Edinburgh things to do - castle and Holyrood

[MsGarden63]

How about the HOHO bus tour that would take you around to see everything and you could get off the bus at certain places that are interesting to you at the time?

Where do we get the HoHo bus in Edinburgh L

[MsGarden63]

We will be in Edinburgh on Aug 5-6. Where do we get the Hopon Ho bus? Do not want to pay in advance online.

[gkrnjlr]

We will be in Edinburgh on Aug 5-6. Where do we get the Hopon Ho bus? Do not want to pay in advance online.

 

One of the HOHO bus companies says that they start at Waverly Bridge and you can buy your tickets when you walk up, instead of having to buy in advance.

[roothy123]

Waverley Bridge is pretty easy to find, although of course it DOES depend upon where you end up in Edinburgh. If this helps, it's near the train station, and runs into Princes Street near or at Scott Monument. When we were there, it was quite easy to find a bus as at least one company had people walking around trying to sell tickets.

 

There are several different HoHo buses, although they aren't all that different in routing, cost, etc. from what I can tell. One company stops at one of the port locations, but that only helps if you dock at that location (perhaps Leith?) The "cruise forth" web site may help you determine where your ship docks and what's available there in terms of taxis, public transportation and HoHo bus service.

[itsanita]

thanks so much for all the above information. I have a couple more questions.

 

We will be on the Celebrity Eclipse, I believe it will be docking in Newhaven. What will our options be to get to the area around the Royal Mile/Edinburgh Castle? bus? train? taxi? About how far away are we and is there anything within walking distance of our cruise ship?

 

How far away is Leith where the Royal Yacht Britannia is berthed? thanks again for all you help

[tartanexile81]

thanks so much for all the above information. I have a couple more questions.

 

We will be on the Celebrity Eclipse, I believe it will be docking in Newhaven. What will our options be to get to the area around the Royal Mile/Edinburgh Castle? bus? train? taxi? About how far away are we and is there anything within walking distance of our cruise ship?

 

How far away is Leith where the Royal Yacht Britannia is berthed? thanks again for all you help

 

itsanita, the Royal Yacht in within walking distance of Newhaven, to the left along the main road as you leave the pier. You enter the shopping mall called the Ocean Terminal to access the Royal yacht and the entrance is on the 2nd floor. There are often local historians on the pier with info about a local walking tour and there will also be Cruiseforth Welcome Volunteers wearing a purple uniform who will answer your questions.

 

From Ocean terminal, it's best to get a #22 bus which will take you up to Princes Street for the Royal Mile, Castle etc. It will take 15 mins max followed by a 10 minute walk, or of course just flag a black cab to take you straight there.

 

This is a thread I crated a year or two back about Newhaven. I need to update it but it might help show you how to get to the city directly from Newhaven http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2231904&highlight=newhaven

[itsanita]

Thanks tartanexile81,

I am considering the HOHO bus. We will be there overnight. If we do the 48 hour HOHO, we could walk to the Royal Yacht Britannia when we get in that am. Then we could hop on the HOHO bus and view the city etc, getting of to enjoy the Palace of Holyroodhouse. We will have dinner that night at the Witchery, which we have heard so much about. We will then go to the Tattoo. We are planning on spending the night in town. The next morning will use our prebought tickets for the Edinburgh Castle tour and wonder around the Royal Mile, taking the HOHO bus back to the port around 4pm for a 6 pm sail away. Does this sound doable?

We will be looking for an airb&b within walking distance of the Edinburgh Castle...what 'area' should we look for? Thanks again for you help!!!

[tartanexile81]

The Majestic hoho bus is the one that picks up at the Royal Yacht and it covers a much greater distance than the other two tours. You'd be better to buy the Grand ticket that lasts for 48 hours and you can use any of the three routes. The City Sightseeing and the Edinburgh tour cover more of the main sights in the city centre so I'd probably transfer to one of them when you get into the city. However it's only £1.60 currently to get to the city centre from the port / Britannia on a local bus or around £10 for a black cab and Edinburgh is a very walkable city if you're fairly mobile.

