From edinburghcitybreaks.com
Contents |
Travelling to Edinburgh
How To Get to Edinburgh Edinburgh is well connected to the travel network and is especially easy to reach if you are in London. Unless you are mad on cars, don't bother with yours and use public transport. If you need to get out of town, book some car hire through us.
By Air
Edinburgh is well connected for flights from England and Europe. Easyjet, BMI and British Airways fly to Edinburgh from London Airports. KLM, Luthansa and Air France are the main carriers into Edinburgh from the continent. There are presently no flights from the States to Edinburgh. Edinburgh International Airport, [Tel: 0131 333-1000 for general enquiries or 0131 344-3136 for airport information] is 8 miles west of the city centre on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow road. The airport is small, but pretty well equipped. There is a tourist information desk in the international arrivals area who can book accommodation for you, although the queues in season are daunting and the quality of accomodation pretty poor. All the major car hire companies are present in the hall, although like many other airports you then have to travel some distance to pick up your car. We recommend Thrifty who offer excellent service and very competitive prices. Airline 100 (Tel: 0131 555-6363) run buses between the airport and the main train station at Waverley throughout the day. From Waverley Bridge, buses start at 0600 and then run till 2155. From the airport the first bus is at 0630, then till 2230. The main pick up/drop off points in town are at the West End of Princes Street and Haymarket train station. The service costs £3.30 single for adults; £3 for children. An open return fare is £5/3 for children. Tickets can be bought from the driver, but pay in cash not by card or cheque. The journey time is 25 mins, though this can be longer during the rush hours. We recommend that you sit on the top deck and enjoy the view as you drive in. You can also get taxis from the airport to the city centre costing about £15 in one of the white airport taxis, while a black taxi cab will cost around £12 if you can persuade one to stop for you as they are not licensed to pick up from the airport. Journey time is between 20 -30 mins. The fares are properly metered so you needn't fear for your wallet and the taxi drivers know their way around town. Take this opportunity to start trying to understand Scots accents. The airport is also easily reached by car. Parking costs £1.70 per hr short term, or £4.70 per day long term. The long term outside the airport is the best bet for price.
By Train
Edinburgh is well served by trains from the South with both GNER and Virgin running a range of services. From London you can take trains throughout the day from Kings X. A more exciting way to travel is via The Caledonian Sleeper which departs London Euston around 22:00 and arrives in the morning at Edinburgh. You don't sleep much but its sort of travelling in style. All trains to Edinburgh go to Waverley Station, [Tel: 5562477], in the heart of town. This is where the main ticket booking office is located. During peak periods a wait of 30-40 mins is not unusual. Leave at least 10 mins to buy tickets for immediate travel at other times. Taxis collect passengers from the station concourse, but if the queue is depressingly long, there’s another taxi rank on Waverley Bridge. All trains to the north and to the west coast, including Glasgow, also stop at Haymarket station.
By Car
If you are driving to Edinburgh, be aware that you need to find somewhere to hide the car from the city's rapacious traffic wardens. From the south you can travel up the deadly A1 which is the East coast route or via the M74. Travelling from London, we recommend the M74. Finish the journey by travelling up the A702 and begin to feel you are in Scotland.
By Bus
There are buses from London, although this is the budget option as it is a long tiring journey down the M6.