My fiancée and I were in Scotland in 2023 on an Interrail trip. But with some bad luck, we got COVID-19 after half of the trip and had to go home and recover. We always said we wanted to finish our trip in one of the next years.

That year is now. We’ve planned a new trip to Scotland with Interrail. Accommodations are already booked, and we’ve mapped out a bunch of things we want to do. After a night on a ferry from Rotterdam to Hull, we’ll stay in Edinburgh, Inverness, and London. But this time, we’re also trying something new: camping on the Isle of Skye and in Fort William.

It’s going to be a bit of a mixed trip: train, bus, and this time also a rental car in between, since public transport to the Isle of Skye isn’t super convenient. Let’s see how I do driving on the other side of the road. At least I booked an automatic car, so that’s one less thing to worry about.

And because we’re going to be camping (partly for the experience, partly because hotels and hostels on the Isle of Skye are insanely expensive), we did a little test run last week and camped in the backyard of my fiancée’s parents. I quickly realized that the sleeping pad (just a basic CCF pad) was pretty uncomfortable. That sent me down a research rabbit hole trying to find the best sleeping pad: something comfortable, not too expensive, and as robust as possible (I’ve had some bad luck with leaks on air mattresses).

I didn’t quite find the holy grail of sleeping pads, but I ended up buying one from Decathlon. (Our tent and sleeping bags are also from there – big fan of their stuff in general.) To test it out, I slept on the pad and in the sleeping bag on the floor for the past two nights. 😅

Surprisingly, even though the pad is quite thin and lightweight, it’s comfortable enough. I’m a side sleeper, and my hips or shoulders don’t touch the ground, which is a big win. I didn’t wake up in pain, so now I’m way less nervous about camping – and actually getting excited about our trip, which starts just a few days after my birthday in May.

Let’s just hope we don’t catch COVID-19 again and can actually enjoy the full trip this time. Some of the highlights we’ve got planned:

• Watching puffins on the Isle of May
• A dolphin tour in the Moray Firth
• Isle of Skye
• The Caledonian Sleeper
• Harry Potter Studios in London

We usually travel on a budget, and while we’re still avoiding luxury this time (hello again, camping), it’s probably going to be the most expensive trip we’ve ever taken. 💸