train from Glasgow to Linlithgow
 

On Oct. 6 we'll arrive at Glasgow Airport around 6:30 a.m., will take the airport bus to Glasgow Queen St. Station,and will then take the train to Linlithgow. Does anyone know if the ticket window will take credit card payment for train tickets, or will I need to have pounds for payment? Thanks.

They take credit cards.

Great! Thanks Ron.

And so do the ticket machines.....

>><i>And so do the ticket machines.....</i><<

The machines don't always take US-issued credit cards. The staffed windows do.

One more question-Is there a charge to ride the airport bus to the train station?

yes -- it is a regular public bus. I think it costs approx £3 (I've only taken it once several years ago)

The airport bus is now called the Glasgow Shuttle and costs £5.
http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/glas...ttle/fares.php

This is one of the things I love about Fodors. Great over-arching European themes-

Rome, Venice, Paris, London.

Then... Linlithgow

If I've done the research and the math correctly, cab fare from the airport to Linlithgow would be about 61 pounds. Taking the bus from the airport to the train station, and then the train to Linlithgow, for 2 adults, would be about 50 pounds, and possibly less trouble. For those of you in the know, do my cost calculations sound about right? Would you recommend one method of transport over the other? Can't say enough how much I appreciate the info.

Bus fare is £5 per person, train fare is £9.10 person. Total cost for 2 people £28.20.

Distance from Glasgow Internation Airport to Linlithgow is 42 miles. I would be stunned if a taxi would travel that distance for £61. Based on some longer distance cabs I have taken in the UK I would have estimated at £100 to £120. I'd like to see your source/calculations.

Thanks Ron! It's back to the bus and train for us. I went to ask.com and in their search engine I entered cab fare from glasgow airport to Linlithgow, or something like that. I looked at some of the sites that came up. Did the same with train fare. Those sites must have been special offerings, not the usual fares. We live in a tiny, tiny town in north central Texas, and have neither bus, train, nor cab, so I have NO idea what fares should be. Thanks again, Shirley and Perry from Nemo, TX.

You're welcome. Use http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ for official train fares and schedules. Or, since ScotRail is the train company operating this service, you could go to their site, http://www.scotrail.co.uk/ There is no need or benefit to buying the train tickets in advance.

On recent visits, I have used £3 per mile to estimate cost for these longer distance cab rides and it has been pretty close. Maybe higher now with increases in VAT rate and fuel prices.

One more question- I now know that we can use our credit card to purchase our train tickets. Will we need our bus fare in pounds, or can we use U.S. dollars? I'm guessing we can't use dollars or credit card for a bus ride, but thought I'd check. I read that it's expensive to use the airport ATM for currency exchange. Once we get to Linlithgow we can go to a bank there to get some pounds. So the bus fare is the only thing that concerns me. Will certainly use the airport ATM if needed. Thank you.

"<i>Will we need our bus fare in pounds, or can we use U.S. dollars?</i>"

I'll be gentle here . . . Could you use yen or euro in Ft Worth? :) No, you can't use US$.

"<i>I read that it's expensive to use the airport ATM for currency exchange.</i>"

Not sure where you read that but using your ATM card to get ££ is <u>by far</u> the best, cheapest way to get currency.

"<i>Once we get to Linlithgow we can go to a bank there to get some pounds.</i>"

<B>NO!</B>. Do not change currency at a bank or anywhere else. Use your ATM card. Don't take $$ - leave your money in your checking account and use the ATMs to get currency.

Thanks janisj, for the helpful info. and especially for being "gentle." LOL. Getting ready for this trip it seems that several things I've read on the internet have been misinformation. That's why I always come back to fodors. Thanks again.

Janisj or anyone-Can you give us an idea of what we will pay in fees if we use the ATM at Glasgow airport. We'll be using a debit card from our bank. They charge $2.50 per transaction. But I have no idea what other fees are added.Our bank rep. said it can be a few dollars, or a lot of dollars, depending. As always, many thanks!

You won't pay any fees at a UK bank-owned ATM. The only fees are from your own bank. Non-bank-owned machines may have fees, but you don't run across them very often. If it has a bank name on it like Barclays, RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland), HSBC, etc. they won't have a fee.

Excellent! Thank you for the help janisj. Our bank rep. told me of an ATM at a hotel in Vegas that charges $50 per transaction. That struck fear in my heart.

Well, most US casino hotel ATMs charge $3 or $4 - I've never seen one charge more than $5.

Either the bank rep was feeding you a line - or he was doing a cash advance on his visa and was dinged by the credit card company.

Also, 1965... be sure to tell your bank that you'll be using your debit card overseas, and which countries and on which dates, so the bank's fraud dept. is aware. (Just like you do with your credit cards.)

If you haven't already thought of it, on my last trip, I stuck a little post-it note in my check book register with some approximate currency exchange numbers so I'd have an idea what was withdrawn (200 GBP = $314, 100 GBP = $157, etc.). Have a great time!

Those are approximate amounts... the bank charges their fees, too. It's just a ballpark, of course, but I found it helpful to have an idea rather than carry a little calculator about.

ChgoGal-I'm grateful for some more good advice. I'd not thought about making some sort of note on my checking acct. register or notifying the bank about the trip.
janisj-The bank rep swore, and I did ask him twice, that in some hotel the ATM had posted on the machine that there would be a $50 transaction fee. Like you, I found it hard to believe. He said he didn't use it, but drunken gamblers were using it right and left. Perhaps he'd had a little too much to drink, and the machine had $5 posted as the fee. At any rate, the more I learn, the more comfortable I feel about our upcoming trip. Except for one trip to Rome, we've only taken cruises and Trafalgar motorcoach tours. Very little independent thought or action needed for those. Independent travel is new territory for us, but I think we're ready. We still have 48 days left until departure, so there may be more questions. LOL.