Getting to the City
Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is located west of Edinburgh city centre at a distance of 9 kilometres. Getting to the city centre from airport is quite easy with its superb transportation system. Edinburgh airport offers loads of facilities that include long time parking to shopping and dining.
Note- Since the currency accepted in Edinburgh is British Pound Sterling (1 Pound is approximately 1.10 Euros, although conversion rate varies), all fares mentioned below are in Pound.
Skylink Buses: You will get buses at an interval of 10 minutes. From airport it takes around half an hour to reach Edinburgh city centre (Waverley Bridge). Buses are available from early morning until midnight. Single journey ticket costs 4.50 Pounds and 7.50 Pounds for return journey. You can buy ticket online, at the bus stop or from the driver.
Night Bus: Night bus route number N 22 runs from 12:45am until 04:15am at an interval of 30 minutes. You can reach city centre within half an hour. The fare of night bus is flat 3 Pounds.
Tram: Tram is another great way to get to the city. It takes around 30 minutes to reach the city centre from airport. Tram running frequency is 7 minutes. This service operates from 06:15am to 10:48pm. The last stop at the city centre is St. Andrew Square in order to reach Waverley and it takes around 37 minutes from the airport.
Fare for single journey for an adult is 6 Pounds and 3 Pounds for children. Return journey fare for adult is 8.50 Pounds and 4.50 Pounds for children. You can get tickets from the vending machines available at the tram station. Vending machines accepts most debit and credit cards as well as cash. No change is dispensed by the machines, so keep enough changes.
Train: The nearest railway station from the airport is Edinburgh Gateway, which is well connected by tram and it takes only 7 minutes to reach. From there you can reach Waverly and Haymarket stations by train (both are mainline stations connected to rest of Scotland and various parts of Europe), both these places are located at the heart of the city centre. For better understanding you may download the rail time table from the Scottish rail website. Frequent trains are available from Waverly for Glasgow, London, Manchester, Birmingham and Plymouth.
You can purchase combined tickets for tram and train from the vending machines at domestic arrival. Trains are available from 6:00am to 12:10am at an interval of 15 minutes. The journey time is 15 minutes only. The single ticket (Gateway to Waverly) costs 4.48 Pounds and open return ticket costs 6.11 Pounds. Online advance ticket booking can save you money.
Taxi: There are two options of booking a taxi at the airport. One is to hire a black taxi from the taxi rank located at the ground floor of the multi-storey car park outside the terminal building. You hire black cabs directly or else book online here at their website. You can also book a cab over phone (013 1656 0830). The journey time to city centre is around 25 minutes. The fare is 25 to 30 Pounds for normal black taxi (4 passengers) and 45 to 50 Pounds for people carrier (6 passengers).
You can also avail Official Airport Private Hire Vehicle service. You need to book one in advance either online or by dialing 084 4448 8576. They have an office near the taxi rank. Up to 8 passengers can be accommodated in this service. The journey time is same as black cabs. The fare is around 20 Pounds.
Car rentals are also available at the airport (see Car Rental section below).
You can choose from a wide range of private transport and transfer services (including airport transfers) and book online from this Viator site.
Public Transport
Transport for Edinburgh or the TfE is responsible for the public transportation system in Edinburgh. Trams and Lothian Buses operate under TfE. While there are other bus services as well, Lothian bus is the main service provider in Edinburgh serving almost every part of the city.
Lothian Buses
Lothian City Buses offer the best way of travelling around the city. There are 50 different routes that cover the entire city. You will find a bus stop almost at every corner of the city centre. Services start from early in the morning until midnight. Single ticket for adult costs 1.70 Pounds and 80pence for a child. A day and night ticket costs 3.50 Pounds.
Another important service of Lothian Buses is their Airport Buses. Here they have four different services. Airlink 100 connects airport with the city centre with service frequency of 10 minutes. This service is available 24 by 7. Skylink 200 connects airport and Ocean Terminal via North Edinburgh. Service starts at 4:55am until midnight with 30-minute frequency.
