also includes ferry travel on all Caledonian MacBrayne ferries and Strathclyde Passenger Transport ferries, selected Citylink bus services and all Glasgow underground services. The pass also entitles the holder to discounted travel on P&O ferries to the Orkney and Shetland Islands. This pass is also available in Great Britain. You can order this pass online .

BUS PASSES
You may also consider getting a bus pass through Bus About Eurobus or Eurolines for European destinations. Eurolines is the largest network of international buses in Europe. People under 26 years are around 10% less than the adult full fare. There are several circular explorer routes and passes available. Individual tickets are available on all routes with a number of circuits available allowing the traveller to travel along a pre-determined circular route taking in various destinations along the way. These passes are supplemented by the more flexible Eurolines pass. The Eurolines pass is probably the best travel deal in Europe allowing unlimited travel between 46 destinations in 26 countries on the Eurolines network. This pass is great value particularly during summer when it is a cheaper travel option than the equivalent Busabout pass. For more information visit the website at www.eurolines.com

Busabout busabout.info@virgin.net is another pass option for travellers and will also book accommodation for you in advance. However most of these are camping sites outside major towns. Eurobus also operates providing a hop on and off service.

Bus travel in Britain is an efficient services provided by a number of independent operators. National Express (website: www.nationalexpress.com ) is the biggest with services to over 1200 destinations in England, Scotland and Wales. They offer some travel passes and discount cards like the Student Coachcard and the Young Persons Coachcard. These cost just £9 and entitle the holder to a 30% discount on coach travel on the National Express network.

National Express Brit Xplorer Pass
The Brit Xplorer pass is good for unlimited travel on the National Express network, but it is not available to British passport holders. The pass is valid for seven, 14 or 28 consecutive days of travel. You do not need to book the travel, just turn up and show your pass to the driver. If there is space you can hop on. You can buy the pass on the National Express website.

Scottish Citylink Explorer Pass
This pass is good for travel in Scotland on Scottish Citylink. It also gives you discounts on Caledonian Macbrayne and P&O Scottish Ferries allowing you to visit the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland islands. It is offered for 3 consecutive days of travel or 5 travel days in 10, or 8 travel days in 16. The CityLink network covers all of Scotland with additional connections to Blackpool in the northwest of England and Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Backpacker Bus Companies
There are also companies that target backpackers. And many will stop right at the hostel door. They are usually filled with other backpackers so you do meet people but they are structured so you may not feel too independent. However if you want to try them some links include www.straytravel.co.uk and Paddy Wagon Tours. Here are some more details:

The Backpacker Tour Company
This company covers England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The itineraries, however, are not hop-on, hop-off, so you may also find your independence limited and they can be expensive.

Celtic Connection
These are small group backpacker tours in Scotland, Ireland and Wales with some flexibility. Dublin is about the only place however you can jump off. It costs £22-25 per day excluding accommodation.

MacBackPackers
This bus operates a handful of fixed itinerary tours around Scotland as well as a jump-on jump-off bus for those who want to explore at their own pace. The price per day is usually about £20 but does not include acommodation. However hostels the buses go to charge about £11 per night.

Radical Travel
This covers the UK and Ireland and is a very flexible hop on hop off travel pass. It costs about £30 per day including accomodation.

Road Trip
Operates numerous overland tours covering the entire British Isles, though only one itinerary has a hop on hop off option. The tours average around £35-40 per day but include accommodation.

Wild in Scotland
Wild in Scotland is a bus for independent travellers in Scotland with a fairly comprehensive coverage of the highlands and islands. Trips cost about £35-40 per day, including food and accommodation. There are no hop on hop off tours on offer.

LOCAL TRANSPORT
Within each city there are daily, several day, weekly or monthly passes for local transport. Check our city guides for more details or email us to ask at scotland@backpackglobe.com

DRIVING
Auto Europe offers worldwide car rental services including coverage of Scotland. They also have scheduled air from the USA to Europe, 2,000+ three and four star hotels, prestige and sports car rentals, hotel bookings, chauffeur drive and transfer services, European and South Pacific Motorhome Rentals, and European cellular phone rentals.