Edinburgh, tendering in New Haven. what can we see in 5 hrs

[Love 2 Travel]

We w ill be cruising on Holland America Rotterdam and be tendering in New Haven (Edinburgh) in August 2024. We are in port from 8am-5pm.

We are planning on taking either the HoHo bus that leaves from port to get into the city or the take the tram or bus. We figure we will won't get on land until 10am and will need to be back in New Haven to tender by 3-330pm. Only 5 hours. Not nearly enough time but what can we realistically see during that time period? We want to do the royal mile, see the outside of the Castle and Holyrod. We were also thinking about making a stop to visit the Royal Yacht Brittania. We are worried because August will have the Fringe Festival and the Tatoo going on. We figure it will be very busy. We will be in town on a Monday. Any advice or suggestions are appreciated. 

[gumshoe958]

It will indeed be very busy. You’ll certainly have time to walk the Royal Mile (with Holyrood at one end and the castle at the other) and take in some free Fringe street entertainment en route.

 

But whether that’ll leave you enough time to do the Royal Yacht justice is debatable - although on the plus side it’s very close to Newhaven so convenient for your ship.

[fruitmachine]

5 hours ago, Love 2 Travel said:

We w ill be cruising on Holland America Rotterdam and be tendering in New Haven (Edinburgh) in August 2024. We are in port from 8am-5pm.

Are you sure that you'll be tendering to Newhaven?  That would be a first for HAL, as they have previously always tendered to South Queensferry.

 

Regardless, you can assume the relatively short time ashore that you have, but plan on additional activities if you get off earlier or find that 5pm is the last tender time.  For certain, if you're in the queue in time for the last tender, they will keep them running until everyone in the queue is aboard.

 

The HoHo bus gives a good overview of the city, taking 75-90 minutes for a circuit from Waterloo place, but the route that goes to Newhaven is a different one from the main city centre ones.  If short of time, you'd be quicker catching the local bus (#11) or tram (5 minutes walk) into the city centre and then get on the HoHo bus.

 

 

[Simon-t]

I would recommend going into the castle rather than just seeing the outside. The views are fantastic, and the buildings fascinating (including the Scottish Crown Jewels) and steeped in Scottish History.

 

You will still have plenty of time to walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood. Holyrood House itself is also worth a visit with an interesting audio guide.

 

The Royal Yacht is also interesting but you might be pushed for time to fit that in. Personally, if I only had five hours I would concentrate on the old town perhaps also pulling in Greyfriars Kirkyard or the National Gallery depending on your interests.

[Love 2 Travel]

8 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

Are you sure that you'll be tendering to Newhaven?  That would be a first for HAL, as they have previously always tendered to South Queensferry.

 

Regardless, you can assume the relatively short time ashore that you have, but plan on additional activities if you get off earlier or find that 5pm is the last tender time.  For certain, if you're in the queue in time for the last tender, they will keep them running until everyone in the queue is aboard.

 

The HoHo bus gives a good overview of the city, taking 75-90 minutes for a circuit from Waterloo place, but the route that goes to Newhaven is a different one from the main city centre ones.  If short of time, you'd be quicker catching the local bus (#11) or tram (5 minutes walk) into the city centre and then get on the HoHo bus.

 

 

Yes. HAL originally had us tendering in South Queensbury but recently switched it to NewHaven.

Thank you for your advice about taking the tram or bus and picking up the HOHO bus in town. 

If we took the tram or bus, which is the best stop to get off at that is at the top of the Royal Mile area so that we walk downhill as we continue touring? Do you think the tram will be faster as it will not be dealing with traffic as much as the bus?

[Love 2 Travel]

5 hours ago, Simon-t said:

I would recommend going into the castle rather than just seeing the outside. The views are fantastic, and the buildings fascinating (including the Scottish Crown Jewels) and steeped in Scottish History.

 

You will still have plenty of time to walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood. Holyrood House itself is also worth a visit with an interesting audio guide.

 

The Royal Yacht is also interesting but you might be pushed for time to fit that in. Personally, if I only had five hours I would concentrate on the old town perhaps also pulling in Greyfriars Kirkyard or the National Gallery depending on your interests.

Thank you. I think we will bypass going to the yacht because of time, especially if we want to stop at a pub for some lunch.

[Simon-t]

4 hours ago, Love 2 Travel said:

Thank you. I think we will bypass going to the yacht because of time, especially if we want to stop at a pub for some lunch.

Good call - there are lots of nice places to get a pub lunch in the old town!

[fruitmachine]

16 hours ago, Love 2 Travel said:

Yes. HAL originally had us tendering in South Queensbury but recently switched it to NewHaven.

Thank you for your advice about taking the tram or bus and picking up the HOHO bus in town. 

If we took the tram or bus, which is the best stop to get off at that is at the top of the Royal Mile area so that we walk downhill as we continue touring? Do you think the tram will be faster as it will not be dealing with traffic as much as the bus?

Either takes about the same time.  The tram is slightly faster, but is a 5 minute walk away. 

