Backpack & Budget : New Travel Bargains in Scotland, England

A budget bus service, free use of bicycles for sightseeing and student discounts on hotel rooms are available in Britain this year.

The Blue Banana Bus is a Scottish bus service for backpackers. For about $72.50, you can travel from Edinburgh north to the island of Skye and back, as fast or as slowly as you wish.

Blue Banana has two 16-passenger minibuses. Pickups and drop-offs will be made six days a week, May through October, at each of the 30 hostels en route. Travelers can get off or on whenever they choose. Bus drivers try to stop at interesting points along the route. During the off-season, Blue Banana operates three-day escorted tours along a similar route for about $45.

For more information and to book reservations, contact Go Blue Banana at 12 Rutland Square, Edinburgh; from the United States, telephone 011-44-31-228-2281.

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In England’s historic university city of Cambridge, 500 free bicycles are available this year for sightseeing. You don’t need a deposit; just pick up a bright green bike from one of the 26 “bike parks” around the city and leave it at the bike park nearest to your destination.

The program, which uses donated bikes or bikes that have been reconditioned after going unclaimed from the police department, has been organized to encourage cycling as a means of transportation. You can get more details from Cambridge Tourist Information, Wheeler Street, Cambridge, England CB2 3BQ.

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Students are offered a special deal by IBIS hotels in England. Rather than let rooms stay empty, IBIS will rent them at a special rate after 9 p.m.

At Heathrow, Luton, Swindon, Southampton, Birmingham and Portsmouth, students 18 to 26 can have an “After Nine” room--for one or two people--for about $30 per night. In Central London and Greenwich, the rate is $44.40 per room, per night. All rooms have bathrooms, TVs, telephones and coffee-making facilities.

Contact hotels individually, or IBIS hotels at 011-44-81-899-0351.

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London on a budget can be challenging. Even the city’s seven Hostelling International youth hostels will range from $12-$25 per night for adult shared-room accommodations this summer.

To keep sightseeing and transportation costs down, however, travelers can buy a Zone 1 & 2 Travelcard at any Tube (subway) station. You can travel between most major tourist sites by bus or subway for a full day, after 9:30 a.m., for $5.50.

These are among the places in London you can visit free:

* The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. 11:30 a.m. daily, April to October.

* The Houses of Parliament. You may have to wait several hours in line to get into the Strangers’ Gallery.

* Westminster Abbey. The Cloisters and Nave are always free. Admission to the Abbey is free Wednesdays from 6 to 7:45 p.m.

* The Tate Gallery. Collection includes works by Monet, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Dali and Rodin.

* The National Gallery. Includes works by da Vinci, Rubens, Gainsborough, Monet, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Picasso.

* The British Museum. Includes the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Magna Carta.

* Natural History Museum. Free 4:30-5:50 p.m. weekdays, and 5-5:50 p.m. weekends.

* The Victoria and Albert Museum. Technically, it’s free, but donations are requested.