With that budget I would stay right in Ireland. The places you mention are both quite expensive.

Switzerland doesn't have to be expensive. There are nice hostels there (check out Riviera Lodge in Vevey, that's 1 hour outside Geneva).

My other thought, althought you don't mention it, would be Paris.

Look very carefully before heading to Switz - prices can be double those in Ireland. If you want mountains Germany of Austria will be less expensive - or perhaps even France. With your limited budget I would stay in one place - the more you travel around the more expensive.

ITALY!!!

I did an exchange there and am going back this summer. Add me - I'll give you all the details. It's safe, beautiful, and there is so much to see in 10 days.

welcome to fodors. I hope you never need to use your skills. It is unlikely in Western Europe that you will need to. The most likely place described above where wandering hands will be a problem is Italy.

Switzerland is expensive, leave it alone.

Dublin has a unfriendly but cheap airline called Ryanair which goes about anywhere so while I would suggest going to Scotland (mountains and public transport), Ireland does not have real mountains though I understand there are arguements about a few hills.

France has mountains and public transport (and even right up against the Swiss border is still reasonably cheap), but looking at Ryanair flight you might like to look at Carcassone ( a revamped medievel city fortress) down near the Spanish border with the Pyrenees mountain range to the south.

If you can fly to Milan, Torino or Verona from Ireland you can have access to really very beautiful mountain scenery using the trains. If you pick your spots carefully, you don't need to spend a fortune.

From Milan or Torino, you can take a train into the valle d'Aosta and have access to hiking trails with views of the Matterhorn and/or Mont Blanc, and just some extremely lovely glacier peaks and flowery meadows all sorts of places. You can find farms with lodgings there and eat lots of delicious soups and cheeses for not a lot of money.

Or from Milan or Verona (or Brescia airport), you can take trains and buses to hiking trails in the Dolomiti mountains. Most people rent a car and stay in 4* hotels. But you can access many of the most beautiful trails and stay in smaller b&bs and hostels and on farms. There is a lot of accommodation up there.

Finally, I believe Ryan Air may still fly to Trieste airport. You can take trains and buses from there to Udine, and then further into the Carnic Alps for great hikes (this is a really cheap part of the world) and also find buses that will take you to the Dolomiti, where you can come back to Verona or Venice through Belluno or Bolzano or Trento.

Another possibility that might be great for you is the Picos mountains in northern Spain. You can fly there, use public transportation to get to good mountain hostel that serves food, and hike every day. These are last completely unspoiled mountains of Europe. You can often find information by looking on the Guardian newspaper website's travel section.

If you need to fly back to Ireland, it would be great if you could leave a good deal of your stuff behind and just pack very lightly.

These places are difficult to research, even with the internet. But the Cadogan Guides really have excellent information about public transportation, and usually the Rough Guides do as well. It is even worth looking through a Rick Steves book or go to his message board, because a lot of travelers there are budget travelers who use public transportation to see the Dolomiti and the Picos, or take the train and buses into the valle d'Aosta.

There are also websites for mountain backpackers and young budget travelers. Thorntree is one, BootsN'All is another.

It's possible they will also tell you that your budget is too light for some of the countries you are thinking of, and you may not like the alternatives (Slovenia? Roumania?) But if you want to go beyond Ireland, maybe you can make your budget work.

There are lots of beautiful places in the mountains of Europe that are not famous in the US or even the UK. But still you find people speak adequate English, they are very safe, and very cheap. Don't give up yet.

>>Finally, I believe Ryan Air may still fly to Trieste airport. You can take trains and buses from there to Udine, and then further into the Carnic Alps for great hikes (this is a really cheap part of the world) and also find buses that will take you to the Dolomiti, where you can come back to Verona or Venice through Belluno or Bolzano or Trento.

THIS! ^^

Also, I took a motorcycle trip from Trieste to Slovenia and it was amazing! So, Slovenia may be a cool and cheap option. The Julian Alps are fantastic for hiking, Really gorgeous.

Here are some photos of the area: http://motorbikeeurope.com/en/discover-julian-alps-slovenia

It says "motorbike" in that link, - but you can take the train also. You can take the bus or train to the Ljubljana (Slovenia) main station and change to train No 12 there. The ride is spectacular as you go up through a hill bordered by forests, it is very nice when the area is covered with snow, after the visit to caves and/or mountains you can even continue to Portoroz on the Adriatic coast. Affordable, beautiful, safe and a lot of fun.

Train travel in Slovenia is mostly on local trains, and on some routes there are also Eurocity and Intercity (ICS) trains, which provide the fastest means of train travel. Connections between larger cities and towns are regular and quite frequent and the trains are comfortable and air-conditioned. The main train station in Ljubljana is located very near the centre of the city. The transportation of bicycles is possible on trains and on the route Bohinjska Bistrica.

Besides local connections, international connections are also available. Ljubljana is directly connected with Vienna, Graz, Villach and Salzburg in Austria; Sofia in Bulgaria; Prague in the Czech Republic; Solun (Thessaloniki) in Greece; Zagreb, Pula, Opatia and Rijeka in Croatia; Venice in Italy; Budapest in Hungary; Skopje in Macedonia; Munich in Germany; Belgrade in Serbia; and Zurich in Switzerland.


The main bus station in Ljubljana is located directly across the road from the train station. Bus connections are frequent and available to distant locations throughout the country.

In larger cities and towns the hire of bicycles is also available, with which, either with a guide or alone, you can uncover the many interesting corners of our country.

We were in Slovenia and Croatia last year at the end of June and the beginning of July. It was extremely hot, and the hotel air conditioning is not very cool. If you go there, take shorts and wear a hat.