New Cruiser to Europe.

[LovinCruisin13]

How can we see Edinburgh Castle without spending $300.00 on a Princess Excursion? I am so confused

[caber]

Why don`t you try a local taxi company. Which port do you go into? If you are on the west coast http://www.glasgowtaxis.co.uk will pick you up in Greenock and take you for a tour anywhere you like. On the east I am sure if you google it you will find the equivilent.

[Loonbeam]

There are also several private tour companies - I found 4 with just a google search. Using the Ports of Call forum to get suggestions for providers and your roll call to find shares you should be able to get the price down..

[paul929207]

Sure you can. You can easily find your own transport to Edinburgh. You can either arrange a private tour or just do it on your own. When we were there, we climbed the hill, bought our tickets and toured the castle.

[indigosails]

Edinburgh is an easy city to get around on foot. It's a tender port, and there will be taxis and buses at the quayside. I am not sure if the bus we took was sponsored by the ship or the city, but there were a number of buses going and coming at regular intervals and we didn't have to give money.

 

The bus will you drop you on the main street, Princes Street, and it is a long, straight road. You will be able to see the castle up on the hill from town. Just hike up there and go in (or take a taxi if you have mobility issues). Have lunch in Edinburgh for sure, and there is shopping on George Street. And if you are lucky enough to be there in August, the Fringe Festival is going on and it makes for some very interesting people-watching!

 

Enjoy Edinburgh--one of my favorite cities!

[martincath]

How can we see Edinburgh Castle without spending $300.00 on a Princess Excursion? I am so confused

I saw your other post on the Greenock thread (for others trying to help, OP is on the Iceland, Greenland, Norway Explorer cruise Sep 10 this year with Greenock as the only stop on the British mainland) but this seems the most relevant one to answer on as it's a new thread.

 

First, I assume that there is some reason why you want to do Edinburgh castle rather than much more convenient locations to Greenock, so I won't try to persuade you to stay on the west coast:) I lived several years each in Glasgow and Edinburgh and both have their good points, but since you're asking specifically about Edinburgh Castle here you go:

 

Getting from Greenock to Edinburgh as easily (and cheaply) as possible, I'd recommend taking the train. Walking from the port to the nearest station (Greenock West) is less than a mile. It's about two hours each way between Greenock and Edinburgh, allowing 20-30mins to change trains in Glasgow (at the same station, Glasgow Central, you just need to change platforms).

 

Cost would be GBP62 for 2 adults (Same Day Return - saves a couple of quid over buying two singles, and most importantly lets you use *any* train on the route whether Peak or Offpeak hours) on Sep 14 this year.

 

Waverly Station in Edinburgh is right below the castle, it's a bit of a steep walk (a bout half a mile) but there are nice views en route - or a cab will get you there in just a few minutes. Price of a one day adult ticket is GBP16 per person. So your travel and entry fees would be a total of GBP94, and you could realistically expect to spend from c.10am until 3pm in Edinburgh (i.e. with everything running on time you should be back to Greenock by just after 5pm, allowing you well over an hour to get back on the ship before it leaves dock).

 

There are some ridiculously cheap buses between Glasgow & Edinburgh, so you could shave that price down further but then you have to find bus stops etc.

[DeloreanGirl]

How can we see Edinburgh Castle without spending $300.00 on a Princess Excursion? I am so confused

 

Are you sailing into South Queensferry? If you are, we simply took the train (8.50 pounds per person) and it was a 10-minute ride into Edinburgh. We bought our castle tickets online (16 pounds per person). All in all, it was one of our lesser expensive days. :)

 

You can read my version of Edinburgh here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=34199591&postcount=130

 

It's a GORGEOUS city and shouldn't be missed! :rolleyes:

[vaughan]

How can we see Edinburgh Castle without spending $300.00 on a Princess Excursion? I am so confused

 

As a further note to Delorean Girl - the train station has a large staircase to negotiate at South Queensferry - at the tender docks there were taxis (May 26 Princess trip) offering 5GBP per person (with at least 4 persons per cab) - getting back would be likely more money if not 4 people. One group set up a bus - Vision Tours - and for 43 people, each paid 10GBP per person round trip with a set pick up in the morning and set return time in the late afternoon.

