How to get to Edinburgh

You can fly direct to Edinburgh from major UK cities, including London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast and Southampton. Edinburgh Airport is well connected to Europe with over 180 air routes. There are also direct flights from the United States and Canada.

There are a number of ways to get to the city from the airport, including The Airlink 100 bus, Trams to St Andrew Square, taxis and rideshares.

You can also hire a car at Edinburgh Airport and drive via the M9, one of Scotland’s main motorways. It takes about 25 minutes to drive to the city centre.

Scotland has great road connections to the rest of the UK and the drive to Edinburgh is fairly straightforward. Here are the average driving times from major UK cities (excluding rest stops):

• London: 8 hours

• Manchester: 4.5 hours

• Birmingham: 5.5 hours

• Liverpool: 4 hours

• Newcastle: 2 hours

• Glasgow: 1 hour

Rail travel has a lower carbon cost and is a convenient way to get around the UK. You can jump on a National Rail train directly to Edinburgh from several cities including Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester and London. Below are the average journey times to Edinburgh:

• London: 4.5 hours

• Manchester: 3.5 hours

• Birmingham: 5 hours

• Liverpool: 4.5 hours

• Newcastle: 1.5 hours

• Glasgow: 1 hour

• Dundee: 1.5 hours

• Inverness: 3.5 hours

• Aberdeen: 2.5 hours

Travelling by coach is the cheapest option. Coach companies including National Express, Citylink and Megabus operate services to Edinburgh with reclining chairs, wi-fi and onboard toilets.