 

If you're prepared to walk say 30 minutes (which I am :D) you could get to anywhere in the New Town, Old Town, Marchmont and some of the Southside (terms used in Air bnb). Marchmont and the Southside are very studenty areas so you may find a range of accommodation there. However I cannot stress enough that you need to book as soon as possible. I just checked air bnb and it says only 9% of lets are still available on a random date I chose in August 2018. There are literally hundreds of events in Edinburgh during August not just for the Tattoo but for the Festivals and Fringe too which all last the whole of the month. They bring tens of thousands of visitors and artists. You will see this for yourself next year. If you find any suitable properties and want to run the area past me I'd be happy to help.

[roothy123]

Here's a link to the Cruise Forth website: http://www.cruiseforth.com/content/ship/

 

They have info on how to get to central Edinburgh from each port.

[itsanita]

The Majestic hoho bus is the one that picks up at the Royal Yacht and it covers a much greater distance than the other two tours. You'd be better to buy the Grand ticket that lasts for 48 hours and you can use any of the three routes. The City Sightseeing and the Edinburgh tour cover more of the main sights in the city centre so I'd probably transfer to one of them when you get into the city. However it's only £1.60 currently to get to the city centre from the port / Britannia on a local bus or around £10 for a black cab and Edinburgh is a very walkable city if you're fairly mobile.

 

If you're prepared to walk say 30 minutes (which I am :D) you could get to anywhere in the New Town, Old Town, Marchmont and some of the Southside (terms used in Air bnb). Marchmont and the Southside are very studenty areas so you may find a range of accommodation there. However I cannot stress enough that you need to book as soon as possible. I just checked air bnb and it says only 9% of lets are still available on a random date I chose in August 2018. There are literally hundreds of events in Edinburgh during August not just for the Tattoo but for the Festivals and Fringe too which all last the whole of the month. They bring tens of thousands of visitors and artists. You will see this for yourself next year. If you find any suitable properties and want to run the area past me I'd be happy to help.

 

Thanks for the information and advise. I just reserved a 3 bedroom flat, that is on the Royal Mile, "five mins walk to Edinburgh Castle, close to The Devil's Advocate, The Royal Mile, The Fruitmarket Gallery, David Bann Restaurant, and Monteiths". So that's done!! We will be able to walk back to our apartment after the Tattoo performance. The Grand ticket for the HOHO bus sounds perfect for us. Any other advice? You've been great!

[tartanexile81]

The apartment sounds great. We use Air BNB too and we're about to spend 2 weeks in France in a couple of properties.

 

the main thing is to make sure you get your tickets early for the Tattoo. Keep an eye on the website and as soon as the 2017 event is over they'll announce when the 2018 tickets will be available. We're going again this year, in a couple of weeks and we're happy with any seats but you are better a bit higher up to get a view of all the marching formations. https://www.edintattoo.co.uk

 

I think you're well organised and the only other piece of advice I'd give you is to allow enough time for people-watching. Edinburgh and the Royal Mile will be thronged and there will be lots of street entertainers, people from the productions trying to sell tickets, street markets etc. Edinburgh takes on a very different unique character during August so relax and enjoy it and never hurry to go anywhere. Just to give you a taster, this is a link to the Fringe programme for this year. Prepare to be amazed.

 

https://www.edfringe.com/experience/programme-order

 

Have an amazing time.

[broberts]

If one enjoys fine art the Scottish National Gallery is worth a visit. Some very nice works and small enough to do in a few hours.

[itsanita]

The apartment sounds great. We use Air BNB too and we're about to spend 2 weeks in France in a couple of properties.

