{"id":1834,"date":"2025-02-09T19:11:05","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T19:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/?p=1834"},"modified":"2026-06-08T19:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:07:21","slug":"trip-coach-were-going-to-stay-until-the-money-runs-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/trip-coach-were-going-to-stay-until-the-money-runs-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Trip Coach: ‘We\u2019re going to stay until the money runs out’"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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At first, their story sounded fairly standard. \u201cMy best friend and I are graduating from college,\u201d Beth Hicken wrote. \u201cWe\u2019re spending the summer working to pay for a backpacking trip through Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Beth and her friend, Sara Murdock, had a summer job unlike most others: They were fighting wildfires for the Forest Service. <\/span><\/p>\n

The two 24-year-olds, who live in a small town in Idaho that\u2019s actually called Small, planned on traveling in the fall, when they knew the airfare would be relatively cheap.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have to face the real world when we return,\u201d said Beth, who plans on becoming a social worker, while Sara is heading towards a career as a fire ecologist.<\/p>\n

 <\/span>They had their minds set on England, but hoped to see as many places as possible\u2014Scotland, Ireland, perhaps even Italy. \u201cMy only experience out of the States was four hours in Niagara Falls,\u201d said Beth, \u201cwhich I don\u2019t think really counts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sara\u2019s one venture overseas was a three-week school trip last year to London and Paris.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to go back,\u201d said Sara, waxing enthusiastically about the sights and the countryside. \u201cAnd I want Beth to go because it\u2019s so exciting and so different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Money was their biggest concern. \u201cThe funds are looking slim,\u201d said Beth. They had a budget of around $2,000 per person, not including the plane tickets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re planning on staying in hostels and would be willing to camp\u2014anything to save a few bucks if that means we could travel to another country. We are trying to go for at least four weeks, but we\u2019re going to stay until the money runs out.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Beth and Sara are flying into London, and we recommended two hotels in town right off the bat: the official HI City of London hostel, near St Paul\u2019s Cathedral ($37 [\u00a320] per person), and The Generator, an 800-bed independent hostel near the British Museum ($23 [\u00a312.50] per person).<\/p>\n

Hostels aren\u2019t the only option, however. B&Bs are everywhere in the U.K., including big cities such as London, where a double can cost as little as  <\/span>$40 [\u00a322]. Rooms in private homes can be rented for as little as $30 for two people (local tourist offices usually keep lists).<\/p>\n

Another possibility is CouchSurfing.com, an online network where travelers crash on sofas (or sometimes spare beds) for free in strangers\u2019 homes and apartments. It\u2019s not for everyone, but the women seemed game. \u201cI think we\u2019d be willing to give that a try,\u201d said Beth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to see a play in London,\u201d said Beth. \u201cHow far ahead do you have to get the tickets?\u201d Penny-pinchers buy their seats at the very last minute, when they are discounted by up to 50 percent at the official TKTS booth on Leicester Square. This doesn\u2019t work for people who have their hearts set on a particular show, because there\u2019s no telling what will be sold out. On the day we checked, the hit A Few Good Men<\/i> ($41 [\u00a322.50]), Shakespeare\u2019s Twelfth Night<\/i> ($27 [\u00a314.75]), and the perennial Phantom of the Opera<\/i> ($70 [\u00a338.13]) were a few of the shows available.<\/p>\n

London is perhaps the best city in the world for free museums and sights. A section of visitlondon.com lists all the spots with free admission, including The British Museum, the National Gallery, and the Royal Observatory. Plenty of activities are free, too: attending sessions of Parliament in Westminster; slipping into the church of St-Martin-in-the-Fields to hear a classical concert; hanging around Hyde Park\u2019s Speaker\u2019s Corner on a Sunday to listen to anyone with a gripe, anecdote, or political point harangue the crowds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved shopping in London,\u201d said Sara. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like it anywhere\u2014especially not in Idaho!\u201d<\/p>\n

Harrods makes for better sightseeing than it does bargains, so we sent Beth and Sara to inspect the city\u2019s outdoor markets. The most famous is the Saturday antiques extravaganza around Portobello Road. For knick-knacks and oddball souvenirs, better bets may be the clothing market on Petticoat Lane (daily except Saturday, though Sunday\u2019s the best), and the half-dozen loosely connected flea markets known as Camden Markets (daily).<\/p>\n

