London/Edinburgh
 

Planning now for end of April/early May 2013 (probably 4/25 - 5/9 ish) from Detroit. Are flights better into Edinburgh from the US or back to the US from Edinburgh (flight time scheduling-wise on Delta or partners)? We will be looking to stay in an apartment in London (at least 5 days for sure), not sure yet how much time we will have for Edinburgh. What are some reputable apartment rental services for both cities? Will have lots more questions as time goes by, but those are the most important ones right now. Thanks in advance.

Or, might it be better to fly into and out of London and just train to Edinburgh?

Are you planning to do only those two destinations? With two weeks you could easily add in another UK stop, but I think the open-jaw vs. train question depends on where else you decide on (if anywhere). I think 2-3 full days in Edinburgh, depending on how full you like your days, plus half a day for transit on either side would cover the highlights. You'd obviously need more if you want to do a day trip to Stirling or St Andrews or similar.

I haven't rented apartments in either, but there are many threads here on London apartments. I haven't seen that many on Edinburgh flats, though.

I think it depends on your personal preference for non-stops, as well as pricing and availability. I prefer to get a non-stop for my flights to Europe, but I don't mind stopping once or twice on the way back. From Detroit, I think you can fly non-stop to London, but not to Edinburgh.

I would suspect that it is cheaper to flight roundtrip to/from London and if it's a significant difference you might do as jscarbary suggests and return to London for your flight home. However, it was not a large enough difference for me last year when I traveled from DC to London, then home from Edinburgh.

I would definitely do an open jaws ticket - into London and out of either Edinburgh or Glasgow (nearby) - unless you want to stop someplace - like York - on the way up.

With 15 days - or is it really 13 (you can;t count the days you arrive or depart back to the US) you might want to do just the 2 cities with 1 or 2 day trips. Or you cold do a week in London and then take a couple of days to head north by train stopping one place on the day.

And no - open jaws are not more expensive than RT. You have to search as multi-destination - not two one-way tickets.

Hi, I live in Edinburgh but my family is from abroad. When I got married I used www.edinburgh-flats.com which had many good options in the city centre. I think it's worth checking it out. Regarding London, the times I've been there I booked a hotel so can't really tell about flats. Earls Court is one of the areas that are not very expensive but quite close to the centre, so I always choose staying around there. I hope this helps.