Edinburgh · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Compact, hilly and free at the good bits — until August, when every bed doubles.
Cowgate and Grassmarket
The Old Town's hostel strip sits in the valley below the castle, surrounded by late bars. Leith and Newington are quieter and cheaper.
What a day costs
About £45–75 a day, roughly $55–95: dorm £20–35 and double that in August, chippy and supermarket food £12–20, buses £5.
Getting around cheap
Lothian buses charge a flat single fare with a daily cap; the tram runs from the airport to the centre. Night buses cover the small hours.
Free by day
Arthur's Seat is a forty-minute climb from the Royal Mile. The National Museum of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery charge nothing.
Where travellers meet
Tip-based walking tours leave the Royal Mile hourly; afterwards the group washes down into the Cowgate, which is where it stays.