London to Edinburgh rail $$??
 

I've been looking into train fares from London to Edinburgh (RT) in September. Are fares of 270 pounds RT to be expected? There are 3 of us. It seems really high compared to the flights. We'd love to travel via rail to see some countryside, but the price, with the time, seems really steep.

Thanks in advance. And I appreciate all the information I've gained from reviewing these boards so far.

See http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34640584 on <i><b>bus</b></i> fares from London to <i><b>Glasgow</b></i> for as low as <i><u>one</u></i> <b>GBP</b>. No typo.

Personally, I would still fly, but this could be a pretty compelling reason to not take the train if you want to travel by ground from London to Scotland.

Best wishes,

Rex

Have you looked at the GNER website for schedules and prices?

http://www.gner.co.uk/GNER

It seems you must register (for free) before they'll quote a price but, once you do, you'll find a wide range of possibilities. Standard class, off peak, return fares are as low as 25 pounds. The least expensive fares, of course, give you the least flexibility. If you are willing to lock yourself in to definite dates and times, you can save quite a bit of money.

It's been several years since I did this journey. I researched schedules and fares on-line, then phoned to reserve and purchase the ticket. I was able to pick up the ticket at the station just before departure.

Bringing your message back up &quot;to the top&quot; since you are brand new here - - how do I know this? Click on your own name. It's a valuable tip that Fodors fails to tell you when they send you that initial e-mail confirming your registration.

Where on earth are you getting &pound;270 from? The most you can pay for a standard class return ticket is &pound;199, and there's really no point going First if it's your own money.

Go to www.nationalrail.co.uk, input your preferred dates and times then follow the &quot;fares&quot; link. You'll see the huge range of fares at a glance, and by clicking on them you'll see the restrictions imposed by each.

Don't be tempted to get the bus unless money saving is your only objective: it's as nasty as the plane, only less scenic (this isn't a joke: eight hours looking at traffic jams on the M6 teaches you that even at &pound;1 the bus journey's a ripoff)

Thanks for the help and suggestions. Part of the problem is that I'm trying to book online for late September and my return date isn't available for purchase yet (outside 3 month window). We need to travel on specific days (up on Thursday am, back on Saturday afternoon), but it looks like I should be able to get tickets for around 90 pounds.

Is first class worth it? We're travelling with my father (first trip to UK for his 75th birthday) and want to make sure the trip is as pleasant as possible, but don't want to spend the extra money if it's not worth it.

Wow, we flew from Edinburgh to London and back via easy jet, and it was only 37 pounds each.

Wow, Amelie, was that from the centre of Edinburgh to central London?

Not central London, it was Luton Airport. We found that very easy to get to via tube and train though (maybe a 30 min ride? bad memory).

I think it's fair to say that Geoff's point is this: those who champion flying intra-Europe routes (which includes myself, front and center) tend to omit the cost of transportation to/from airports, and the total time from hotel to hotel (or city center to city center).

Unless the fare was almost free, I don't think I'd ever fly from London to Scotland using Luton. It is a looong way from central London and w/ the need to be there early - by the time you got on the plane you could have been 3/4 of the way to Edinburgh by train

rex, i think we understand geoff's point and it is valid, however, this does not change the fact that most londoners would not even consider taking the train to edinburgh. if it was really cheaper and easier in the long run we would do it that way...but for the most part, we don't. (and i understand that SOME people do take the train).

I was trying to clarify for amelie. I have already indicated my preference for plane over train.

Just to throw my views in....I took the train last year. Cost me &pound;87 return. I turned up at Kings X station a few days ahead and bought a ticket. Apparently these days you shouldn't do that, book ahead by fair means or foul. The journey up was great, on time and fantastic scenery. But coming back was on a Sunday (no-one had told me that's when they do all their engineering works) and took forever on slow overcrowded trains. It was a nightmare. Never again.

Well 270 pounds versus 37, that would make up my mind! (although it shouldn't be 270 for the train, that is crazy).
I didn't really find Luton to be all that far away from the city centre of London. And I don't think we were there all that early, maybe an hour before the flight. I would have wanted to go early for a train as well. We had a friend pick us up in Edinburgh, so that was handy.

I do understand that some prefer the train though.

Update: have found a First Class off peak fare of 59 GBP from London to Edinburgh. It is non-refundable, non-changeable but seems like a great fare. Is picking up the electronic ticket from the King's Cross kiosk the best way to go?

Yes

The trains can be horrendously expensive here, even though it is only 5 hours from London to Edinburgh.

Consider flying - you can fly to Edinburgh pretty cheaply on most airlines (including British Airways and British Midland), not just Easyjet (which is great when everything works and not so great when things don't!). You can fly from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and London City to Edinburgh, and there is another cheap airline which flies from Stansted called Globespan (as do Easyjet). Stansted is pretty easy to get to - 1 hr on the train from Liverpool Street Station.

Never use Megabus (the &pound;1 fare bus) - it is a nightmare!!!

If going by rail consider BritRail pass - 4 day flexipass at $265 and you can also use it from either Gatwick or Heathrow on trains into London ($20-25 value each way) - and be able to board any train to Scotland whenever you want - no advance purchase restricted ticket, though those would certainly be cheaper. Remeber the third person on BritRail pays 50 % of what the first two pay - $132.50 for a 4-day pass - you can also use it to see the HMS Victory as said before.

You can fly easyjet, www.easyjet.co.uk, to Edinburgh from London Stanstead Airport. You can get to Stanstead from Liverpool Street station. It is a shorter journey than to Luton.