 

the main thing is to make sure you get your tickets early for the Tattoo. Keep an eye on the website and as soon as the 2017 event is over they'll announce when the 2018 tickets will be available. We're going again this year, in a couple of weeks and we're happy with any seats but you are better a bit higher up to get a view of all the marching formations. https://www.edintattoo.co.uk

 

I think you're well organised and the only other piece of advice I'd give you is to allow enough time for people-watching. Edinburgh and the Royal Mile will be thronged and there will be lots of street entertainers, people from the productions trying to sell tickets, street markets etc. Edinburgh takes on a very different unique character during August so relax and enjoy it and never hurry to go anywhere. Just to give you a taster, this is a link to the Fringe programme for this year. Prepare to be amazed.

 

https://www.edfringe.com/experience/programme-order

 

Have an amazing time.

 

thanks again for your help, we will work on the Tattoo tickets early. I have heard that the seating on the sides, up high, are as good as the end seats that are more expensive, do you agree?

 

Thanks for the suggestion of the Gallery, will put that on our list!! If we can get ourselves up early enough, would like to walk up to Arthur's Seat as well. Too little time!!

[flamomo]

I thoroughly enjoyed Edinburgh castle. It's so much more than just a big old building. It's a huge complex and there is much to see, if one is a history lover. The grounds are rather hilly, but the walking surfaces are very well maintained and we encountered no difficulty getting around from place to place.

[Luv Cruising Land or Sea]

Hello

 

Just returned from our wonderful trip via Celebrity Silhouette - Our stop in Edinburgh was 2 days and we arrived ashore via tenders. Here's part of my long review:

 

Tender Process:

 

We arrived in New Haven approx 9:00 am and the tenders started running about 9:30 am - this was earlier than expected, however there was some issue with the company contracted to run the bigger "ferry" boats and the ship had to use the life boats as tenders which made for a very slow process. We had not planned to disembark until noon time so we thought the "crowd" would be gone. We hired a private transport to take us to and from Edinburgh on the first day so we had transportation all set to pick us up at 1:30 pm and return us after the Tattoo. We had a meeting place on board for our group to meet. We waited until our group of 16 was together to get our tender tickets. The process is set up so that when you are ready to go ashore, if you are not on an excursion with the ship you must go get a number. Lesson learned - get your tender numbers early - one of us could have gotten them for the whole group before our meet up time and not been left waiting so long. Because of the absence of bigger vessels, we waited over an hour after we got our tender tickets. Our driver dropped us off on Fourth Bridge (above the train station) and that was our pick up point after the Tattoo. We were just at the start of the Fringe as we walked uphill towards the castle. We had pre-purchased tickets for the tour and even though they were time stamped we were allowed in later than our appointed time. The castle is (as flamomo said) so much more than just a building - it is a complex of buildings as I imagined from historical books I have read and we covered every inch of it!

 

We also had reservations at the Witchery for 6:00 pm - here's where I give my honest opinion - I felt it was very overpriced, with a very limited menu and way too crowded. We both chose a steak dinner with no alcohol and our share of the bill was £103.! We were a party of 6 crammed into a small table with not much elbow room and our chairs just about hit the chairs of the people behind us making it very difficult for wait staff to get thru. Being so uncomfortable it was hard to enjoy the ambiance of this beautiful little restaurant. The food was very good but it was hard to enjoy when we were so uncomfortable. Just my opinion. I would rather have gone to a pub and there were plenty of choices! As we left dinner we were right in the thick of the crowd moving towards the tattoo so it was very convenient not having to start at the bottom of the line.

 

Day Two: We were off the ship just after 9:00 am (remember to get those tickets early!) The tender port had some wonderful people waiting for us to direct us to where we needed to go. They were very helpful with our plans for that day. We took the public bus #16 to Princes Street ( 1.60 pounds each and we bought from a nice lady right on the pier so didn't have to worry about exact change). We wanted to wander around the festival and take in some sights along the way. We hiked up to the Royal Mile ( Princes St runs parallel but is far below) and started at St Giles and worked our way down the mile all the way to the Holyrood Palace. Several things we wanted to see were not open - (The Peoples Story at the Canongate Tollbooth for instance) but we found a neat little "flea market" that had various vendors selling their wares and the best bread ever! We visited the Palace and then took the #35 public bus back to Ocean Terminal which is where the Royal Yacht is. We had not pre-purchased our tickets and the line looked very long so we just headed back to Newhaven. We could have walked but met up with two older ladies (older than us in our mid to late 60's LOL) who were very confused and lost so we hopped in a cab together to help them get back to the ship.