Also worth a look is the trendier Spitalfields, which handles a bit of everything: food (Wednesday), books and records (first and third Wednesday of each month), antiques (Thursday), fashion and art (Friday), and all of the above (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday).<\/p>\n

\n

Surprise!<\/b><\/p>\n

BritRail was kind enough to set Beth and Sara up with Flexipasses good for eight days of first-class travel on the train over a two-month period within England, Wales, and Scotland (britrail.com). The passes, valued at $435 each for travelers under age 26, are really the best gift possible for two friends who want to see as much as possible.  <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

After London, Sara and Beth will use rail passes to explore England and Scotland\u2014our gift to them (see “Surprise!)<\/p>\n

On long-haul journeys within Europe, however, flying is the least expensive option thanks to Europe\u2019s no-frills airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet. <\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019ve heard of those,\u201d said Beth. \u201cBut I\u2019ve also heard that they say that it\u2019s $40, but then charge $100 in taxes. Is that what it\u2019s really like?\u201d<\/p>\n

While taxes and airport fees do add to the cost of any flight, within Europe it\u2019s usually a reasonable $10 to $30. Ryanair even routinely sells the actual tickets for mere pennies, meaning the taxes are really all you pay. None of the flights we suggested on Ryanair will bust their budgets: Edinburgh to Dublin for $28 [\u00a314.97], Dublin to Rome for $48 [\u20ac38.28], and Pisa back to London for $28 [\u20ac22.58]. The only complication is that low-cost carriers such as Ryanair have limited baggage restrictions and charge steep rates for excess luggage, so we warned the women to read the fine print and pack light.<\/p>\n

Using BritRail passes, Sara and Beth will head to Bath, a genteel city of Georgian architecture built atop a Roman spa where they can indulge in their shared obsession. \u201cWe\u2019re both big Jane Austen fans,\u201d admits Beth. \u201cIt\u2019s sappy but true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Austen lived in Bath for several years, and on Saturdays and Sundays the Jane Austen Centre runs walking tours past Austen\u2019s former homes and the settings in Persuasion<\/i> and Northanger Abbey.<\/i> A new hostel in the center of town, St. Christopher\u2019s Inn, should be perfect for their visit.<\/p>\n

Rather than focusing exclusively on the cities, as on her school trip, Sara was intent on \u201cgetting out into the countryside this time around, to see what the locals are like, and see landscapes.\u201d Beth agreed. \u201cWe\u2019re both outdoorsy people, obviously, with our job and everything,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were planning on bringing our hiking boots.\u201d<\/p>\n

We knew just where they should point those boots: the Lake District of northern England. Britain\u2019s premier walking destination mixes beautiful hills with the occasional ancient Celtic sight or medieval castle. And the next country inn or village pub is never more than a couple hours\u2019 hike away. <\/span><\/p>\n

Continuing up into Scotland, Beth and Sara will poke around Edinburgh for a few days and then get back into the great outdoors. \u201cYou can only take so many castles, so many museums,\u201d said Beth.<\/p>\n

Inverness is a good home base for the Scottish Highlands, and the tourist office has all the intel on area hikes. There\u2019s even an official Web site, walking.visitscotland.com, detailing hundreds of treks throughout Scotland. Walks that start in Inverness itself range from the easy trail to Dochgarroch, a 7.5-mile stroll through farm country along the River Ness and Caledonian Canal, to the 73-mile Great Glen Way, an ancient natural fault line skirting several lochs (including Loch Ness) all the way to Fort William. By November, the weather will probably be cold and wet, and the locals will know where conditions are most promising.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Next up is Ireland, where Sara and Beth hoped to meet people, see small villages, and yet again get outside. \u201cBike rides would be wonderful,\u201d said Beth. \u201cWe always ride our bikes around town.\u201d <\/p>

The parkland called the Burren, in the west coast county of Clare, is a fine place to ride. The Burren Way, a 45-kilometer trail through sheep-dotted fields, winds south from the town of Ballyvaughan, where bikes rent for $16 a day. Nearby Doolin is a crossroads hamlet with a handful of pubs famous and some of the best traditional music in Ireland.<\/p>\n

Beth and Sara wanted to see many of the big sights in Rome and Florence, but what really got them excited was when we mentioned the Cinque Terre. The five fishing villages just north of Pisa are connected by narrow goat trails draw thousands of casual hikers in the summer. Autumn should be quieter, not to mention cooler.<\/p>\n

