Airport or Waverley Station to Sciennes Road
TRAVELLING IN FROM THE AIRPORT
If you are arriving by train, see information on travelling in central Edinburgh here.
If you are travelling by car just see the main page. This is for guests wishing to use public transport from the airport to the house. The first section is for adults travelling individually. The second section is for families. The (horribly) complicated bit is the information for families. I have tried to make it as simple as possible.
Remember that Google provides useful information about travelling from one place to another. You want to type in Edinburgh Airport to 3 Sciennes Road using public transport.
Adults (simple version)
The good news is that for adults, the easiest way to pay is by using the Taptapcap system.
For a party of adults, each adult purchases a ticket into central Edinburgh and then uses the same card or device that was used to pay for this ticket for future bus and trams trips. This will enable each adult to benefit from the Taptapcap system. On the tram you have to tap on and tap off at the vending machine using the same card or phone and continue using the same card or phone for all future journeys. For the buses, you just have to tap on and continue using the same card for all further journeys.
Families (simple version)
The two companies (tram and bus) that run public transport in Edinburgh have made no effort to simplify things for families when travelling in from the airport! Without going into enormous (and mind distorting) complexity, the easiest and cheapest is to get the bus.
For families with children, purchase the LOTHIAN AIRPORT FAMILY DAY TICKET for £20 (two adults and three children). This ticket can be purchased at the 100 bus stop at the airport or on the bus itself. The Airlink 100 bus, which goes into the city center from Edinburgh Airport, can be boarded at Stop A, just outside the arrivals area at the airport.
This ticket will enable you to use the bus into Edinburgh from the airport and then the bus and the tram for the rest of the day in central Edinburgh. Get off the 100 bus at Hanover Street and walk down to the N° 9 bus stop (you want the N° 9 bus stop going down the hill).
Or, just get a taxi in from the airport (around £25 for Uber with two adults and two children). It will be just a little more expensive but a lot quicker and stress free. You will be at the house in half an hour or so (rather than an hour to an houir and a half) and you will not have to move heavy luggage as you change buses.
If you wish to continue using public transport the following day, you could then purchase the Lothian Family City Day ticket for Lothian buses (£12). You can buy the Lothian Family City Day Pass on boarding the bus or at the vending machines for the tram. If not get the Lothian Buses app and purchase the Family City Day pass there.
www.lothianbuses.com/app/
If you are worried about getting a headache, stop here! This is the basic information that you need.
WAYS OF GETTING TO THE HOUSE
- ADULTS
A single adult traveling by public transport from Edinburgh Airport to central Edinburgh will pay £7.50 for an Edinburgh Trams Adult Airport Single ticket. Alternatively, the Airlink 100 bus offers an Adult Single ticket for £5.50. After that continue using the same card or device to pay for subsequent trips. You will not pay more than £5.
Three ways of getting to the house for Adults:
i) 100 airlink bus to Hanover Street and then take N° 9 bus (best option) also from Hanover Street. Get off the 100 bus at Hanover Street and walk down to the N° 9 bus stop, also on Hanover Street. Take the direction to Kings Buildings. The N° 24 from Hanover Street represents a second option (with only a slightly longer walk at the end).
The Airlink 100 bus, which goes into the city center from Edinburgh Airport, can be boarded at Stop A, just outside the arrivals area at the airport.
This journey planner might help:
www.lothianbuses.com/live-travel-info/journey-planner/
This is an example of a search result for Edinburgh Airport to 3 Sciennes Road:
Lothian Buses provides a Lothian Adult Airport Dayticket for £9. It can be purchased on boarding the bus and covers unlimited bus and tram travel, including airport trips. It can then also be used for travel by public transport when you arrive in cental Edinburgh. However, it will be cheaper to just continue with the Taptapcap system using the same card or device per person.
2. TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN
This is my best attempt at providing clear instructions for families with children.
Three ways of getting to the house:
i) This is the simple version mentioned above. 100 airlink bus to Hanover Street and then take N° 9 bus also from Hanover Street (best option).
A ticket in from the airport to the centre to the centre will already cost around £5 per adult and 2.25 per child (so £12.50 for two adults and one child or £17.50 for 2 adults and 3 children). You will then have an additional cost of £8.80 for two adults and a child or £12 for two adults and three children. Assuming two adults and one child, the total cost will be £21.
When travelling with children, purchase the LOTHIAN AIRPORT FAMILY DAY TICKET on boarding the bus. It will cost £20 and make sure to pay with the same card that you will subsequently be using on either the bus or the tram. Get off at Hanover Street and walk to the N° 9 bus stop, also on Hanover Street (this time going down the hill).
You will be able to use this LOTHIAN AIRPORT FAMILY DAY TICKET for the rest of the day (in addition to using it on the N° 9 bus to come up to the house). If you have three children with you, as you can see, it is worth the cost but only marginally.
You can use the ordinary Lothian buses app to buy a FAMILY CITY DAY pass for travel in the central region for days when you will not be travelling to the airport.
www.lothianbuses.com/app/
This will cover you for 2 adults and up to three children (and is worth getting if you are thinking of using the bus more than once with a party of 2 adults and 1-3 children). It will provide you with unlimited travel on the tram and the bus for the period of its validity. Purchase the either at the vending machine at a tram stop or when boarding the bus or download the app and purchase it there:
www.lothianbuses.com/app/
ii) Tram,
https://www.edinburghairport.com/transport-links/trams
The easiest is just to pay for the tram from the Airport to the centre and then pay again for the bus.
As far as I can make out, if you have purchased the Lothian Family City Day pass, you only need to pay to go to Ingilston from the airport if you are using the tram. Check with the person doing the tickets. Ingilston, which is the first stop after the airport (after which time you enter a different zone). Once your are at Ingilston, you can use the Lothian Buses Family Day Ticket on both the tram and the buses. You will not need to buy a separate ticket for the bus up to the house.
Stay on the tram until the second stop on Princes Street (after Shandwick Place) and then a take thirty second walk will take you to the bus stop beside the national gallery (buses going up the hill) and the N° 9 bus.
iii) Taxi. Consider getting a taxi. Really!
For families, the cost of the Airport day ticket on the bus for 2 adults and 1-2 children is £20.
The cost of an Uber will be around £25 (for up to 4 people) and around £35 for 4-6 people. The taxi will take around half an hour to get to the house.
If you take a taxi and then wish to use the bus the same day (or the next), purchase a Family Day ticket from Lothian Buses (£12 for two adults and up to three children). This ticket will then give you unlimited travel in central Edinburgh. It will run from the time of purchase until 1 in the morning.
There are two options for taxis:
a) Get one of the black cab taxis that will be waiting to pick up travellers (£30+). They apply an exit fee for exiting the pick up zone of £6 (June 2025)
b) Order a Uber … they come to the pick up zone (£20+) (but they also apply an additional a £6 fee for exiting the pick up zone … June 2025).
Confused? Everyone with a family must be!