Skylink 300 serves Cameron Toll via West Edinburgh. This route operates from early morning and the last bus leaves at 11:10pm. Service frequency is 20 minutes. The fourth route (a new one) is Skylink 400. It connects airport and Fort Kinnaird via South Edinburgh. Service frequency is half an hour and the route operates from early morning until 11:35pm. Single ticket costs 4.50 Pounds for adults and 2 Pounds for children.
Night Bus service is very popular among the late night travellers. It is operative from midnight until 04:30am. A single night ticket costs 3 Pounds.
Lothian Country is a service that connects city centre with the western suburbs of Edinburgh Queensferry. There are 4 fare zones. Single ticket costs 1.70 Pounds for adults and 80Pence for children for zone 1, 2.70 Pounds for adults and 1.30 Pounds for children for zone 2, Zone 3 ticket costs 3.70 Pounds for adults and 1.80 Pounds for children and the adult ticket for zone 4 costs 4.70 pounds and 2.30 Pounds for children.
East Coast Buses connect Edinburgh and Haddington via coastal area. There are several routes including their NightHawk service. Single ticket for all 5 zones costs 5.70 Pounds for adults and 2.80 Pounds for children.
Park & Ride is an interesting service by Lothian Buses. You can park your vehicle for free at any of the five designated sites and then ride their buses. The five points are Ingliston, Hermiston, Sheriff hall, Straiton and Wallyford, all within the city. Tickets can be purchased at the terminal buildings or else from the driver.
Note that Ridacard is accepted for the first two services only. You can get changes only from the manned ticketing centres at the terminals. For further queries visit www.lothianbuses.com.
Edinburgh Trams
Since 2014 the Edinburgh Trams network has been complementing Lothian Buses to make the city transportation virtually flawless. Trams and bus service in Edinburgh run in a partnership basis. The first tram departs at 05:30am from York Place (city centre) and the frequency is 3 minutes. The last tram from city centre departs at 11:30 pm. Wheelchairs, prams and up to two bicycles are allowed on a tram.
Purchase your ticket from the vending machines on the platforms or else use your travel pass but do not forget to validate your pass. If you have no ticket, onboard ticket would cost 10 Pounds. A minimum single fare for city zone is 1.70 Pounds for adults and 80p (Pence) for children. For airport zone the minimum single fare is 6 Pounds for an adult and 3 Pounds for a child.
Vending machines accepts major debit and credit cards with a minimum purchase of 3 Pounds. Machines also accepts coins of 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p (Pence), 1 Pound and 2 Pounds. Note that no change is dispensed by the machines so tender exact fare.
To know further you may visit www.edinburghtrams.com.
Train
From Edinburgh you can take trains to experience some spectacular scenic journeys. Following are the few popular ones…
Take Borders Railway’s train from Edinburgh to Tweedbank. Experience the land of Sir Walter Scott in this picturesque Scottish border area. Plan your trip during sunset to experience breathtaking views of Gorebridge and Stow. Take a train from Waverley station and disembark at Tweedbank. The journey time is around 55 minutes. Ticket costs little less than 11 Pounds.
Edinburgh to Aberdeen by train is another exciting route to travel. This great scenic rail journey will surely rejuvenate you. Take a LNER or ScotRail train from Waverley station towards Aberdeen. Journey time is approximately 2 hours 20 minutes. A single journey ticket costs around 37 Pounds.
The city of triple ‘J’ Dundee (Jute, Jam and Journalism) is another great destination to travel by train. Enjoy the scenic beauties while passing by the two most iconic engineering towns of Scotland Forth and Tay Bridges. From Waverley station board a ScotRail train towards Arbroath and get down at Dundee station. Journey time is approximately 1 hour 20 minutes. Single journey ticket is around 18 Pounds.
The round trip from Edinburgh via Sterling and Perth famously known as Whiskey and Waterfall tour by train offers breathtaking highland landscape and a chance to taste the Scottish national drink. It costs around 54 Pounds for an adult.
Taxi
You will find black City Cabs in Edinburgh to meet up your taxi needs and they all bear black coloured ‘Taxi’ signage on top. You can hail one or book over phone +44 131 228 1211; you can even book a black taxi online. There are four different tariff systems or taxi fares in Edinburgh.
