Edinburgh weekend in April

jess1974

Hello, please can someone help, my husband and i would like to stay in Edinburgh for 2 nights from the 4th April to the 6th, as its my birthday.

We have found Easyjet flights from Stansted for £130 for both of us return, but are struggling with accomodation, we want to be as close to the city centre as possible, and not too far from the airport.

Does anyone know how far the airport is from the city centre and roughly what a taxi fare would be?

Any suggestions on where to visit, attractions and where to eat would be appreciated, we have never been to Scotland before so any help welcome.....

sandiep

Edinburgh has a really good train network, and very very good Park & Rides. The flip side of this is parking in Edinburgh is absolutely crap, very expensive and several miles away from where you want to be.

The easiest way with Edinburgh is bizarrely to stay somewhere out of the city but close to a railway station that goes into Waverly, that way, you'll be able to get straight into the very middle of the city centre without any fuss.

There are park & rides at South Gyle & Ingleston, which are also close to the airport.

jess1974

sandiep wrote: »

Edinburgh has a really good train network, and very very good Park & Rides. The flip side of this is parking in Edinburgh is absolutely crap, very expensive and several miles away from where you want to be.

The easiest way with Edinburgh is bizarrely to stay somewhere out of the city but close to a railway station that goes into Waverly, that way, you'll be able to get straight into the very middle of the city centre without any fuss.

There are park & rides at South Gyle & Ingleston, which are also close to the airport.[/qute]


Sorry i did'nt make my post very clear, we'll be leaving our car at Stansted and will be walking or using a taxi (or buses) the rest of the time.....

pboae

The airport isn't far from the city centre, there's an airport bus that takes about 1/2 hour to get into the city centre, it's £6 for an open return.

A pre-booked taxi is roughly £20 each way, you used to be able to book one through the easy jet website for a small discount, I don't know if they still do that or not.

There's loads to see in Edinburgh, it depends what sort of stuff you are interested in.

Caz3121

Airlink bus goes direct from the airport to city centre £3.50 single or £6 open return. Run to airport is easy - it is probably 20-30 mins depending on traffic.
Not sure about your accomodation budget but there is a travelodge by the Royal Mile in St Marys Street which is showing available @ £53 per night or Premier Inn at Haymarket for £134 total for the 2 nights.
Be grateful you are not bringing a car as Edinburgh is chaos just now for traffic due to the tram works (Princes Street is closing end Feb till Nov - normally used for buses and taxis)

jess1974

Thank you both, the airport bus sounds a good idea and caz the 2 hotels you've mentioned are they in the city centre? walking distance perhaps?

Pboae, we would both like to see the dungeons, Edinburgh castle, ghost tours that kind of thing, i was thinking of using my clubcard deals...thank you both again for your info xx

Caz3121

Travellodge would be a good location...virtually on the Royal Mile - Castle is at the top of the mile, Dungeons are about 10 mins walk, Ghost tours set of from the mile. Won't be luxury but as a base would be within walking of most things (and a good price for the centre of Edinburgh)

jess1974

Caz3121 wrote: »

Travellodge would be a good location...virtually on the Royal Mile - Castle is at the top of the mile, Dungeons are about 10 mins walk, Ghost tours set of from the mile. Won't be luxury but as a base would be within walking of most things (and a good price for the centre of Edinburgh)

Oh that sounds great, thank you, not bothered about luxury just want to see and do as much as possible, we don't get much time without the kids so this will be a real treat xx
thanks again...

littleredhen

this might help too
http://guide.visitscotland.com/vs/guide/5,en,SCH1/objectId,RGN573vs,curr,GBP,folder,ATTRACTION,season,at1,selectedEntry,sights/sights.html

Amys

Alpharooms can be good. There is a premier inn that is on one of the tour bus routes, that is quiet nice, you can also sometimes get a good price for Channing's through that site. It depends on how much you want to spend.

Taxis are easy to get and about £5 - 6 most places in town.

Good places to eat, again depends on how much you want to spend and what type of food. Howies has a few branches and the food was really nice. A bit more in price, but also very nice is Stac Polly. A personal favorite of mine and my OH is Ambers, in the whiskey center near the castle, great little restaurant with really good food.

If you want good 'pub grub' then Deacon Brodies just down from the castle is also very good food and good value.

Loads of places to visit, the castle is worth a trip, Camera Obscura is also intresting. The Loch Ness 3D experience is a bit dissapointing, no monsters, just a 3D documentary. If you like geology there is Dynamic Earth, more aimed as children, but can be intresting. Mary Kings close is worth a visit for histry and is a good tour. There are also verous houses that have been opened up.

There is a tour bus that goes around most of these leaves from outside Waverly station. YOu can get a one day ticket and get on and off as many times as you want. It makes getting to the places easy.

Intresting ghost walks. we have done Mercat and Auld reekie, both were good, Mercat is more intresting, but make sure you are up to a lot of walking, they take you arond the houses. Auld Reekie you do not need to book in advance.

jess1974

Amys thank you so much for your post, a lot of really useful info, will definately be eating at one of the places you've mentioned(probably the pub)....think we'll give the loch ness experience a miss then..