 

For the HoHo bus (which has a stop at the castle on its route):
If taking the tram, get off at St Andrew Square, follow the tracks in the same direction as you are already going, and turn left when you get to the T junction with Princes Street.  The HoHo buses leave from Waterloo Place, which is a continuation of Princes St, about a 3-4 minute walk away.

If the #11 bus, get off on Princes Street, Stop PP, next to the Scott Monument, and double back on the bus route, then as above to Waterloo Place.

 

If you're wanting to go directly to the castle rather than the HoHo, you have an uphill walk either way as there is no direct public transport from Newhaven to the top of the Royal Mile.

On the tram, get off at Princes Street stop and walk up The Mound to the castle.  You can't miss it and it takes about 10 minutes.

 

On the #11 bus, stay on until Lothian Road Stop XE, and the take this route (which gives an excellent view of the 'back' of the castle on the way): https://maps.app.goo.gl/VNzLiDm2MhG8xRv86

[edinburgher]

19 hours ago, Love 2 Travel said:

Thank you for your advice about taking the tram or bus and picking up the HOHO bus in town. 

If we took the tram or bus, which is the best stop to get off at that is at the top of the Royal Mile area so that we walk downhill as we continue touring?

I agree that taking the tram or bus would be a better option, and as you thought, the tram will probably be faster than the bus. Info for trams  can be found on the Edinburgh Trams website, for buses, the Lothian Buses website.  Unfortunately I do not think there is any transport which would take you from Newhaven uphill  towards the castle without using two buses. You would either have a walk at the start before boarding a bus, a walk at the end, or a switch from one bus route to another. With a switch, closest bus stop to the castle would be listed on the LB website as either George IV Bridge or Victoria St, that stop actually on George IV Bridge at the top of Victoria St. The trams go nowhere near the Old Town, closest stop would be the Princes St stop which is at the foot of the Mound. The journey planner on the Lothian Buses website would be helpful for your planning.

 

Unfortunately for you, Edinburgh is built on seven hills so an uphill walk is to be expected at some point in your day depending on your plans.  As an alternative to uphill walking, you could also consider taking a bus or tram to St Andrew Square then taking a taxi up to the castle. St Andrew Square better than Princes St as there are taxi ranks there and usually a few waiting outside the bus station, barely a one minute walk from the tram stop.

 

Better news is that, once up at the castle area, it would be either flat or downhill walking thereafter.

 

And yes, the city will be very crowded in August so pre-book entry for any paying attractions of interest to you, especially should you want a castle visit.  These timed entry tickets go on sale 2 or 3 months ahead so check regularly as they do sell out and there will be long walk up entry lines on the day.

 

Personally I would not bother with the HOHO as you are likely to be walking on some of the route anyway, especially around the Old Town,  and parts of the Royal Mile will be closed to traffic as they usually are during August to allow for on street buskers and shows,  And do bear in mind that the HOHO will use some of your time.But that is a personal decision for you to make.

Should you decide that you do want the HOHO, you could get off a tram or bus closest to St Andrew Square and get a HOHO from there, or take it from whichever stop it is at Newhaven..

 

Wear comfortable shoes as cobbles are not the best surface for walking and worse if it is raining.  For some, August is the best month to visit, for others, the worst.

Edited December 16, 2023 by edinburgher

[Love 2 Travel]

14 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

Either takes about the same time.  The tram is slightly faster, but is a 5 minute walk away. 

 

For the HoHo bus (which has a stop at the castle on its route):
If taking the tram, get off at St Andrew Square, follow the tracks in the same direction as you are already going, and turn left when you get to the T junction with Princes Street.  The HoHo buses leave from Waterloo Place, which is a continuation of Princes St, about a 3-4 minute walk away.

If the #11 bus, get off on Princes Street, Stop PP, next to the Scott Monument, and double back on the bus route, then as above to Waterloo Place.

 

If you're wanting to go directly to the castle rather than the HoHo, you have an uphill walk either way as there is no direct public transport from Newhaven to the top of the Royal Mile.

On the tram, get off at Princes Street stop and walk up The Mound to the castle.  You can't miss it and it takes about 10 minutes.

 

On the #11 bus, stay on until Lothian Road Stop XE, and the take this route (which gives an excellent view of the 'back' of the castle on the way): https://maps.app.goo.gl/VNzLiDm2MhG8xRv86

Thank you very much. Very helpful information. We really appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge with us.

[Love 2 Travel]

11 hours ago, edinburgher said:

I agree that taking the tram or bus would be a better option, and as you thought, the tram will probably be faster than the bus. Info for trams  can be found on the Edinburgh Trams website, for buses, the Lothian Buses website.  Unfortunately I do not think there is any transport which would take you from Newhaven uphill  towards the castle without using two buses. You would either have a walk at the start before boarding a bus, a walk at the end, or a switch from one bus route to another. With a switch, closest bus stop to the castle would be listed on the LB website as either George IV Bridge or Victoria St, that stop actually on George IV Bridge at the top of Victoria St. The trams go nowhere near the Old Town, closest stop would be the Princes St stop which is at the foot of the Mound. The journey planner on the Lothian Buses website would be helpful for your planning.

