Getting to Edinburgh
Wherever you're coming from, however you choose to travel, getting to Edinburgh is easy. Whether you choose to take a train, plane, car, coach or boat to the city, Scotland's capital is within your reach.
Excellent rail links throughout the UK make the train a great way to get here. Numerous direct scheduled flights from major airports, both in the UK and overseas, mean a trip to Edinburgh is more than just a flight of fancy. Once you get here, you'll find that getting round is just as simple.
By Plane
Edinburgh International Airport is 12km (8 miles) west of the city centre and is easy to reach thanks to an excellent - and regular - Airlink coach service and good taxi services. It takes about 20 minutes to get from the city centre to the airport - but do remember to allow yourself a little extra time during the rush hour, just in case!
There are over 40 flights from London to Edinburgh every day and the average flight time, capital to capital, is about an hour. There are also regular services to Edinburgh from other major UK airports and frequent scheduled flights from 40 European airports including London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Paris and Amsterdam.
The low-cost airlines EasyJet and Ryanair operate numerous daily flights from Edinburgh, and so do Germanwings and TUIfly. You can find out more at the websites listed below. If you're heading to the city from the other side of the Atlantic, Continental Airlines offer a daily flight form New York's Newark airport direct to Edinburgh. Many transatlantic flights also land at Glasgow International Airport, just an hour's drive away.
By Bus
If you're on a budget then buses are a great travel option. Edinburgh is well placed on the Scottish motorway network, so getting here by bus or coach could be quicker than you might think. There are regular Citylink and National Express coach services to Edinburgh from all major UK cities.
By Train
Edinburgh is also easy to reach by train, in fact, the Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) line is the fastest intercity railway in the UK, with a journey time of just 4 hours between Edinburgh (Waverley) and London (Kings Cross). ScotRail operate an overnight service, the Caledonian Sleeper, between London (Euston) and Edinburgh 6 nights a week.
Edinburgh has great rail links to other major cities too - York, Newcastle, Inverness and Aberdeen are all about 2 hours away by train, and Glasgow is just 50 minutes away on the First ScotRail shuttle service which leaves Waverley every 15 minutes.
For all your timetables and fares UK wide:
National Rail Enquiries - contact number 08457 48 49 50
By Car
Because Edinburgh is located at the heart of the Scottish motorway network, it can be surprisingly quick and easy to get here by car. If you're travelling from the north of Scotland, for example, Edinburgh is only 3 hours from Inverness and just over 2 hours from Aberdeen.
Journey times from England are just as good; you can get here from Birmingham in about 5 hours, from Manchester and York in about 4 hours, and the city is just 2 hours from Newcastle.
To help plan your journey you might find the links below useful.
By Ferry
It's easy to get to Edinburgh by sea. An overnight Directferries ferry service operates between Zeebrugge and Rosyth every day, with a crossing time of 17.5 hours. Rosyth is about half an hour's drive from Edinburgh, so getting to the city is plain sailing. You can also reach Edinburgh easily by road from the continental ferry ports of Newcastle and Hull in England, and the ports of Stranraer and Cairnryan in Soutwest Scotland, which run numerous daily services to and from Ireland.