The First two tariff types are for weekdays.
- Tariff 1: Monday to Friday from 6:00am to 06:00pm. Initial fare is 2.60 Pounds, 0.25 Pounds thereafter for every 174 metres or every 37 seconds waiting.
- Tariff 2: Monday to Friday 6:00pm to 6:00am. Initial fare is 3.60 Pounds, 0.25 Pounds thereafter for every 174 metres or every 37 seconds waiting.
- For more than 2 passengers you need to pay 0.20 Pounds per extra passenger.
- Airport drop at inner drop off zone will attract 1 Pound extra.
- If taxi is soiled by passenger (motion or travel sickness), a penalty of 50 Pounds would apply.
There is another taxi service available in Edinburgh known as Central Taxi. You can book central taxi by calling +44 131 229 2468 or by visiting there website. The same standard fare rate as above is applicable for Central Taxi as well.
Hop on Hop off
A great way to enjoy Edinburgh is to avail the service of open double decker hop on hop off buses. There are three different routes that cover all the major attractions of Edinburgh. The Royal Edinburgh Ticket allows you to avail the service for 48 hours on all the three routes… The Edinburgh Tour, The Majestic Tour and City Sightseeing Tour. It also offers free access to Edinburgh Castle, The Palace of Holyroodhouse and The Royal Yacht Britannia.
All hop on hop off buses start from Waverly Bridge stoppage. Tours operate from around 9am at an interval of 20 to 30 minutes. Tickets can be booked online but it has to be collected from Edinburgh Bus Ticket Office at Waverly Bridge after presenting the online booking voucher. Ticket costs around 53 Pounds.
Transport Passes & Tickets
The major tourist attractions in Edinburgh are located within the city centre periphery and within walking distance. There are multiple options of buying tickets and passes in Edinburgh. Additionally two city cards are available… Royal Edinburgh 48 Hours Attractions Ticket and Historic Scotland 3 and 7 days Explorer Pass. These two passes are mainly for free entry to several attractions. The first one also offers one day free hop on hop off bus trip in the city. There are no other features for any free transportation in these two city cards though.
Network DAYticket
This is best option for a tourist and it is a day ticket valid until next day 04:30am. Along with the city area it also covers airport zone and allows you a free bus or tram transfer to the city. You can have unlimited rides with Lothian country and East Coast Bus zones, Lothian Buses, Airlink, Skylink, Edinburgh trams and Night buses. It costs 9 Pounds for an adult and 4.50 Pounds for a child.
You can purchase tickets online by downloading Transport for Edinburgh’s (TfE) mobile app. You can also purchase it from vending machines at the tram stations. Another option is to get your ticket from the driver of the first bus you are boarding. While purchasing tickets from bus drivers, tender exact fare because they won’t return any change.
Regular DAYticket
Regular DAYtickets are valid only in the city zone (excluding airport zone) and you can have unlimited rides by trams and Lothian buses. It costs 4 Pounds for an adult, 2 Pounds for a child and 8.50 Pounds for a family DAYticket. 2 adults and up to 3 children are allowed to travel by a family DAYticket. Note that these tickets are not accepted by Skylink or Airlink. You can purchase tickets same way as Network DAYticket.
Ridacard
If you are staying at Edinburgh for more than 5 days then a Ridacard is a great option for you. You can avail Lothian city buses, Night Bus services, Airport buses, Lothian Country buses (city zone and city west zone), East Coast buses (for A and B zone of the city) and Edinburgh trams. This season ticket allows unlimited rides from the city to airport and Queensferry during its validity. One week Ridacard costs 19 Pounds for adults and 9 Pounds for children. Ridacard can be purchased from the Travelshops and Paypoint Retailers across the city.
Edinburgh PLUSBUS
PLUSBUS tickets offer free unlimited rides around the urban areas of Edinburgh by Lothian buses and trams. This ticket is however not allowed in most vehicles to the airport. The day price for an adult is 3.80 Pounds and for a child is 1.90 Pounds. For Railcard holders the price for a day is 2.50 Pounds. If you are travelling through Scotland then a Railcard is an good option. You can buy Plusbus ticket online from Scotrails website or from any railway station using your rail ticket. PLUSBUS ticket is not issued unless you hold a rail ticket.
