Edinburgh: How to have fun without draining your bank account

By the time Faeth and I reached Scotland, we were running low on funds, thanks to a poor dollar-to-euro conversion rate and pricey train tickets across the island. In fact, our second day in the city, we only had about $30 between us. This was a Saturday, and we had to make it until Monday before our parents could transfer funds into our account. I was a bit nervous, but it turns out you can really enjoy a city without shelling out a ton of money.

Tip #1: Find free walking tours. Faeth and I have been using the Sandeman New Europe tours, which offer tours in most of Europe’s major cities. Sure enough, there was a free one in Edinburgh. Walking tours are fun because you get to dive into the city and the culture without being trapped in a bus, looking through windows. Our guide was really funny and tried hard to answer all our questions, even if they had nothing to do with the tour. That’s how we learned about Scotland’s unofficial drink, Irn Bru, and how to get to other interesting areas in the city.

Tip #2: Find free attractions. Somewhere along the way as we walked through the city, I heard people mentioning the Royal Botanic Gardens. When we learned they were free, Faeth and I knew we had to check them out. The Royal Botanic Garden is a giant collection of plants from around the world. The garden was founded in 1670 and now houses more than 13,300 plant species (and that’s not even counting the plants found in the herbarium). Technically, there are four sites that share the plants, and we only visited the one in Edinburgh—but that garden alone was enough for us to wander all afternoon. We saw plants from China and plants from Australia, plants from the U.S. and plants from Siberia. When we felt like wandering, we wandered, and when we felt like napping, we lay down next to the path and just relaxed under the shade of the trees. I would definitely recommend the garden to anyone who enjoys nature or wants a few hours of peace and relaxation.

This is one of the waterfalls we discovered as we explored the gardens

Tip #3: Stretch your legs. When we asked our hostel receptionist were the gardens were, she thought we were crazy for wanting to walk instead of catching a cab. But by that time, we only had about $10 left, and we needed money for a cab to the train station the next morning. Besides, it was only about two miles to the gardens, which is nothing on a good day. You can save so much money if you don’t take buses and cabs everywhere. If you do need to use transportation, though, definitely go with the bus option; they’re substantially cheaper than taxis.

Tip #4: Share. One of our biggest goals in Scotland was to try haggis, the country’s most famous dish. (Heck, Scottish poet Robert Burns even wrote a poem about it.) Haggis is made from the heart, liver and lungs of a sheep, mixed in with spices and wrapped in the sheep’s stomach. It typically comes with turnips and potatoes (neeps and tatties in Scottish lingo). Faeth and I pooled our pocket change together and bought a sampler plate to split. While most people shy away from haggis after hearing the description, Faeth and I liked it a lot. It tasted a bit like hamburger, but saltier and richer.

Haggis, neeps and tatties--mmm!

Finally, if you want to have the most fun on your trip, be open to unplanned experiences. We figured we’d go to bed early that night, since we had a flight at 7 a.m. the next morning back into Amsterdam. But then we got back to our hostel and met our three new roommates: Kegan, who was from India, and two young Belgians, Jean and Julian. They were a heck of a lot friendlier than the Brazilian roommates we’d had the last two nights, who insisted on stumbling into our room at 2 a.m. every night, turning on the lights and starting loud conversations. Kegan, Julian and Jean wanted to know if we’d go out pub hopping with them. The responsible part of me said to go to bed, but the youthful part of me said I should make the most of my time here. And that’s how two Americans, two Belgians and an Indian ended up drinking all night in Scotland. (How did we pub hop with 4 euro in our pockets? The boys were gentlemen and insisted on buying every drink.) We ended the night at 1 a.m. in the hostel kitchen, taking shots of Scotch Whiskey (which was amazing) and teaching each other different dances. Our last night in Edinburgh was the most fun we had during our entire visit to the city. Sometimes, you’ve got to miss a few hours of sleep to make the best memories.

Two Americans, two Belgians and an Indian in Scotland