New Bus Is Top Banana in Scotland : Service runs circuit of 20 towns every two days. There’s also hostel news from Italy and Australia.

Budget travelers visiting Scotland can take advantage of a new bus service designed especially for them: the Blue Banana.

The service covers a route that connects more than 20 youth hostels throughout the country. It takes two days for the Blue Banana to complete the whole circuit, meaning that guests at each participating hostel using the service have the opportunity to move on every second day.

A ticket to travel the whole circuit costs about $70. The route links hostels in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oban, Pitlochry and other towns. You can travel it as quickly or as slowly as you please.

For details, contact Go Blue Banana, 12 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, Scotland; telephone from the U.S. 011-44-31-228-2281.

Also in Scotland, a 120-bed youth hostel was opened this summer in Stirling, about an hour by road from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth. More than $2.8 million was spent on the flagship hostel in central Scotland.

It is in the historic Old Town area, just yards from Stirling Castle, and will be open year-round. Dormitory rooms are limited to four beds.

Three new hostels have opened in Italy so recently that it’s unlikely you’ll find them in guidebooks.

The Bologna 2 Youth Hostel opened last March. It has 80 beds (two to four per room), a self-service kitchen, large gardens and a basketball court. It is also called San Sisto 2, and you can find it at Via Viadagola 5, 40127 Bologna.

A 210-bed youth hostel opened in Genoa. There are four to eight beds per room and special facilities for the disabled. It also offers a self-service kitchen and a large common room. The Genoa Youth Hostel is at Via Costanzi 16136, Genoa.

In Florence, a 170-bed hostel opened in August. This hostel offers two-bedded rooms with showers and wash basins, a self-service restaurant, bar and common rooms. It’s called the Casa dello Studente P Calamandrei, and it’s at Viale Morgagni 51, Florence.

All three hostels are affiliated with the worldwide network of low-cost lodgings called Hostelling International.

Hundreds of hostels throughout Australia compete for budget travelers’ business. One way they attempt to attract visitors is through packages with local tour operators.

Backpackers Resorts, one of the hosteling networks, recently published a free booklet called “Australia’s Best Choice in Backpacker Resorts and Tours.” It focuses on “resort hostels” and includes information on tours offered in those areas that cater to backpackers.

For example:

* “The Edge” is a boat that cruises Sydney Harbor. According to the company that operates the service, Cruises are 6 1/2 hours and include swimming and a barbecue lunch. The boat leaves The Rocks, Sydney’s old town, at 9:45 a.m., Thursday-Sunday. Backpackers are welcome to bring their own beer and champagne. For details, call 011-61-18-278-511.

* In the Whitsunday Islands, day trips to the Great Barrier Reef aboard the America’s Cup challenger yacht “Gretel,” are available for $38. Boardsailing and snorkeling are included; optional scuba diving is an additional $25. Guests staying at one of the Australia’s Best Choice (known locally as ABC) hostels in the Airlie Beach area, and who book the trip through the hostel, can get a further discount. For details, call 011-61-79-467-529.

* The Gold Coast is a 25-mile stretch of beaches southeast of Brisbane on the Queensland coast. Unfortunately, when you get to Surfers Paradise, the area winds up looking like the Australian version of Miami Beach. However, for those who want to get away from the crowds, the Gold Coast hinterland offers mountain, rain forest and river scenery. Numinbah Valley Adventure Trails takes tourists on trail rides into the area; on Wednesdays, the company offers special departures geared for backpackers for a discounted rate of $25. For details, call 011-61- 75-33-4137.

Copies of “Australia’s Best Choice in Backpacker Resorts and Tours” are available through participating hostels in Australia. In Sydney, you can find such hostels at 14 Springfield Mall, 16 Orwell St. and 144 Victoria St., all in the Kings Cross area.

For more information on Australia, contact the Australian Tourist Commission, 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1200, Los Angeles 90067, (310) 552-1988.