This Airbnb in Scotland Defines #VacationGoals for Book Lovers
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is. We have vacation on the brain. And vacations can be super productive (as Amy Schumer and JLaw’s screenwriting getaway taught us), so there’s really never been a better time to go on one! If you already like mixing your love of books with travel by visiting book shops wherever you go, you’ll flip over this unique Airbnb offering in Scotland.
Wigtown, Scotland (voted a national book town) is offering tourists a chance to fulfill their fantasies of being surrounded by books 24/7. Local book store The Open Book is an Airbnb where you can not only rent the apartment above the store, but also get experience working as a book slinger. Guests get to work 40 hours a week in the small town bookstore. While a working vacation may seem like kind of a drag, there is something undeniably appealing about being surrounded by books all day and really soaking up the local culture in a unique way. Plus you are encouraged to blog about your experience and use the bikes provided to explore the nearby countryside (which includes places called Art Town and Food Town!).
The Airbnb is sponsored by the Wigtown Book Festival, a non-profit committed to supporting local book stores, so the fee to stay there is pretty cheap (around 24 US dollars a night).
The downside is they don’t pay you for the hours you work at the store, so you’re essentially taking a vacation and still working, but come on, it sounds totally fun! Full disclosure: I worked as a bookseller for five years and it was some of the most interesting, fun work I’ve ever done, so I can vouch that this would be worth it. This is definitely a travel experience that no one else on your Instagram feed will be able to top. Also, if think about it, people take volunteering trips all the time. This is just another way you can volunteer to make the world a better place… one page at a time.
Would you be down for this book vacation? Tell us in the comments!
(Images via Airbnb)
