Getting to Edinburgh and Around by Tram, Bus and Train

Compact as Edinburgh is, its hills are steep, so combining walking with the single-line Edinburgh Tram and the maroon-and-white Lothian Buses saves your legs without ever needing a car.

From Edinburgh Airport (EDI) to the city centre

Edinburgh Airport sits 12 km west of the centre. Two frequent services leave right outside the terminal arrivals plaza:

• Airlink 100 Express Bus (fastest for Waverley and the Old Town): runs 24 hours a day (every 10 minutes by day) straight to Haymarket, West End (Shandwick Place), Princes Street and Waverley Bridge (right beside Edinburgh Waverley Station and the foot of the Old Town) in about 30 minutes, with luggage racks and free Wi-Fi.
• Edinburgh Trams (best for West End, New Town and Leith): departs every 7 to 10 minutes from the airport plaza, stopping at Haymarket, West End, Princes Street, St Andrew Square, Picardy Place and continuing all the way down Leith Walk to The Shore, Ocean Terminal (Royal Yacht Britannia) and Newhaven. Note that the Airport is in a special fare zone: if riding the tram to or from the airport, buy your airport tram ticket at the platform machine or tap on at the platform validator and tap off when you alight.
• Service 200 (North Edinburgh) and 300 (Cameron Toll): direct Lothian airport buses if you are staying directly in Ocean Terminal/Leith or the south side/Tollcross.

Arriving by train at Edinburgh Waverley (or Haymarket)

Edinburgh Waverley sits in the valley floor between the Old Town and New Town, connected to London King's Cross in roughly 4 hours 20 minutes by LNER Azuma and Lumo trains (sit on the right-hand side travelling north for coastal views of Durham Cathedral, Newcastle bridges, Bamburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed) and to Glasgow Queen Street every 15 minutes. Note that walking south out of Waverley up to the Royal Mile means climbing steep steps (Fleshmarket Close or Cockburn Street); if you have heavy wheeled bags, use the station lifts up to the Waverley Bridge or Market Street exits.

Lothian Buses, trams and TapTapCap

On city Lothian Buses and non-airport tram journeys, simply tap your contactless bank card or phone wallet on the driver's reader when boarding (no need to tap off on buses; on trams within the city Zone, tap the platform reader before boarding). The system uses TapTapCap: it automatically caps your daily and weekly spend so you never pay more than the price of a DayTicket, provided you use the exact same card or device for every trip.