Getting To Major Attractions
Most attractions are located in and around the city centre area; if you enjoy walking you can take a foot trail to visit those places.
Edinburgh Castle is famous for its One O’clock gun salute. Do not miss the stunning collection of Crown Jewels. Distance is around 600 metres from Waverley. It takes less than ten minutes by walk via Market Street.
Royal Mile is a street that links Edinburgh Castle and Holyroodhouse. The length of Royal Mile is perfectly 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) and is full of shopping attractions, inns, museum, cafes and restaurants.
Palace of Holyroodhouse should be your next spot having visited Edinburgh Castle and Royale Mile. This is the Edinburgh‘s official residence of the Queen. You can walk up to Forest Road (650 metres) and then board line number 35 bus towards Ocean Terminal and disembark at Abbey hill Crescent. Journey time is around 8 minutes; from there walk for around 150 metres to the Palace.
Holyrood Park is located at a distance of 800 metres (10 minutes walk) from the palace.*
*Here is a nice plan: In order to witness the One O’clock gun salute at Edinburgh Castle, begin your day’s trip after breakfast and start with Holyrood Park. Then visit Palace Holyrood House, from there head towards Edinburgh Castle through Royal Mile and reach the castle before 1:00pm.
National Museum of Scotland has 16 galleries with over 8,000 artifacts. This place is a must visit for Elton John’s fans. You can either walk down to this place (approximately 800 metres from Waverly Bridge) or take a bus. To take a bus you need to walk (350 metres) towards Mound place, then board a line-42 bus towards King’s Road and get down at Chambers Street after 2 minutes; Then walk for around 150 metres to the museum.
Hiring Bicycles
Edinburgh City administration encourages roaming around the city by bikes. This bike friendly city has lots of dedicated bike paths; even during peak time cycling on bus lanes are allowed. The rate of hiring a bike is around 12 to 15 Pounds for half day and around 70 Pounds for a week. Following are a few well-known bike rental companies.
- Cycle Scotland (www.cyclescotland.co.uk)
- Biketrax (www.biketrax.co.uk)
- Pedal Forth (www.pedalforth.co.uk)
- Leith Cycle Co. (www.leithcycleco.com)
Car Rentals
There are plenty of car rental companies available in Edinburgh. You can either rent a self-driven or a chauffeur driven car and with your choice of model. The hiring rates vary from 11 to 50 Pounds per day depending on companies and models. Following are a few well-known car rental companies.
- Sixt Car Hire: (Website: www.sixt.co.uk)
- Enterprise Rent A Car: (Website: www.enterprise.co.uk)
- Avis: (Website: www.avis.co.uk)
- Europcar (Website: www.europcar.com)
Scooter/Motorbike Rentals
On an average you can hire a scooter at the rate of 45 to 50 Pounds per day. Following are a few well-known rental companies…
- Saltire Motorcycles: (Website: www.saltiremotorcycles.com)
- Edinburgh Harley Davidson: (Website: www.edinburghharley-davidson.co.uk)
- Rent a Motor cycle: rentamotorcycle.co.uk
- Kirkcaldy Kawasaki: www.kdykawasaki.com
Transport tips
- Like in England, vehicles move along the left side of the road in Scotland. Look at your right side first before crossing the road
- Edinburgh is a rather small city and most of the attractions are within the city centre limits, walking is the best option to get around the city centre
- The transportation system in Edinburgh has a great accessibility for wheelchair users
- Tipping is not necessary to the drivers of black taxis but it is expected to round up the fare to the nearest Pound
- You will find a conductor in a tram and occasional checking in buses, so do not forget to purchase your ticket
- Do not forget to tap on your travel passes during each journey or else you will attract a minimum fine of 10 Pounds
A travel addict. Still celebrating the day when he quit his high-profile corporate job to pursue his passion for travel writing.