ltan

Hi,
I need help with my Edinburgh trip, from May 3 to May 5. Train arrives from London to Edinburgh at 12:00 noon on May 3. And we leave for London on May 5 at 7pm.We cannot change the dates anymore because of our hotel booking.

Anyways, we want to go to these places and would like to know if a) is this doable? b) Do we need to rent a car, or will the bus be okay?

We want to go to Edinburgh Castle, St Andrews (a must, even just the golf course because we need to buy souvenirs from the pro shop, is this possible, even if we don't play golf?) Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle, and Rosslyn Chapel.

What we were thinking was on the first day, take the bus to St. Andrews and back to Edinburgh at night.
Day 2 join a tour for Loch Lomond and Stirling Castle.
Day 3, take the bus to Rosslyn Chapel then go back to Edinburgh by noon to explore the City and Edinburgh Castle. then take the 7pm train back to London.

Also, what is the weather going to be like during these days??

Thanks for all your help.

ltan

Wearing rubber shoes ok?

isabel

You can wear any kind of shoes you want but you'd better be able to run fast in them cause that's what you'll do to see all that. And you won't see ANY of Edinburgh itself. I think your plan is doable but don't think it would be very enjoyable. You will spend all your time on a bus.

I did do a day tour (by bus, there are several companies, all the same almost) to Stirling and Loch Lomond and it was OK, it does take the whole day. When you are in Stirling you get about two hours so you can either see the castle or the town but not both. Stirling Castle and Edinburgh Castle are very similar so not sure you need to explore both. The bus tour takes you through the Trussords (not spelled right) which is a park like country side, nice enough scenery but rather boring. And it stops for a long time in a tiny town with a big woolen factory/store for lunch. At Loc Lommond you pretty much have to take the boat ride (costs extra) cause where the bus stops there is nothing else to do.

I didn't do your other day trips but while doable, they will take longer than you might think with train/bus connections, etc. I didn't do either of them because I ran out of time as there was so much to see in Edinburgh itself, and when I started researching exactly how to do them it seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

My suggestion would be to pick the one day trip that means the most to you and spend the rest of the time in Edinburgh. But that's just my opinion.

Aramis

You have 2 days in Edinburgh, one of the great cities of the world and you want to spend all but the last couple of hours on buses taking hit and run trips to places 1-2 hours away?

You an pick up St. Andrews "souvenirs" in Edinburgh - since you don't golf and have no affinity for the place other than to acquire a souvenir why does it matter if you actually get there?

Sorry if this sounds a little cold but Edinburgh is deserving of the time available - especially after you are travelling so far on a train to get there.

caroline_edinburgh

I'm with Janis - it's theoretically possible but ridiculous.

In 14 years in Edinburgh I've been to St Andrews and Rosslyn Chapel once each, Stirling not at all and Loch Lomond just in the course of driving past it to get elsewhere. Edinburgh itself is a World Heritage Site and 2 days is not very long to see it.

Where are you staying ? Just wondering if a) you'd get to explore any nice bits of Edinburgh in the evenings and b) how much time you need to factor in for getting to & from your accommodation.

If you're determined to spend only one afternoon in Edinburgh itself I wouldn't recommend the Castle which I think is disappointing. Better to get the open top bus tour of the Old and New Towns for an overview, maybe getting off to walk down the Royal Mile then back on again.

You could get almost any weather - this is Scotland - so bring layers and an umbrella. The temperature could be anywhere between about 8 and 21 degrees C and it could be sunny, rainy, windy or all of those.

hanl

I think that if you do pack in all your planned trips, you may well find yourself regretting not having had any time to enjoy Edinburgh itself, which in my opinion outstrips St Andrews, Rosslyn or Stirling in terms of interest and beauty.

I'd look at removing either St Andrews or Rosslyn from your itinerary if you can, so as to have a bit more time enjoying Edinburgh - which really does have a lot to offer and can't really be visited satisfactorily in half a day.

Londonres

I agree with everyone else. It's madness to pack in loads of day trips instead of exploring this magnificent city. It's also a good place to do a guided ghost walk.

ltan

Thanks everyone! I am so glad I asked before we actually get there. I am sorry the itinerary is so *zing*! caroline, we're staying at Clanwalker B&B at Dalkeith. So, I'll take your advise and just take day tour on the second day. I was trying to pack it all in, in such a short time At the chance of being *%$#! again which castle is worth the visit more? Stirling or Edinburgh?

CanadianRNinDublin

I think if those are the things you want to do, then you should have just enough time to do them. I don't know if this will help but I was in Edinburgh a few weeks ago for 2.5 days and this is what we did:

First day got in around 12:30pm, checked in. (stayed just beyond prince's street at the Clarendon hotel)saw St. John's chuch, walked around the gardens below the castle, walked up the side of the hill, took in the views. Waited in line for about 40 min (maybe longer) for tickets to the castle, did the castle untill about 4pm. Walked a bit of the royal mile, had coffees, went back to hotel to rest. Out for dinner at a local pub.
2nd day: Got up early for a tour of the highlands - lasted all day- was fansastic!
3rd day: Check out at 10:30ish, got starbucks, did roslyn chapel, returned to city by about 2pm. Walked prince's street, did the scott monument for fantastic veiws, then shopped along the royal mile for about 2.5 hrs then dinner at the witchery and off to the airport.

I was more than satisfied and it sounds aobut as much as you are planning for the same time frame.

It is worth it to note that we didn't do any of the 'new town' didnt' feel like we missed out as I heard it was lot like grafton street in dublin ie. High end stores.

