WillTravel

My daughter (who will be 15) and I are scheduled to land at Glasgow airport around 8 AM on August 21 (on Continental). We then want to proceed straight to Edinburgh. We're staying at university residences at 11/2 Robertson's Close Cowgate.

If I understand correctly, we can take the CityLink bus into central Glasgow, and then switch to another bus from central Glasgow to central Edinburgh.

However, I've heard of taking a train from Glasgow airport, and then catching a bus.

What's the cheapest and/or easiest transit solution? We pack pretty lightly.

It would be nice if the seats were comfortable and we weren't too crowded, but that might be too much to ask.

Should we plan to get some sort of bus pass or travel card once we're in Edinburgh?

On the morning of the 27th, we're taking an EasyJet flight from Glasgow airport to Berlin, so I have booked the Express by Holiday Inn at the Glasgow airport for the night of the 26th. If we want to head to our hotel on the night of the 26th from our Edinburgh accommodation, what's the best solution?

AAFrequentFlyer

Look at www.megabus.co.uk for cheap fares and very frequent schedules. They will only allow booking ~2 months ahead, but it will cost 4.50BP TOTAL for both of you, R/T.

It's only about 1:20 ride between the Buchanan Bus station in Glasgow to the St.Andrews Bus station in Edinburgh.

JJBhoy

Hi again WillTravel,

I would forget the option of getting a train into the city centre from Glasgow airport. The airport isn't directly connected by rail so you would have to get a bus into Paisley then catch a train into Glasgow Central. Even once you got to Glasgow you would then have to cross the city centre to catch either the bus or train to Edinburgh - it's not that much of a walk but I thnk it's more hassle than you need arriving in a strange city.

I would recommend that you take the CityLink bus (which leaves from right outside the airport) into Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow city centre. You then have a choice of taking another bus from the Bus Station into Edinburgh or walking the 5 or 10 minutes down to Queen St. railway station & taking the train.

I would normally recommend the train over the bus as it's a quicker journey (45 minutes by train as opposed to just over an hour by bus) but I think in your shoes it would be simpler just to stick to the bus as you won't have to leave the bus station - it would just be a matter of buying your tickets to Edinburgh & finding the right stance.

Bear in mind, however, that you will be arriving in Glasgow at rush hour so I'm afraid you will probably have to expect heavy traffic & busier buses.

For the return journey back to your hotel at Glasgow Airport you could easily just make the same journey in reverse. Alternatively, if you're feeling a wee bit more confident, catch the train from Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Queen St. & then walk up to the Bus Station to catch the CityLink back to the airport.

Hope this helps - feel free to ask again if you need anything else.

Jim

JJBhoy

Sorry WillTravel - on reading AAFrequentFlyer's post I think he/she is probably more accurate re the length of the bus journey between Glasgow & Edinburgh. "Just over an hour" is almost certainly under-estimating it.

It will more likely be between 75 - 90 minutes depending on traffic. The bus will be the cheaper option, however.

WillTravel

From what I can tell, the CityLink and Megabus seem to have some sort of joint venture program. I can't figure out the price of the CityLink itinerary because their planning and buying program on their web site doesn't work right now. But in any event, it sounds like a bit of a slog, but inexpensive even with the two buses.

caroline_edinburgh

Once in Edinburgh, regular buses are a flat single fare of £1, but you can buy a day ticket allowing unlimited use (except on the airbus & night buses - after midnight) for £2.30. Just buy it on the first bus you get each day - you need the correct change. NB this is for Lothian buses, much the biggest & most useful operator. You can ignore the 'First' buses & anything else that turns up.

WillTravel

I'm thinking about this again. As far as I can see, I basically have two buses, one from the airport to Glasgow city centre, and one from Glasgow city centre to Edinburgh city centre. Then we either take a taxi or walk from the bus station in Edinburgh.

Is there any reasonably cost-effective solution that will drastically cut down the amount of time and effort this will take? I assume a car service will be beyond the pale in terms of price, but haven't investigated that option. I'm just feeling a little tired and lazy in advance, knowing we'll be coming off 17 hours of flights and layovers.

JJBhoy

Sorry WillTravel, but I really can't think of a realistic alternative. I've no idea either how much it would cost to get a car with a driver but I'm sure it would be very expensive.

If it's any consolation, Buchanan St. Bus Station in Glasgow isn't very big & is easily manageable. Here's a link to a plan of the station;

http://tinyurl.co.uk/epxj

You'll see that the stances for the bus in from the airport & the bus out to Edinburgh are actually pretty close together & I also think that you will be able to buy your Edinburgh tickets on the bus itself so you shouldn't have too much hassle in negotiating your way in & out of the bus station.

Incidentally, I'm pretty sure that your daughter will qualify for a child fare on buses & trains so make sure you ask for this when buying your tickets.

I have one more suggestion which might help. As noted in my April 20 04.17 post above the train journey from Glasgow to Edinburgh is a lot quicker than the bus (although it's also a bit more expensive.) I work in Glasgow city centre not far from the bus & train stations & would be happy to meet you off the airport bus & see you safely on to the Edinburgh train - it's only a 10 minute walk from the bus to the train station.

I can fully appreciate that you might have reservations about this suggestion but if you are interested re-post here & we can discuss by email.

Jim

_jinx_

I recently made the bus trip from Buchanan Station in central
Glasgow to the airport. The fare was 2 pounds (vs. a 20 pound flat rate by taxi). The trip takes no more than 20 minutes. Once at the airport, go inside and ask to phone your hotel for their courtesy bus which will pick you up outside.

