Edinburgh Itinerary

[kflietst]

Is it possible to get to St. Andrews Golf Course as well as The Royal Mile while in port for 12 hours? Both are bucket list items for us and the tours I have seen seem to do one or the other.We realize we will be not lingering in either place for very long, but is it doable and how? Any suggestions are appreciated!

[gumshoe958]

It’s possible, yes. St Andrews involves a train ride from Edinburgh Waverley to Leuchars (journey time about an hour) then a 10-15 minute bus ride. So allow 3 hours’ travel time for the round trip plus however long you stay in St Andrews.

 

So allowing for a 2 hour visit to St Andrews and travel time between the ship & central Edinburgh by bus, you should still have 4 hours to explore the city. Which isn’t a lot but enough to get a flavour of it.

 

Edited April 11 by gumshoe958

[fruitmachine]

Assuming you're tendering to Newhaven or docking in Leith ... my only thing to add to @gumshoe958's reply is that it's usually simpler to catch the train at Haymarket station (https://maps.app.goo.gl/vqZRBpMsexnzqgjPA).  It's a much smaller station, with only two through-platforms in each direction, so much easier to navigate.  Every train heading west or north stops there.  The tram (a 500m walk at the Newhaven end) stops outside the door.

 

If docking in Leith, then the tram is just a 2 minute walk from the cruise terminal.

 

Or you can take a taxi to Haymarket.

 

If you're tendering to South Queensferry, or docking in Rosyth, please come back as the instructions are different.

 

 

 

 

[kflietst]

12 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

It’s possible, yes. St Andrews involves a train ride from Edinburgh Waverley to Leuchars (journey time about an hour) then a 10-15 minute bus ride. So allow 3 hours’ travel time for the round trip plus however long you stay in St Andrews.

 

So allowing for a 2 hour visit to St Andrews and travel time between the ship & central Edinburgh by bus, you should still have 4 hours to explore the city. Which isn’t a lot but enough to get a flavour of it.

 

Would taxis be available to expedite the trip from Queensferry cruise port? Hoping to avoid going into Edinburgh to have to catch a train?

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, kflietst said:

Is it possible to get to St. Andrews Golf Course as well as The Royal Mile while in port for 12 hours?

As another has said-- yes you can physically do it. Personally I would not waste the time with public transport though as your time will be limited as it is and the flexibility of going privately would save you time as well as enhance the experience.

 

I would hire a car and driver for the day to pick you up at the port in Leith and take you direct to St Andrews. Linger there, maybe have an early lunch, and then have them drive you back down to Edinburgh. Unless you don't really care about cost you could part ways with them here so you aren't running the meter and sightsee the rest of the afternoon and just catch a cab back to the ship (which is only about 20 minutes from the Royal Mile). 

 

You could also rent a car for the day but as an American I find driving myself in the UK more stressful than helpful (not to mention you lose time picking it up and dropping it off). But if they are bucket list items do yourself a favor and invest a little in a driver or car rental and maximize your time at each place. 

 

1 hour ago, kflietst said:

Both are bucket list items for us and the tours I have seen seem to do one or the other.

Mainly because it's impossible to usher busloads of people to both places in a short period of time. 

Edited April 11 by princeton123211
typo

[kflietst]

2 minutes ago, fruitmachine said:

Assuming you're tendering to Newhaven or docking in Leith ... my only thing to add to @gumshoe958's reply is that it's usually simpler to catch the train at Haymarket station (https://maps.app.goo.gl/vqZRBpMsexnzqgjPA).  It's a much smaller station, with only two through-platforms in each direction, so much easier to navigate.  Every train heading west or north stops there.  The tram (a 500m walk at the Newhaven end) stops outside the door.

 

If docking in Leith, then the tram is just a 2 minute walk from the cruise terminal.

 

Or you can take a taxi to Haymarket.

 

If you're tendering to South Queensferry, or docking in Rosyth, please come back as the instructions are different.