 

Unfortunately for you, Edinburgh is built on seven hills so an uphill walk is to be expected at some point in your day depending on your plans.  As an alternative to uphill walking, you could also consider taking a bus or tram to St Andrew Square then taking a taxi up to the castle. St Andrew Square better than Princes St as there are taxi ranks there and usually a few waiting outside the bus station, barely a one minute walk from the tram stop.

 

Better news is that, once up at the castle area, it would be either flat or downhill walking thereafter.

 

And yes, the city will be very crowded in August so pre-book entry for any paying attractions of interest to you, especially should you want a castle visit.  These timed entry tickets go on sale 2 or 3 months ahead so check regularly as they do sell out and there will be long walk up entry lines on the day.

 

Personally I would not bother with the HOHO as you are likely to be walking on some of the route anyway, especially around the Old Town,  and parts of the Royal Mile will be closed to traffic as they usually are during August to allow for on street buskers and shows,  And do bear in mind that the HOHO will use some of your time.But that is a personal decision for you to make.

Should you decide that you do want the HOHO, you could get off a tram or bus closest to St Andrew Square and get a HOHO from there, or take it from whichever stop it is at Newhaven..

 

Wear comfortable shoes as cobbles are not the best surface for walking and worse if it is raining.  For some, August is the best month to visit, for others, the worst.

Good information. Thank you for your insight and help. We appreciate it very much.

[edinburgher]

13 hours ago, Love 2 Travel said:

Good information. Thank you for your insight and help. We appreciate it very much.

Thanks for acknowledging as not everyone does.  Hope you enjoy your day and you may even  consider returning on a land trip for extra days, combining with other UK locations such as Bath or York or wherever as there are many historic cities and towns to choose from.

[Love 2 Travel]

Sorry but one more question regarding the bus. When I went to the travel planner and put in NewHaven Harbor to Princes Street, it says take bus 11 and get off at North St David Street, stop  YC. Is this near  the Princes Street, stop PP? I'm a bit confused. 

[fruitmachine]

4 hours ago, Love 2 Travel said:

Sorry but one more question regarding the bus. When I went to the travel planner and put in NewHaven Harbor to Princes Street, it says take bus 11 and get off at North St David Street, stop  YC. Is this near  the Princes Street, stop PP? I'm a bit confused. 

Let me correct myself, it's Princes Street stop PR (PP is the next stop to the east, and the #11 doesn't pass it).

 

Princes Street Stop PR is the next stop after North St David Street.

Edited December 17, 2023 by fruitmachine

[CatalinaUK]

In my experience, Edinburgh in August will be exceptionally busy so allow for extra time to walk up Royal Mile. You will get the added excitement of street performers, but it can feel quite frantic at times. This also allows thieves extra chances to pickpocket you, so be very careful! Definitely pre-book castle tickets ahead of time. 

 

The Grassmarket is a lovely area to have lunch. It's adjacent to the Royal Mile and has a lot of good places. After lunch, stroll down Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament. I wouldn't bother with a tour of Holyrood, to be honest. If you have time and inclination, I'd recommend going to Carlton Hill which gives you a great view of Edinburgh (and it will get you away from the Festival crowds).   

[edinburgher]

56 minutes ago, CatalinaUK said:

I'd recommend going to Carlton Hill which gives you a great view of Edinburgh (and it will get you away from the Festival crowds).   

Beautiful 360 degree views but a climb up the stairs or the longer roadway, so only worth the effort on a dry weather day.

[Love 2 Travel]

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to share your knowledge. It is so helpful.

We were reading about Carlton Hill. From the images online, it looks like a beautiful overview of the city. If the weather is good, we would like to make a stop here. What would be the best way to find our way to top of Carlton Hill? 

[fruitmachine]

3 hours ago, Love 2 Travel said:

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to share your knowledge. It is so helpful.

We were reading about Carlton Hill. From the images online, it looks like a beautiful overview of the city. If the weather is good, we would like to make a stop here. What would be the best way to find our way to top of Carlton Hill? 

Worth noting for when you Google it, it's Calton (no "R") Hill.

 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/aXBXVzC15rZbuw1e8

It's just to the east of Princess Street and, for anyone with average mobility, an easy 5 minute walk either up the steps, or on the roadway a little further east.  Both these entrances are opposite St Andrew's House, a Scottish Government office building.   Just "follow your nose" from either of these two points.

 

[CatalinaUK]

On 12/18/2023 at 6:52 PM, fruitmachine said:

Worth noting for when you Google it, it's Calton (no "R") Hill.

 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/aXBXVzC15rZbuw1e8

It's just to the east of Princess Street and, for anyone with average mobility, an easy 5 minute walk either up the steps, or on the roadway a little further east.  Both these entrances are opposite St Andrew's House, a Scottish Government office building.   Just "follow your nose" from either of these two points.

 

Thank you for the correction. I shouldn't type with a migraine!

[Love 2 Travel]

you guys have been great! It is so nice of you to answer all of my questions and in such detail.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. We are looking forward to our visit to Scotland next year, both Edinburgh and the Highlands.

Wishing you a very Happy holiday season and health and happiness in the New year!