We are wondering if Costerphine is too far out from the city centre to stay? There is a reasonably priced b and b there that we are thinking of staying at. any suggestions?
thanks

No. Not at all. There is an excellent transport system in Edinburgh and you can get all sorts of buses into the city centre. The journey would take 15 minutes tops, depending on the time of day.

Good question, Nelcarp. It never occurred to me to ask someone if the location of a particular B&B was easy to get to the city centre. I've been wondering about the B&B I picked, but never thought to ask. Hope you don't mind if I add to your post. Almcd, Is Arden House at 126 Old Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh far from the city centre? Thanks.

Still trying to sort out centre city vs. just outside of town. One complication that occurs to me is that we'll have a rental car from the first leg of our trip and that we would continue with after Ediburgh. Is parking that car more of an issue in the city? If so, is being in Central Ediburgh more ideal to the point that we may want to drop the rental and get a new one before we leave??

One problem - short rental cast than longer ones so you would pay extra to rent two different cars.

Many B&Bs just outside of the city center have small parking areas - be sure to check the w/ the B&B before booking. The bus system in Edinburgh is REALLY good. I usually try to arrange Edinburgh at the front or back end of my visits so I won't have a car and can stay in the center. But a few times that wasn't possible and I stayed on bus routes. You will be OK staying just outside central Edinburgh - Corstophine is fine as are other neighborhoods. You will be just minutes from Princes Street by bus.

Just to point out that Corstophine covers more than just the main road - some of the streets can be a bit away from bus routes or can be on routes where services are infrequent.

Suggest a look at a map of Edinburgh like are available through www.streetmap.co.uk and check the bus routes - www.lothianbuses.com - before committing to a particular B&B

And does anyone know if the new permit parking rules are going to affect Corstophine?

Oops - just saw the typos in my post. Should have read "short rentals cost more than longer ones . . . "

Okay, we've nailed down our B&B choices to two:

1. Iverleith Hotel: My wife loves this one as it is across from the East gate of the Botanic Gardens. We have rental car; we will need to plug a meter for the day at about 4.30 pounds/day (seems like a bit of a hassle..maybe not for being by the gardens. 3 Star Scotland B&B rating (http://www.inverleithhotel.co.uk/)

2. The Beverley: Possibly a mile or two further away; yet immediate bus accecss is available on the main lines running from the airport to Prices Street. Free parking. 4 Start Scotland B&B rating (http://www.thebeverley.com/Where/Where_4.htm)

Any experience with either of these? Is being in the area of the Botanic Gardens plus (in addition to the gardens themselves).

Just want to choose well and you all have such great advice!

Thanks

I, like Dallas, am adding an additional question to nelcarp's original post. How late do the buses run? If we manage to get tickets for the 2008 Tattoo, will we have problems getting back to our B&B via bus late in the evening? Thanks!