Hopes this helps.

ltan

Thanks CanadianRNinDublin! I feel much confident with our trip.

Aramis

Caroline;

Although I agree that Edinburgh Castle is not "Spectacular", it is such an integral part of the city that I think it merits a visit on that connection and the views of the surrounding area from it's position high above the centre of the town. And if you get a great guide, it`s a blast (damn those English!)

P I think that perhaps only the Alcazar, in Segovia can compare to the connection that a castle has to a great city.

hanl

Itan,
Just thought I should mention that you might need to be careful when giving the address of your B&B: it's on Dalkeith Road, not in Dalkeith, which is a town just outside Edinburgh. (When I first read your post I thought you meant you were staying in Dalkeith) Might be confusing if you are taking buses or giving instructions to taxi drivers!

caroline_edinburgh

Well done for checking that, hanl - my first reaction was - eek, you're not even staying *in* Edinburgh !

Itan, your B&B is in quite a nice location & on a fairly good bus route but it is not, as their website claims, "a 15 / 20 min walk from the Royal Mile / city centre". It would take me 30-40 mins to walk from there to say, the Castle or Princes Street. It is however a 15-20 minute bus journey (as long as you're not doing it in the rush hour), so remember to factor that into your timings.

Also, although it's a nice area, because it's not in the centre that means you won't be seeing the main sights of Edinburgh without trying, by just wandering round there in the evening. I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself well - what I'm trying to get at is that spending most of your time on daytrips maybe wouldn't have mattered so much if you had been staying right in the centre & so seeing it by default. Do you see what I mean ? So since you are staying outside the centre, I think it would be even more worthwhile dropping one or more day trips to see Edinburgh itself.

caroline_edinburgh

Aramis, I take your points about Edinburgh Castle. However I think the good points about it can largely be gained by just walking up to it, admiring the view from ther Esplanade outside and maybe just looking inside at the part prior to the new ticket offices.

With a limited amount of time, like half a day, I'd expand what I said before to - get the open top bus tour of the Old & New Towns, get off at the stop nearest the Castle (Johnston Terrace by the Hub), walk up to the Castle, walk down the length of the Royal Mile to the Palace, get back on the bus for the rest of the tour.

But if the day trip to St Andrew's is being dropped & you have a full day, Itan, you could include tours of the Castle & the Palace if you want. I can't comment on Stirling Castle but IMO the Palace is more interesting than Edinburgh Castle.

BTW have you found a tour which includes Stirling & Loch Lomond ?

ltan

hanl, thank you for the address correction. I had no idea about the Dalkeith error till you posted it
but as caroline mentioned it's bit away from the center so I'll probably look for another b&b nearby.
caroline - thank you for the many tips. It is much appreciated! We did find a tour that has a day trip for Loch Lomond and Stirling castle but there was mention of the 2 castles being similar so I decided against it. sigh. I'm more confused than ever We'll just do a day tour by ourselves, that way if we want to leave early or late it'll be ok.
What you wrote made perfect sense, about seeing more of Edinburgh if we're staying near the city center. Can you recommend a nice b&b near the center? oh boy, we leave Saturday and we're still nowhere. lol!

ltan

caroline, found this b&b online "Castle View Guest House" located at 30 Castle Street, Edinburgh PH2 3HT Is this ok or near the center? Thanks!!

meks

Castle Street leads off Princes Street and the Castle View Guest House is only 20 - 30 metres from the junction.
I think that the Guest house is on the top floors of the building and there are a number of flights of stairs leading to the entranceway.
It has a good city centre location, near the bars, restaurants and shops of George Street. Princes Street Gardens are only metres away and you are only a 10 - 15 minute uphill walk from Edinburgh Castle / Royal Mile.

caroline_edinburgh

Indeed, as meks says, Castle View is very central & always used to get good reviews on this site. It was up for sale a year or so ago but I haven't heard what happended & their website does still seem to be functioning. If that's full...

Do you particularly want a B&B as opposed to a hotel or apartment ? What is your budget ? The cheaper chain hotels have less character than B&Bs, on the whole, but can be cheaper. Your age/tolerance for noise may have a bearing on what I & others might recommend too.

Most B&Bs in the New Town (the central Georgian part) are c.£50 per person per night. Look for ones on Abercromby Place, Northumberland Street & Dundas Street.

For chain hotels in the Old Town (the central mediaeval part), which will be modern but cheaper & more convenient...

My top pick would be the Ibis, which is right next to the Royal Mile.

The Holyrood Aparthotel is not quite so convenient but just behind the Royal Mile & seems to be well regarded on Tripadvisor.

Ten Hill Place is also in the Old Town - it's fairly new, was developed by the University & lookd OK.

If you are young & tolerant of stag/hen parties, the Grassmarket Hotel in the (street named) the Grassmarket is in the heart of the Old Town, actually in a mediaeval building, close to lots of pubs & restaurants & quite cheap.

Any of these any good ?

ltan

Caroline, we'd like to try and stay at b&bs since we're staying at hotels most of the time. Castle Views booked, as are other b&bs around that area. I'm still frantically searching for a b&b close to the center. What is a self service? It'd be great if we can find rooms under GBP100 but if we really have no choice (since I now want to stay near the center) we might get the 1 royal circus? It looks real nice. I'll go back to searching for a place to stay.

janisj

The reason Castle View is booked up is it is about the best located B&B in Edinburgh - walking distance to everything. But it books up pretty much year round.

At this late date - if you want to be central (which is a good idea) you will be better of booking one of the moderately priced chains like the Ibis Caroline mentioned.