August in Edinburgh questions
 

We are planning a 2 week trip to Scotland in August. Now I have 2 areas of concern that I need some advice on.

Because of all the festivals, will the city be a mob scene? I mean, will it be nearly impossible to make a dinner reservation or get into a nice restaurant? Will there be wall to wall people all over the downtown area? Will the museums be really crowded? I like a festival etc. but we don't want to deal with large crowds everywhere. Would it be better to come in July? What do you think?

Also, I noticed many hotels and B&B's (even the more expensive ones) don't have air conditioning. Can someone give me an idea of what the high temps might be in August during the days and nights? I am at the age where keeping cool at night is a must, if you know what I mean! :^)

Thanks again,
Ginny

If you are interested in attending the various festivals and the Tattoo - then of course you have to go in August. But if the festivals aren't &quot;musts&quot;, you will do <b>much</b> better in July. Smaller crowds, cheaper accomodations, no 3 night minimums, and so on.

August in Edinburgh is a special place - but for just normal sightseeing any other month will be better.

A/c? You ARE talking about Scotland afterall. Sure there can be a heat wave - the hottest day I ever had in Scotland was one day in May at St Andrews when it was about 80F and the winds totally died. Seemed like about 90. But I have never asked if a place had a/c - never even a consideration. Central heating is needed much more often.

Yes, the city will be very busy. It won't be impossible to get a dinner reservation, because this is what the city lives for. If you have specific restaurants in mind, however, book them well in advance.

There will be a lot of people everywhere. The museums will not be so bad, but they will be busy.

If you want Edinburgh for its own sake, avoid July and August.

If you mean to come in the festival and you haven't booked a room, get your skates on. I MEAN IT!!

You will not, I promise, need air conditioning.

I can't add any more to the excellent advice Janis &amp; Sheila have already given you. I love the festivals; but if you're not interested in them, don't come in August.

I live at Edinburgh and I think it is really busy during August. However, as mentioned before, you have to come in August if you want to see the Festival and the Military Tattoo.

However, it is not exactly a mob scene. I went to Paris in December, and even the crowd then is worse than Edinburgh in August. Having said that, Edinburgh is smaller than Paris.

But if you have decided to visit Scotland in August, perhaps you should drop by Edinburgh, at least for 2 days.

For the restaurants, perhaps it is wise to book early. Around the city centre, I would recommend the following restaurants:
1. Gordon's Trattoria, 231 High Street
2. Valvona &amp; Crolla Caff&egrave; Bar, 19 Elm Row, Leith Walk
3. Le Sept, 5 Hunter Square
4. B’est, 16 Drummond Street
5. The Blonde, 75 St. Leonards
6. Dubh Prais, 123B High St
7. Doric Tavern, 15/16 Market Street

High Street is more popularly called the Royal Mile here.

Hi Ginny
A lot of this has been said before but it does no harm to repeat it.
Edinburgh will be hoachin wi peepil (as we say in Scotland) during the Festivals. At festival time it's an experience in itself, but if you are mainly interested in things that are there all year round, you're wasting your money coming at festival time. Depending on your interests there will be plenty to keep you busy in other parts of the country.
Air conditioning? I live across the Forth, within sight of Edinburgh, and I don't know anyone who has air conditioning. We're talking night-time temperatures of 10 to 15C average in high summer, day-time maximum of about 25C. Unless you're from Greenland you won't be too hot, and most hotels provide enough blankets or duvets to stop even the most tropical of visitors from being cold at night.

And it only reaches 25C for one day every 4 years :-) It doesn't normally struggle above about 21C.

Sorry Caroline, I was quoting figures for the tropics of Fife. I forgot Edinburgh has a reputation for being a wee bit colder ;-)

You won't need air conditioning. I saw it snow in Edinburgh in May once. (It didn't stick, but it did in fact snow.)

You will be confortable opening a window if it gets warm. That being said, I prefer upper level floors so the street noise doesn't wake me.

Enjoy your trip. Bring a sweater. Leave your shorts at home.

flagging

Go in August. It was just awesome - such a great atmosphere. Just get up early to visit the castle - to avoid the tour buses. There are street performers everywhere. We never had a problem finding somewhere to eat. But then we are not picky.

And it wasn't that warm. I had a light scarf for the evenings.

Edinburgh during the festival is great!

I haven't been here for awhile but I wanted to thank all the posters who answered my Edinburgh questions! We will now be coming to Edinburgh starting on July 31st, about a week before the Finge Festival starts. We will be leaving a couple of days after that. I hope we can still get a room!!

We decided to avoid the city during the actual festivals eventhough they are probably wonderful.

I also got the distinct impression that we don't need to worry about having A/C in Scotland!! It will be a nice change from Texas in August!

Ginny

Hi Ginny. The Fringe officially starts on 6th August but there'll be some shows previewing for a few days before that. So hopefully you'll get the best of both worlds - the chance to see some shows if you want, plus no problem with accommodation. But do still book accommo asap !!

I booked my International Festival tickets yesterday so I'm happy :-)

Caroline,

Thanks for your advice! What shows are you going to see? How exciting!

Ginny

topping

Hi Ginny. So far we've booked for all 4 staged operas (DH only for the Mozart), the Berlin Phil (DH only), 'Troilus &amp; Cressida' &amp; 'Long Life'. The International Festival website is www.eif.co.uk (but it doesn't start until 13th) &amp; the Fringe website is www.edfringe.com.