The smartest approach is to take an early train to the northernmost of these villages, Monterosso, and hike through vineyards and olive groves. If they time it just right, by sunset they\u2019ll be strolling into the southernmost town, Riomaggiore, home to many cheap rental rooms.<\/p>\n

During our first conversation with Beth, it was obvious she was worried about how much she didn\u2019t know. \u201cI just haven\u2019t researched this as much as I should,\u201d she said. There was no need to stress. Backpackers who seem to know everything and plot out every move tend to have a lot less fun than the folks who are clueless yet up for spontaneous adventure.<\/p>\n

The most memorable parts of a trip are often the things not planned\u2014stumbling into a village festival, dancing all night at a club thanks to a tip from another traveler, hopping on a boat at sunset with new friends. There\u2019s always another hostel or rental room just down the road, and things will fall into place. That\u2019s why we didn\u2019t lay out a fixed itinerary: This may be the last time they\u2019ll spend a month not knowing exactly what the next week will hold. <\/span><\/p>\n

The last time we talked, Beth mentioned visiting a friend just south of London, in Sussex. \u201cHopefully,\u201d she said, \u201che\u2019ll let us stay, maybe for a couple of days.\u201d A free room and <\/i>the chance to get off the tourist path and hang with some locals? Sounds like Beth and Sara are figuring out how to backpack like seasoned vets.<\/p>\n

Surprise!<\/b><\/p>\n

BritRail was kind enough to set Beth and Sara up with Flexipasses good for eight days of first-class travel on the train over a two-month period within England, Wales, and Scotland (britrail.com). The passes, valued at $435 each for travelers under age 26, are really the best gift possible for two friends who want to see as much as possible.  <\/span><\/p>\n

SIDEBAR:<\/b><\/p>\n

Lodging<\/b><\/p>\n

City of London Hostel <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

36 Carter Lane, 011-44\/207-236-4965, hihostels.com, from $37 [\u00a320] per person<\/p>\n

The Generator <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Compton Place, London, 011-44\/207-388-7666, the-generator.co.uk, from $23 [\u00a312.50] per person<\/p>\n

St. Chrisopher\u2019s Inn<\/b><\/p>\n

9 Green St., Bath, 011-44\/207-407-1856, st-christophers.co.uk, from $19 [\u00a310.50] per person<\/p>\n

Attractions<\/b><\/p>\n

Jane Austen Centre <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

40 Gay Street, Queens Square, Bath, 011-44\/1225-443-000, janeausten.co.uk, admission $11 [\u00a35.95], walking tour<\/b> $8 [\u00a34.50]<\/p>\n

tkts kiosk<\/b><\/p>\n

South side of Leicester Square, London, officiallondontheatre.co.uk\/tkts<\/p>\n

Burren Bike<\/b><\/p>\n

The Laundrette, Ballyvaughan, Ireland, 011-353\/65-707-7061, burrenbike.com, $16 [\u20ac13] per day<\/p>\n

Shopping<\/b><\/p>\n

Camden Markets<\/b><\/p>\n

London, camdenlock.net\/markets.html<\/p>\n

Petticoat Lane<\/b><\/p>\n

London, eastlondonmarkets.com<\/p>\n

Portobello Road <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

London, portobelloroad.co.uk<\/p>\n

Spitalfields<\/b><\/p>\n

London, visitspitalfields.com<\/p>\n

RESOURCES<\/b><\/p>\n

Lake District info<\/b><\/p>\n

lakedistrictoutdoors.co.uk, golakes.co.uk, lakelandgateway.info<\/p>\n

Walking the Scottish Highlands<\/b><\/p>\n

walking.visitscotland.com<\/p>\n

greatglenway.com<\/p>\n

Lodging Resources<\/b><\/p>\n

In the U.K.: visitbritain.com, bedbreak.com<\/p>\n

In Ireland: ireland.ie, townandcountry.com<\/p>\n

In Italy: bbitalia.it <\/span><\/p>\n

All over: beyondhotels.net<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two friends from Small, Idaho, saved up by working one really tough summer job so they could afford a classic backpacking adventure in Europe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,17],"tags":[12,30,110,100,41,39,46,29,109,24,47,28,14,108],"class_list":["post-1834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","category-travel","tag-article","tag-budget-travel-magazine","tag-cinque-terre","tag-column","tag-england","tag-europe","tag-ireland","tag-italy","tag-london","tag-magazine","tag-scotland","tag-travel","tag-travel-tip","tag-uk"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1834"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2349,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1834\/revisions\/2349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}