Ireland, Iceland or Scotland for first solo trip

Question — General

Hi, I’m a Mexican exchange student and I just got the opportunity to study for a semester in Spain. I’m 20 years old, and while I’m there, I really want to do my first solo trip

I’ve mostly traveled with my family before, so this would be something new for me. I’ve always had this desire to explore the world on my own, and I’m a huge fan of things like The Lord of the Rings or Death Stranding (worlds with huge, beautiful, almost overwhelming landscapes that really leave an impact)

Since I’ll already be in Europe, I want to take advantage of it and finally do a solo trip, I’m just a bit confused on where to go. I’m planning a trip of about 12–14 days and to really explore the place I have in mind to just stay in one country

A little bit about what I like and what I’m looking for in this trip:

  • I really love history and learning about the places I visit
  • I enjoy learning about the local culture (something i really like to do is learning a bit of the local language wherever I go)
  • I love nature, especially big, stunning scenery; i'm planning on joining (paying?, i'm not sure on what word to use) tours
  • I want something relatively cheap, mainly affordable hostels or hotels, I’m not too worried about food prices since I don’t eat much I’d like a place that’s relatively easy to move around, either by bus or by renting a car (I do have a driver’s license and I’ve had it for about two years)

Out of the countries mentioned in the title, these are the places I’m most interested in visiting based on what I’ve researched, especially for the nature side of the trip:

  • Ireland: I’ve been thinking about places like Donegal, Sligo, Galway, and Cork, since they seem to have some of the best nature in the country (i’ve come to this conclusion from extensively looking at Google maps)

  • Scotland: I’d probably focus mostly on the Highlands, since the scenery there is something I already know I’d love (I want to visit more of the highlands than just the Isle of Skye)

  • Iceland: One of my favorite games (Death Stranding) is heavily inspired by Icelandic landscapes, so this one feels especially tempting. I imagine it would be absolutely breathtaking, It might sound a bit silly, but I can totally imagine myself walking around Iceland with a big backpack, like Sam in the game

I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from people who have traveled to these places or done similar trips

Sorry for any grammatical errors, English isn’t my first language, and i’m so sorry about the formatting and the fact that I can’t seem to put the little dots on the lists, I’m writing this from my phone

Posted Jan 14, 2026, 3:18 AM UTC

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