Getting to Edinburgh!

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Airlines and Flight Routes to Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh is a popular tourist destination and for good reason! A bustling metropolis, Edinburgh is a university city filled with youth and vigour. There are hundreds of young, innovative businesses started in Edinburgh every year and tourism also adds to the city`s wealth.

There`s also a lot to see and do. There are art galleries, theatres, privately owned cinemas, gigs and festivals. There are excellent restaurants and there`s a bubbling night life. The city is modern with a strong, Scottish backbone and is best described as intelligent, enterprising and proud.

Leith, the port of Edinburgh still has a separate identity to the city proper and is a place of outstanding natural beauty; peaceful and enjoyable on warm summer days and moody winter nights. Cruise liners dock at Leith, taking on passengers and visiting far flung lands such as Norway, Sweden and Germany.

Airports

Edinburgh Airport is the easiest airport to fly to in order to visit the city. Depending on where you`re flying in from you`ll find numerous airlines which can take you there. In fact, over 49 major airlines fly to Edinburgh regularly. Here`s a list of those which do:

BMI, Qantas, Kenya Airways, FlyBe, SAS, American Airlines, British Airways (BA), EasyJet, Virgin Atlantic, GermanWings, LOT, Alitalia, Sun-Air, TAP, Qatar Airways, Air France, Finnair, Srilankan Airlines, Ryanair, Air New Zealans, China Southern, BMI Baby, Royal Brunei, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Ethihad Airways, FlyGlobalSpan, MALEV, Northwest Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Air Canada, Air Mauritius, Norwegian, Gulf Air, All Nippon Airways, Aer Lingus, Japan Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Continental Airlines, South African Airways, Cimber Air, Aer Arann, Iberia, Air Europa, Delta, United, US Airways, Jet2.com and Thai Airways.

As well as all these airlines, you could choose to fly to another Scottish airport in the west coast and commute. If that sounds like fun, the national rail services in Scotland make for easy travel. You can find out more regarding Scottish train times and plot your journey using the National Rail Website.

Facilities and Services

If you do choose to get to Edinburgh via Edinburgh Airport you`ll be pleased to know that there is a host of services on offer. There`s a Bureaux de Change, ATMs and a post box. There`s also Wi-Fi internet access but this isn`t free, so you must pay to use it. unlike that when you arrive at the Valentine City Centre Guest House which is free for all guests.

There are numerous coffee shops and places to grab food throughout the airport (The Cornish pasties served from the VW Camper are outstanding!) along with two bars for a pint of beer or glass of wine. You can also shop in Edinburgh airport because there are plenty of outlets which can provide tax and duty free savings to those leaving the EU. For those who wish to pray there`s even a non-denominational prayer/quiet room.

Some UK passengers choose to fly to Edinburgh despite being close enough to visit by train. Birmingham to Edinburgh flights might seem extravagant. However, UK travellers should compare flights and train travel thoroughly, because sometimes flights are more relaxing and direct. 

Edinburgh Airport Information

Edinburgh's airport lies just seven miles to the west of the City Centre. Unless you are picking up a hire car, the transport options are buses or taxi.

Transport is well sign-posted from within the terminal. Travelling from Edinburgh Airport to the Valentine City Centre Guesthouse is simple, you have three main choices.

1.

Lothian Buses service 35 for just £1.20 per person (£3.00 for a whole day pass on all services) will transport you from the Airport terminal to less than 200m from us. This takes around 50 minutes and is a good choice unless you have very heavy luggage without wheels, or are in a desperate hurry. You will need the exact fare, as no change is given. The Valentine is one of very few guest houses which are along the route of this service. The relevant bus stop and walking route to our door are shown on the map on the main Directions page, but you want the 'Lauriston Place' bus stop after turning left at the Tollcross clock (the bus stop after the one outside Andersens Pub and opposite 'Superdrug').

2.
Lothian Buses Airlink service. This is the 'standard' Airport to City Centre option, for all guesthouses within the central zone you then need to switch to the appropriate local bus to complete your journey. The service costs £3.50 single £6 return and takes just under 25 minutes, using the Shandwick Place stop, you can walk just around the corner to
	Lothian Road and pick up the 10 directly to our door, or the No.11, 15, 15A, or 16 to the end of Gilmore Place (King's Theatre) stop under 50m away. With a quick connection you can be with us in 30 minutes overall. This is quicker than the 35 Service and can be right to the bus stop outside our door, but it does involve changing buses and is a bit more expensive. Further details on the flybybus website

Edinburgh Tramways Construction - Bus Diversions. From May 2010 The 100 airlink service is not currently facing any significant diversion due to the ongoing tramworks within the City Centre, and this will not affect anyone following the instruction above at all. An easy (but slightly slower) option during the Mound closure from May 2010 is to stay on the airlink until it terminates on Waverley Bridge, then take the 27 from the adjacent bus stop (railway station side of the street) directly to our door. We would recommend this alternative on any day except Sundays. Current bus diversions are posted here
3.
A taxi will transport you and your luggage direct to our door for between £14 and £20 dependent upon traffic, number of passengers and the amount of luggage. ( Note that fares to areas such as Mayfield and Newington are further away and therefore more expensive to reach by taxi, we benefit from being on the airport side of the city centre). This is of course the most expensive option for one person, though certainly worth it if there are three or four of you, or if you are struggling with heavy luggage. Journey time depends on the time of day, but 30 minutes is typical. Similar to the taxi service is the minibus 'airport shuttle' service, this is cheaper than a taxi for a single traveller, but unlike a taxi it doesn't leave immediately and isn't allowed to vary its route to the centre before dropping you off at our door after perhaps visiting several other places, for two or more people a taxi is cheaper and quicker.

One further option does exist - the yellow 'Edinburgh Shuttle' minibus service. These leave every 15 minutes, and for £10 (one-way) will drop you right at our door, but probably after visiting other Guest Houses or Hotels first. Unless you are travelling alone, however, we would not recommend this as a taxi would be both cheaper and much quicker. Even for a single traveller, its just around £5 extra for a traditional black cab right to our door without waiting.

Perhaps everyone was listening - the minibus Edinburgh Shuttle has now been discontinued!!

Note that the bus stop for both the 10 and 27 is DIRECTLY at our door, with other connecting services very close by.

The choice is yours from these options, if you have any problems simply call us!

The award winning new control tower at Edinburgh Airport.

For more information on Edinburgh Airport, its services and Airlines try one of these sites: Official BAA Edinburgh Airport website (official information, and an interactive Terminal map) Unofficial Edinburgh Airport site (full of useful information anfd quick links to all the Airlines on-line booking pages) Visiting London too? Heathrow's Terminal 4 hotels: Welcome to London Heathrow! Terminal 4 Hotels, offers the best rates on hotels near Heathrow Airport