 

 

 

 

Yes, we are scheduled to tender in South Queensferry and would love advice from there.

[fruitmachine]

1 minute ago, kflietst said:

Would taxis be available to expedite the trip from Queensferry cruise port? Hoping to avoid going into Edinburgh to have to catch a train?

You're tendering to South Queensferry - so ignore my previous reply!

 

Walk (uphill) the 0.4 mile to Dalmeny Station, and catch the train northbound from there (https://maps.app.goo.gl/ULqoJpRm3AeqUYLd8).  You then normally need to do a very easy same-platform change two stops later at Inverkeithing to get on a train that stops in Leuchars.

 

Use the Scotrail website to plan your journey (https://www.scotrail.co.uk/) and it's probably easiest to use their app for electronic tickets.  Remember that on your return journey, you want to go all the way to Edinburgh Waverley, where the Royal Mile is a five minute walk away.  You won't need to change trains on the way south.

 

As you'll now be familiar with the train, I'd take it back to Dalmeny from Edinburgh Waverley (or Haymarket if you happen to be nearer there) and it's then an easy downhill walk back to Hawes Pier and the tender.

[fruitmachine]

14 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

As another has said-- yes you can physically do it. Personally I would not waste the time with public transport though as your time will be limited as it is and the flexibility of going privately would save you time as well as enhance the experience.

 

I would hire a car and driver for the day to pick you up at the port in Leith and take you direct to St Andrews. Linger there, maybe have an early lunch, and then have them drive you back down to Edinburgh. Unless you don't really care about cost you could part ways with them here so you aren't running the meter and sightsee the rest of the afternoon and just catch a cab back to the ship (which is only about 20 minutes from the Royal Mile). 

 

You could also rent a car for the day but as an American I find driving myself in the UK more stressful than helpful (not to mention you lose time picking it up and dropping it off). But if they are bucket list items do yourself a favor and invest a little in a driver or car rental and maximize your time at each place. 

 

Mainly because it's impossible to usher busloads of people to both places in a short period of time. 

A private-hire car will cost in the region of £350-£375 for the day.

[princeton123211]

2 minutes ago, fruitmachine said:

A private-hire car will cost in the region of £350-£375 for the day.

Not bad value for money when you consider that bus tours can be 75-150 per person. If the OP has a bunch of onboard credit you can usually hire a car and driver through the ship (although they build in a premium/commission vs hiring someone locally yourself) but if your overall is less than what you said it could be a good use of that cruise ship credit. 

 

I've been to both places many times and on even a longer port stop like this couldn't imagine using public transport and have this be a relaxing, enjoyable, bucket list experience like the OP is looking for. Hence my recommendation to hire a driver. 

[kflietst]

22 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

As another has said-- yes you can physically do it. Personally I would not waste the time with public transport though as your time will be limited as it is and the flexibility of going privately would save you time as well as enhance the experience.

 

I would hire a car and driver for the day to pick you up at the port in Leith and take you direct to St Andrews. Linger there, maybe have an early lunch, and then have them drive you back down to Edinburgh. Unless you don't really care about cost you could part ways with them here so you aren't running the meter and sightsee the rest of the afternoon and just catch a cab back to the ship (which is only about 20 minutes from the Royal Mile). 

 

You could also rent a car for the day but as an American I find driving myself in the UK more stressful than helpful (not to mention you lose time picking it up and dropping it off). But if they are bucket list items do you invest a little in a driver or car rental and maximize your time at each place. 

 

Mainly because it's impossible to usher busloads of people to both places in a short period of time. 

Any car companies you would recommend? It sounds like our best itinerary would be to hire a driver to St Andrews who would also drop us at Edinburgh Castle so we could walk DOWN the Royal Mile on our own. Then possibly take public transportation back to the ship???

[kflietst]

12 minutes ago, fruitmachine said:

A private-hire car will cost in the region of £350-£375 for the day.

That seems very reasonable for 4 of us. Do you have a recommendation?