Anyone have any cost-effective ways of getting to Edinburgh (for Fringe 2010) from the US? We're happy to take trains and buses if it saves us the cost of a flight. Thanks.

<i>Generally</i> speaking it is cheaper to fly into London and then either fly or take a train up to Scotland. But not always -- if you factor in the extra cost of getting north.

It also depends on WHERE in the US you are flying from. Airports to check include Heathrow and Gatwick in London, Glasgow or Edinburgh in Scotland, or Manchester. There are no discount airlines to Scotland out of LHR but some do fly out of LGW.

Of course, fly into GLA or EDI if the fares are even close to the other three.

One other option would be to fly into a major hub on the continent (like Amsterdam) and then fly a budget airline into EDI.

So - check for airfare sales announced starting maybe in Dec through Spring to any of the above. August is the most expensive month for fares so even a good sale won't be really cheap.

Have you checked kayak.com?

This is a good site for checking flights London to Edinburgh including budget airlines.

http://www.skyscanner.net/

This will help you with trains...

http://www.thetrainline.com

It is possible to get the train cheaply ( I just did a sinle form Glasgow to London for £17, but in August to Edinburgh it won't be too easy.

There is a flight from JFK to Glasgow...can't remember about Edinburgh. But certainly consider flying to Edinburgh via Amsterdam, Paris, or anywhere else reasonably close....

http://www.thetrainline.com

They charge for issuing tickets
They charge for using a CC
You can't buy with a foreign CC

Use www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com instead - but the lowest prices don't appear until between 6 & 12 weeks before the date of travel

Another option are Bargain Berths on the Caledonian Sleeper service run by www.firstscotrail.co.uk

However in most cases the easiest way of getting from a London airport to Edinburgh is to fly.

my suggestion is that you go to the Edinburgh Airport website and see which hubs the low costs airlins fly to, then work backwards from there for your Transatlantic flight

One possibility is Dublin as Aer Lingus seem to have a lot of cheap flights across the Pond

If you have not been to Britain before the train will also show you the lay of the land - and though all of the about 4.5 hour train trip cannot be called scenic it does slice thru typical British landscapes and the part between Newcastle and Edinburgh is IMO very scenic as it goes often along the rugged coast. Now the cheapest fares are like alanrowe says at the nationalexpresseastcoast.com (or www.nationalrail.co.uk as well) but these i believe are train-specific and not changeable nor refundable so if taking the plane to the tube/taxi to King's Cross station for the train to Edinburgh (two an hour usually) leave plenty of fudge time for planes to be late - Customs to have long long queues, etc. Or for fully flexible fares so you just show up at Kings X then hop the very next train well since these full fares can be outrageouly expensive IME then look at a BritRailpass - such as a 4-consecutive day pass to hop up to Scotland and back on any train anytime you like within that time span (or other longer validity passes is 4 days not enough) - you could also use the pass on the Heathrow or Gatwick Express (or other Gatwick trains right to Kings Cross) as well - Heathrow Express whisks you into Paddington station in about 20 mins from heathrow terminals - the fastest way into town - then Tube or taxi over to Kings Cross, about two miles away from Paddington. BritRailpasses are not sold at British stations so buy it before leaving and again it would be cheaper no doubt to book way in advance the online discounted tickets - i only mention a pass if you want full flexibility - like just hopping on the first possible train once you get to Kings X. For lots of British trains i always point to these info-laden sites: www.ricksteves.com; http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id11.html; www.seat61.com.

not to hijack the thread but could someone tell me that other than flying, how would one get from Amsterdam to Edinburgh the quickest?

Take the train from Edinburgh to Newcastle then hop a boat to Ijmuiden, about 20 mile train ride from Amsterdam - boats i believe go overnight.

thanks Palenque.
How long of a journey would the whole thing be?

Palenque, can I trouble you with one more question please?
How would one get from Amsterdam to Dublin?
Thanks so much...

Going to Edinburgh from US shouldn't be too bad because Continental flies direct from Newark, which is its major hub. All you have to do is arrange your connection appropriately.

This is assuming that, despite how your request is phrased ("Anyone have any cost-effective ways of getting to Edinburgh (for Fringe 2010) from the US? We're happy to take trains and buses if it saves us the cost of a flight. Thanks.") you don't really think you can get to Edinburgh from the US by train or bus alone.

Icelandair seem to think I live in the States and regularly email silly deals into Glasgow - usually about $500 inc tax.

jetsetj - for Amsterdam to Dublin i would investigate taking the train to Brussels then Eurostar train to London then train to Holyhead, Wales for boats to Dublin. Not sure that is quickest but seems so and lots of trains and boats on each component. Obviously much more expensive and longer than flying say on Ryanair to Dublin but seems you don't want to fly - i'd break up that journey with stops in Bruges, near Brussels perhaps, London, Wales, etc if you have ample time.

thanks for your help. you are a gem...

jetset1: Not knowing exactly why you want to avoid flying -- but if it is just for the "adventure/experience" - I'd definitely think twice about both routes (Edinburgh > A'dam, and A'dam > Ireland). Crossing the North Sea and Irish Sea are often very unpleasant journeys. And Newcastle to Ijmuiden alone takes more than 15 hours, not counting the trains from Edinburgh and to Amsterdam.

Fine if you have a reason to travel that route -- but just so you know

Actually unless you want to spend the night on the sea - and IME these boats though not cruise ships do have amenities onboard and comfy compartments - the quickest way would probably be take the train to London and then the Eurostar to Brussels and on to Amsterdam - would be quite a bit more expensive that the boat route though.

The boat leaves Newcastle daily around 5:30pm (don't have the latest schedules though but they rarely change) and gets to Ijmuiden at 9:30am - spend the night on the boat and be in Amsterdam by 11am. Seas can be rough as can be flights - the crossing to Dublin is less than 2 hours and those boats have huge stabilizers but on occasion even those are not enough- i would not worry too much about rough seas - i've taken zillions of boats on these seas and only on a few occasions had rough sailing - yup then everyone gets seasick and it is a miserable occasion but IME it is unlikely - perhaps Janis has just been unlucky enough to hit the wrong days.

Actually - I don't get seasick Never have except on one deep sea fishing trip where I was the last one to blow . . . .

But I HAVE been on boats on the Channel, North Sea and Irish Sea and have seen what it can do to others. Not pretty sometimes.

My post was just a heads up for another thing to think about. I didn't think it was a "challenge" to be right . . . .

I've taken perhaps 100 boats on these seas and only once was seasicness a problem for most on the boat - but yes Janis is right to warn of that remote IME chance. A nine-hour float seasick would be no fun.

wow i didnt know it would be such a pain to try alternative to flying. we might just consider flying when the time comes...

<<< we might just consider flying when the time comes... >>>

No, you plan ahead - unless you like paying top dollar for booking at the last minute.