 

This was our experience - hope that it helps someone - We had a wonderful time in Edinburgh even though we did get wet at the Tattoo - it started raining about halfway through the show but we already had rain gear on as advised by the announcer before the show (ponchos are the best because they cover more of your body!) So it was all good - the very wet part came when we got back to the fiasco at the tenders - we waited over an hour in line in the pouring rain to get back to the ship. It was not a pretty sight but the ship's crew members were doing the best with what they had. Apparently by that time they got at least one of the much larger "ferry" boats to start taking passengers but the water was extremely choppy by midnight so it was a slow process.

[roothy123]

I love reading about the experience of others - thanks! I just wanted to point out that not all cruise lines do the tender ticket routine the same way. If a group (whatever the size - 2, 16, whatever) wants to go on the same tender, some cruise lines require that all members of the group go together to get tender tickets. This ensures everyone stays together, and that the cruise line doesn't plan for the whole group to go on one tender and then find that, say, only ten people show up at the tender boat because the other people were somewhere else when the boat is ready to go. Maybe it doesn't matter with the big ferry-type tender boats that you describe, because of the number of people they hold, but since this post will likely be read by plenty of people on different cruise lines, I thought I might mention this. It's best to know your cruise line's policy before you go to get tender tickets.

[Luv Cruising Land or Sea]

I love reading about the experience of others - thanks! I just wanted to point out that not all cruise lines do the tender ticket routine the same way. If a group (whatever the size - 2, 16, whatever) wants to go on the same tender, some cruise lines require that all members of the group go together to get tender tickets. This ensures everyone stays together, and that the cruise line doesn't plan for the whole group to go on one tender and then find that, say, only ten people show up at the tender boat because the other people were somewhere else when the boat is ready to go. Maybe it doesn't matter with the big ferry-type tender boats that you describe, because of the number of people they hold, but since this post will likely be read by plenty of people on different cruise lines, I thought I might mention this. It's best to know your cruise line's policy before you go to get tender tickets.

 

The policy was as you stated, however because we did NOT have the larger boats that were expected the wait times for tenders was horrific. My group would have been together by the time our number was called but I thought we would each have to be present to get tickets which was not the case. One of us could have picked up tickets for all 16 people.

[itsanita]

Cinbol, thanks so much for the update on your stay in Edinburgh. We will re think the Witchery, but otherwise I feel we have that port planned out pretty well. thanks again for your input!!

 

Any other ports that you can comment on that may help us with our plans?

[Luv Cruising Land or Sea]

Cinbol, thanks so much for the update on your stay in Edinburgh. We will re think the Witchery, but otherwise I feel we have that port planned out pretty well. thanks again for your input!!

 

Any other ports that you can comment on that may help us with our plans?

 

Many have written about staying in Edinburgh after the tattoo which I suppose is reasonable but all things considered, getting back to the ship went as I expected, and we were okay with it. We researched ahead of time, and knew what to expect. With our per-arranged transportation, we were ahead of most. We have waited far longer to get out of our local NFL Teams Football stadium! Of course we only waited in line for about an hour and were back on the ship before 1:00 am - those on the ships excursions (big buses) waited much longer and I am sure have a much different opinion. It is what it is and it was an adventure! We had no problem getting off or back on the ship the next day ( which was about 70 F and gorgeous!) and we enjoyed chatting with some very nice local people on the public buses to and from the city.

 

 

here's the link to my lengthy ( but helpful I hope!) review:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2537992