Cheers,

Jinx Hoover

WillTravel

Thanks Jinx and Jim. I think we will be fine, but I very much appreciate your generous offer, Jim.

I found online that a taxi from the Glasgow airport to central Edinburgh is about 85 pounds (as of a year ago), so I think I will discard that option. The extra 75 pounds or so will buy a lot of Fringe tickets!

Ackislander

The bus-bus option works really well, but you will want a taxi in Edinburgh to get yourself and luggage to Cowgate after an overnight plane trip and the morning ride.

True story: when my son and I did this very trip, we sat in seats across the aisle from each other, hoping to keep enough space to doze. As more people got on the bus, no one sat with me (at that time about 285 lbs) but a very attractive girl sat next to my handsome son, who promptly fell asleep on her shoulder! He had no memory of it! You will be tired!

WillTravel

There's a slight twist in this, because when I looked a little closer, I saw that our university residence does not allow check-in before 5 PM. They do luggage storage, though. But with that late check-in time in mind, there's little incentive to hurry to check in, so I'm wondering if it might be a good idea to stow our bags in the Glasgow bus station lockers and do a bit of sightseeing in Glasgow, or at least get a meal, before progressing onwards to Edinburgh. I guess we can decide when we get there.

Ackislander, last year when we did a similar series of flights, but to Madrid, we were doing fine until about 5 PM. Then we were practically falling asleep standing up!

caroline_edinburgh

's cheap and if (big if) they've still got availability, I might think it worth booking the accommo for the night before too, so I could go straight there ?

You're not going to get much of a meal in Glasgow at 9 or 10am and I wouldn't fancy sightseeing straight from the airport.

JJBhoy

Hi WillTravel,

I would be inclined to agree with Caroline on this. Have you asked your Edinburgh lodgings if they would make an exception for you & allow you to check in early? The worst that can happen it that they'll say no & you never know - they might be prepared to help you out. Even if they won't let you check in when you arrive they might agree to let you check in a wee bit earlier than 5.00

Even if they won't let you check in I would still head straight to Edinburgh from Glasgow & drop off your luggage there. I think if it were me I would prefer to relax & enjoy Edinburgh knowing that all the travelling is behind me rather than wandering about Glasgow with a bus journey still to come - plus still having to find your Edinburgh digs.


Jim

WillTravel

I will give the university residence a call a couple days before we leave - to arrange adjacent rooms, I hope, at least, and I'll ask then. I did read reviews that the staff are very strict on this 5 PM issue.

Any ideas on a good spot in Edinburgh to hang out peacefully? Silly as it might seem, public libraries are often good for this, in my experience. Does anyone know of the Edinburgh one? Or are there comfortable coffee shops where one can sit and read in peace? Or a park that would serve a similar purpose?

Thanks again for all your suggestions. I'm sure this will work out.

hanl

Lots of places in Edinburgh where you can hang out, though during the festival, "peaceful" might be hard to find!

You can sit and read in Princes Street Gardens which are easily accessible from the train station. Or head up to the National Library on George IV bridge - you can browse or read in the fiction library, or go up to the reading room.

You could sit with a book or magazine in pretty much any Edinburgh café or pub (I've done just that too many times to count) - try the Elephant House just along from the national library, for example.

My favourite place to go in Edinburgh when I have time to kill is the national museum on Chambers Street. It's free and you can wander around or stop for a coffee, sit and draw or read... it's an absolute delight.

WillTravel

Just checking in now with a brief update. Everything was on time with our departures and arrivals. It seemed to take about a half-hour to get through immigration at Glasgow Airport, which is long when you are staying after so many hours, but not long objectively.

We retrieved our luggage straight away, and walked outside to the buses. We instantly caught a CityLink bus. One thing I didn't realize is that this stops at the train station, so we could have gotten off that and taken the train. But we kept on until the bus station, and then very quickly got another CityLink bus. The CityLink bus from the airport to central Glasgow had limited luggage space and typical city bus seats, and I stood with my suitcase for about 20 or 30 minutes. It wasn't so bad as I feared, though. The CityLink bus from Glasgow to Edinburgh had luggage storage under the bus and comfy seats.

It was a bit tricky finding the university residence. We crossed North Bridge, but were at a loss to figure out how to get underneath to Cowgate, so we ended up walking a long way around. The instructions provided by the university are poor, in my opinion. The best way is to cross North Bridge, and look for the Radisson SAS on High Street. Niddry Street is on one side of the Radisson SAS, and walk down Niddry for a block until you get to Cowgate. Almost directly across the street is Robertson's Close. The residences are not well-marked either, but we found the reception. By now, it was 11:40 AM. We chatted with the receptionist, and she took pity on us having been traveling for 22 hours, and gave us our rooms right away.

More later - time to go to a play! We're having a great time.

caroline_edinburgh

Welcome to Edinburgh ! We even laid on a sunny day for you

JJBhoy

Glad you made it WillTravel - enjoy your stay.

Jim

WillTravel

Caroline, we arrived on Aug. 21, and it wasn't sunny when we first arrived .
But we've had great weather otherwise, except this moment it's raining. We're thoroughly charmed by Edinburgh. We had planned to see Glasgow tomorrow, but I can't see that happening, with so much left to see and enjoy in Edinburgh. Perhaps another time. Our accommodations are not luxurious, but so convenient, and it's great to have the use of a kitchen, even if we've only used the fridge.