We are flying into London Gatwick on a Friday afternoon. We have tee-times in St. Andrews Sunday and Monday. Can we walk up to the BA counter and purchase reasonable air tickets to Edinburgh (we are flying a charter and are concerned are arrival may be delayed)? Once in Edinburgh is there an easy way to get to St. Andrews or is the train the best route. We will have luggage and be jet-lagged.

1. You are likely to get tickets.
2. They are unlikely to be "reasonable".
3. Try Easyjet and BMI
4. Depending on how many you are, I'd get a cab or hire a car service(where are you staying? Your hotel may do this for you). You have to get from the airport to a station-Waverley or Haymarket- by bus or cab; then train to Leuchars; then bus or cab to St Andrews. I would hate to do that in fresh condition, personally. And acrrying golf clubs? No way, José!

Thanks for the info. I have checked the Easyjet website and it seems like a good bet for a flight. We haven't decided on a hotel in St. Andrews yet, though I have had some feedback on them. We're thinking of renting a car as we want to wander around Scotland for a couple of weeks after golfing. We did find some firms that would meet us at either the Glasgow or Edinburgh airport and transport us in a private car with driver to St. Andrews for 155 pounds, if that is helpful to anyone out there looking for that info.

Why not rent a car? I did this summer during the British Open and paid GBP 149 for 4 days (Thursday to Monday) for a Ford Focus Automatic with Navigation System through Sixt Rent-a-Car.
The drive from Edinburgh was easy and I enjoyed having the freedom a car would give me at my discretion.
Also the guys at Sixt were very friendly (they pick you up at the airport - you would have to phone them free of charge through a telephone located in the main building of the airport) and helpful with directions (they pointed out a shortcut that came in handily).

For accomodation, we stayed at the St.Andrews Bay Resort Hotel. It is a nice enough property offering some pleasant 4 star luxury (although it claims 5 star standard itself). Just make sure you don't get a room on the top floor facing the ridiculous glass lobby roof, which blocks views that would be truly beautiful and must have been designed by a totally inept architect.
The Hotel is located slightly outside of town, but they run a complimentary shuttle bus on a regular basis. Parking is either valet or free of charge.
A nice indoor pool and Spa in the basement are at your disposal and the hotel itself offers two pretty inspiring Golf Courses designed by Sam Torrance and Bruce Devlin, for what it's worth.

Enjoy your time in Scotland, a most lovely place with some of the friendliest people I have ever encountered on my travels!

I am not a driver. I have serious concerns about getting behind the wheel of a car going down the wrong side of the road. That being said, you will really enjoy having a car if you go to St. Andrews. It is beautiful, but so is the surrounding area of Fife. If you have a car explore the fishing villages, find an out of the way pub or chippie. St. Andrew may be a golfer's paradise, but for us non golfers (heathen) it is rather small and you may not want to be tied down there without a vehicle.

Thanks for the info on rental vehicles. We are really leaning towards renting a car for the entire time and dealing with the parking issue. We really like to tour the countryside versus cities and have heard that the fishing villages, Speyside & environs are very enjoyable.

If you want to spend time in St Andrews and then tour around, a hire car sounds like your best bet. Why not stay near Gatwick the day you arrive, fly to Edinburgh on Saturday then travel to St Andrews by hire car or private driver? You could comfortably arrive in St Andrews by early Saturday afternoon and have time to relax before your tee-off the next day. As Sheila said, Edinburgh airport to st Andrews by public transport is complicated and time consuming for a journey of about 50 miles. Parking won't be a problem away from the big cities, and with a car based in St Andrews you're well placed for some fabulous trips along the Fife coast. By the way, I'm not a golfer and I LUVVV St Andrews.

Just back from our time in Scotland, and we took alot of your advice. We flew from Gatwick to Edinburgh the day after we arrived from Canada - and we were glad as our plane was quite delayed because of a flat tire. Also on our flight were 3 couples who had missed a connection in Newark and were a day late in meeting their tour - so the wait of 1 day was a good one.
We rented a car in Edinburgh for 2 weeks (an automatic) and had no problems with driving on the "wrong" side of the road.
We stayed at the Russell Hotel, 26 the Scores, in St. Andrews and really enjoyed it. Toured through Fife after golfing and thoroughly loved it.
Another placed we really enjoyed staying as a special treat was the Roman Camp in Callander. A country house hotel (they have a web page if you google them) with an extraordinary menu, lovely grounds, and the Lady Esher Room was lovely. For us, it was a real treat to see how the landed gentry might have lived in days gone by.
Loved Scotland - from Edinburgh to John O'Groats and back. Two weeks was just not enough but gave us a good taste of it.

Glad you had a good time. Isn't the Roman Camp great! I haven't stayed there since I usually rent a cottage for a week at a time when I'm near Callander/Anerfoyle. But I have eaten there, and walked through the grounds. Did you walk up to the Falls?

Trip report??

Swampytwo
Thanks for taking the time to report back on your trip. I'm glad you enjoyed it, though I knew you would.
"Loved Scotland - two weeks was not enough" - I'd like to put this in letters eighteen feet high in every airport in north America!
Come back soon.