How to get to Edinburgh | Intrepid Travel UK

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. Britain is well connected and there are a number of ways to get to the Scottish capital from destinations in the UK including air, train, tram and bus services. It also has excellent transport links to/from destinations in Europe and beyond.

Getting to Edinburgh by air

You can fly direct to Edinburgh Airport from Britain’s major cities including London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast and Southampton. Flight times are very short and take under 30 minutes from London. When you arrive at Edinburgh airport, you can transfer to the city via:

Airlink 100 bus: Departs for York Place in the city centre every 15 minutes (04:30 - 00:30) and every 30 minutes (00:30 - 04:30). This bus route operates 24/7. The journey takes 30 minutes. Adult tickets cost £4.50 one way and £7.50 return.
Tram: Trams depart for St Andrew Square every seven minutes (07:00-19:00) and every 15 minutes (19:00-07:00). The journey takes 30 minutes. An adult ticket costs £6.50 one way or £9.00 return (a return ticket is open-ended so you can use it whenever). You can also buy combined tickets for tram and train travel.
Taxi and rideshare: You can jump in a cab at the taxi rank located in the East Terminus across from the main terminal. The drive takes 25 minutes and costs about £20. Rideshares such as Uber and Guru are also available at the drop-off and pick up points.
Driving: You can 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. Car rental companies include Avis, Hertz, Thrifty, Budget, Alamo and Europcar.

Getting to Edinburgh by train

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

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

Getting to Edinburgh by coach

Travelling to Edinburgh by coach is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly option. There are several coach companies that travel between Edinburgh and the major UK cities including National Express, Citylink and Megabus. They offer comfortable day and overnight services with reclining chairs, Wi-Fi and onboard toilets.

Getting to Edinburgh by road

Scotland has great road connections to the rest of the UK and the drive to Edinburgh is pretty straightforward. Below are the average driving times from major cities in the UK (without factoring in stops):

London - 8 hours
Manchester - 4.5 hours
Birmingham - 5.5 hours
Liverpool - 4 hours
Newcastle - 2 hours
Glasgow - 1 hour

How to travel to Edinburgh from Europe

Edinburgh Airport is well connected with over 180 routes to 130 destinations. You can fly direct to Edinburgh from a wide range of European countries including Spain, Germany, France, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Finland and more. There are also direct flights from the United States and Canada including Washington and Toronto. Popular low-cost airlines include Ryanair, British Airways, Flybe, Norwegian and EasyJet.

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