 

As Emily said, buy your ticket(s) to Edinburgh Castle from its web site BEFORE you go - we were glad we did - the line at 9:30 am was not too bad for people that did not pre-purchase but we were able to walk right in; for those that did not have the tickets, around noon, the line looked like about 100 people. As you time is valuable, buy in advance.

[ukku0603]

You can either arrange a private tour or just do it on your own. When we were there, we climbed the hill, bought our tickets and toured the castle.

[scottie99]

I saw your other post on the Greenock thread (for others trying to help, OP is on the Iceland, Greenland, Norway Explorer cruise Sep 10 this year with Greenock as the only stop on the British mainland) but this seems the most relevant one to answer on as it's a new thread.

 

First, I assume that there is some reason why you want to do Edinburgh castle rather than much more convenient locations to Greenock, so I won't try to persuade you to stay on the west coast:) I lived several years each in Glasgow and Edinburgh and both have their good points, but since you're asking specifically about Edinburgh Castle here you go:

 

Getting from Greenock to Edinburgh as easily (and cheaply) as possible, I'd recommend taking the train. Walking from the port to the nearest station (Greenock West) is less than a mile. It's about two hours each way between Greenock and Edinburgh, allowing 20-30mins to change trains in Glasgow (at t

 

he same station, Glasgow Central, you just need to change platforms).

 

Cost would be GBP62 for 2 adults (Same Day Return - saves a couple of quid over buying two singles, and most importantly lets you use *any* train on the route whether Peak or Offpeak hours) on Sep 14 this year.

 

Waverly Station in Edinburgh is right below the castle, it's a bit of a steep walk (a bout half a mile) but there are nice views en route - or a cab will get you there in just a few minutes. Price of a one day adult ticket is GBP16 per person. So your travel and entry fees would be a total of GBP94, and you could realistically expect to spend from c.10am until 3pm in Edinburgh (i.e. with everything running on time you should be back to Greenock by just after 5pm, allowing you well over an hour to get back on the ship before it leaves dock).

 

There are some ridiculously cheap buses between Glasgow & Edinburgh, so you could shave that price down further but then you have to find bus stops etc.

 

All of the above is great advice. However at Glasow Central station, I would walk to Glasgpw Queen Street station (10 minutes) and get the quicker ,(55 minutesj) more frequent train to Edinburgh.

 

Also, buy your tickets to the Castle online and avoid the queues.

[LovinCruisin13]

Emerald Princess Sept 10th Copenhagen...First time...we will be in Iceland, Greenland, Norway. My question is, and I have so many, is..."Will these countries accept american dollar?"

 

Also we will have 6 stops on our cruise and we have booked excursions with the ship..how do I find out what there is to do at each stop that might be fun or within walking distance of dock.

 

Thank You So Much, Marsha

[hubofhockey]

Emerald Princess Sept 10th Copenhagen...First time...we will be in Iceland, Greenland, Norway. My question is, and I have so many, is..."Will these countries accept american dollar?"

 

Also we will have 6 stops on our cruise and we have booked excursions with the ship..how do I find out what there is to do at each stop that might be fun or within walking distance of dock.

 

Thank You So Much, Marsha

 

Iceland won't. I haven't been to the others, but don't see why they would.

[highlandlassie]

Greenock is my home town - if anyone has a question ask away.

 

Our local tourist group offer 3 free trips that last abt 2 hrs

[phabric]

Greenock is my home town - if anyone has a question ask away.

 

Our local tourist group offer 3 free trips that last abt 2 hrs

 

Do they have a website?

 

Where would we get these tours?

 

What type of tours are they?

[highlandlassie]

Sorry just noticed your reply. Please see below

 

 

http://inverclydetouristgroup.co.uk/tours