Travelling to Edinburgh

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL THE PRICES AND INFORMATION IN THIS SECTION MAY CHANGE.

Please check with the transport operator for up-to-date prices and information.

When you arrive in the UK you may have to travel to Edinburgh from another city. This section of our site gives information on how to make that journey and the costs involved.

ARRIVING AT EDINBURGH AIRPORT

Edinburgh International airport is about 10 miles from the city centre. The cost of the airport to city centre bus service is £5.50 single and £8.00 return while the tram service to the city centre is £7.50 single and £9.50 return. A taxi costs around £30 each way.

While in Edinburgh

Prices for travel on Edinburgh buses and trams:

SINGLE TICKETS – One journey, any distance – Available on-bus Adult (£2.00) Children 5-15 years old (£1.00) (NOT VALID ON NIGHT BUSES OR AIRPORT BUS)

DAY TICKETS – Unlimited journeys – Available on-bus Adult (£5.00) Children 5-15 years old (£2.50)

WEEKLY TICKETS – Unlimited journeys – Must buy in shop before journey – Adult (£22.00) Under 26 student (£19.00) Children under 16 (£11.00)

4 WEEK TICKETS – Unlimited journeys – Must buy in shop before journey – Adult (£66.00) Under 26 student (£57.00) Children under 16 (£33.00)

ARRIVING IN LONDON

Bus:
Silverchoice Travel, Megabus and National Express operate bus services from London to Edinburgh. The prices of these bus services range from £10.00 to £60.00 single. The journey time is about 9 hours. The buses have toilets and onboard refreshments.

NB. There are student fares available on some buses – An International Student Card is usually required.

Trains:
National rail enquiries have information and timetables for trains between London and Edinburgh. The prices range from about £45.00 (book online 2 weeks in advance) to £100.00 single. The journey time is about 5 hours. There are toilets and hot food and drink available on the trains. Also, some train services have wireless internet access free of charge.

Air Travel:
British Airways, Flybe, Easyjet, Ryanair and Air France offer air services between London and Edinburgh.

NB. There are 5 main airports classed as London; Heathrow (the largest and served by the London underground), London City (the most central), Gatwick (30 miles from the city), Stanstead (30 miles from city but cheap rail tickets available) and London Luton (40 miles from the city).
The cheapest flights direct to Edinburgh generally leave from Stanstead airport.

NB. Prices to reach London airports from the city centre range from about £15.00 to £30.00.
The flying time between London and Edinburgh is around 1 hour.

ARRIVING IN MANCHESTER

Bus:
National Express operates bus services from Manchester to Edinburgh. The prices of these bus services range from £25.00 to £50.00 single. The journey time ranges from about 4.5 hours to 7 hours depending on the route. The buses have toilets and onboard refreshments.

Trains:
National rail enquiries have information and timetables for trains between Manchester and Edinburgh. The prices range from about £16.00 (book online 2 weeks in advance) to £80.00 single. The journey time is about 2.5 hours. There are toilets and hot food and drink available on the trains. Also, some train services have wireless internet access free of charge.

Air Travel:
British Airways, Flybe and BMi, offer air services between Manchester and Edinburgh. Manchester is the busiest airport outside of the London area in the UK. The journey time to Edinburgh is about 35 minutes.

ARRIVING IN GLASGOW

Glasgow is the closest city to Edinburgh (about 35 miles away). Glasgow International airport has regular bus services to the city centre. The journey takes about 25 minutes. From Glasgow city centre there are half hourly bus and train services to Edinburgh city centre.

The Glasgow to Edinburgh train costs about £16.00 single (see First Scotrail) while the bus costs from between £4.50 and £15.00 (see Megabus and Scottish Citlylink)
It is important to note that there are 2 train stations in Glasgow -Queen Street and Central.

Also, Glasgow Prestwick airport is about 35 miles West of the city. There is a bus service to Glasgow city centre (about £10.00 – 50 minutes) and also a bus direct to Edinburgh city centre (from £15.00 online – about 2 hours).

There is also a train from Prestwick to Glasgow centre (see this link for possible free or half price rail travel from Prestwick airport to Glasgow). Ryanair are the main airline that operate to Prestwick airport.