Getting to Edinburgh

Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is Scotland's capital airport and is 12km (8 miles) west of the city centre. It is easy to reach thanks to an excellent - and regular - Airlink Coach service and good taxi services. It takes about 20 minutes to get from the city centre to the airport.

Over 35 airlines serve around 60 destinations and some eight million passengers pass through the airport each year. There are over 40 flights from London to Edinburgh every day and the average flight time, capital to capital, is about an hour.

There are also regular services to Edinburgh from other major UK airports and frequent scheduled flights from 40 European airports - from Amsterdam to Zurich.

For more details on the scheduled flights to Edinburgh airport, see the BAA Edinburgh Airport website: www.edinburghairport.com

Also see the VisitScotland site about travelling to Scotland at www.visitscotland.com

Taxis
Edinburgh's taxis are mainly black hackney cabs and can be safely hailed in the street. All are licensed and have meters fitted. There are numerous other private taxi hire companies. Some form of driver ID should be prominently displayed.

Public Transport
Edinburgh has a network of local bus services allowing frequent travel throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians making this a great - and cost effective - way of getting around the city.

Local bus companies offer daily bus tickets, which allow you unlimited travel in and around Edinburgh. You buy these tickets, and single journey tickets, on board the bus from the driver - no change is given, so you'll need the exact fare.

If you are heading further afield, you can buy your coach tickets for UK and Scottish travel from the bus station in St Andrew Square in advance. And if you're heading to the airport a regular express service runs from Waverley Bridge to Edinburgh Airport, with pick up points along the way.

Visas Overview
Citizens of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA may stay in Britain for up to six months without a visa; however, working is prohibited. EU citizens don't need a visa and can live and work freely. Citizens of other countries have to apply for a Visa at their local British Embassy.