Edinburgh is a beautiful city. As long that you have strong legs
and the weather is fine, you can cover almost the all-major city attractions in
1 day. The trick is you must be travel savvy. There are clear signboards
for you to navigate your way around Edinburgh,
friendly pedestrian area but be careful with the cobbled road. A
lot of people tripped due to uneven surface while their enjoying the view.
Edinburgh is a pleasant place to walk around. The only enemy is
the weather. If you have space in your luggage, bring a disposable
raincoat. Edinburgh can be tricky when it comes to weather even in summer. You
can experience 2-3 types of weather in 1 day... If you need a raincoat, you can
buy cheap disposable raincoat at The Works; small shop next to Scottish Home
Store (formerly British Home Store), in front of Royal Scottish Academy. The
Works sells the cheapest fridge magnet offer in Princes Street. Umbrella
is not really helpful due to the strong wind, as Edinburgh is situated near
sea. And obviously, you don't want to 'loose' one hand on holding the
umbrella while taking your precious pictures.
The most
important place to start your holiday / sightseeing is from Princes
Street. The best option is to stay in the city. So you can save time of
travelling into the city centre. But this can be tricky because of
the accommodation's rate around city centre is quite high especially
during Edinburgh Festival even for Bed & Breakfast (B&B). What
is not expensive during Edinburgh Festival? So, for you guys who
planning to visit during Edinburgh Festival, prepare on overpriced drinks and
every inch of city centre is filled with people. Well, more on that
later. No frill hotel can cost nearly £80-100 per night during August compared
to £20-30 per night during off season. There are Travelodge and Easy Hotel
situated at Princes Street but I strongly advised you to book early. Way...
Way... Way early!
But if you're staying outside the city centre, afraid not as the bus services Lothian Bus has really good connections with affordable prices to suit your need. Click here for more information. There are several companies. Lothian Bus is the biggest company and owned by the Lothian's local authorities - covering almost all area in Edinburgh city; 70 services/routes with 650 buses. First Bus comes second; the fare depending on your distance and serves area outside the city centre. If you're going to Livingston Designer Outlet, you have to take First Bus (service number 27&28) from Princes Street- more on that later :)Most bus services will serve Princes Street. So, you can travel from your hotel/hostel and directly go to Princes Street. You can learn about the route and other services from the Lothian Bus pamphlet at the airport, railway station, Lothian Bus Travel Shop (at Hanover Street) or any shopping complex information kiosk. Ticket price as 24 March 2013 is £1.50 for adult single journey (any distance) and £3.50 for adult day ticket (unlimited journey). Lothian Bus use the exact fare system for cash fares; so be prepared. If you're staying longer, maybe more than 7 days, you can opt for RidaCard - a prepaid bus pass with unlimited journeys. Adult price cost £17 per week + £3 for the card. Students (including Edinburgh based university students only) cost £13. There is no group ticket for Lothian Bus :( The newest environmental friendly bus occupied with free wifi; so you can tweet, check in your FB status or post Instagram pictures while travelling. Before I forget, all tickets are only valid until midnight. If you're travelling after midnight, night bus ticket fare £3 will be applied - limited services.
You know you're in Edinburgh / Scotland when you hear the sound of bag pipes. Apart from miles of high street shopping you can go to Princes Street Garden, Scottish Monument and National Gallery of Scotland. And then, make your way up to Royal Miles heading to Edinburgh Castle. Along the Royal Miles; there are a lot of cafes, bar, restaurant and souvenir shop (almost 80%). The price of the souvenir is mostly the same form one shop to another shop. There are also street performers. Previously they welcomed any amount of donation but lately they put a price of least £1 donation. Hurm... There is no harm of not donating of ignoring them, but it is a good gesture if you can donate some especially when you're taking their picture of taking picture with them. Just beware, if you're are in hurry, do not stay near the performer especially who doing magic trick because they will 'borrow' your thing like your shades, cap or your pen just to make you stay longer to watch their performance. I'm not into this magic trick things because they are really, really amateurs and they just spent a lot of time talking rather doing the trick. Sometime, they took nearly 20 minutes just to perform 1-2 tricks. I'm more into music as I really appreciate bag pipes musicians.
You can take the hop in hop off bus - a double-decker bus with open air upper deck. It cost £12 per adult, £5 for children £11 for student, £11 senior (60+) and £28 for family (maximum of 2 adults and 3 children) - unlimited travel during operational hours. If you're travelling alone or with partner, you can save by buying Lothian Bus day ticket and travel to the attractions by using public bus. It may increase your travelling time especially if you're going to Parliament and Holyrood's Palace (bus number 35 and 36). But public buses are in abundance amount and frequent around Edinburgh, it will not create any major problem. If it is too late or you're too tired to take the public bus, you can take the taxi/black cab situated next to Waverley Station. As anywhere in rest of the UK, this cab is expensive although all of them are using meter. So, plan your journey wisely. Or you can call private hire company; licensed normal car that operates like a taxi (they have proper plat number). This company offer cheaper rate (up to 30% off) from the taxi but because of this company services' based on passenger's request/calling, you might have to wait 10-15 minutes due to availability and you can't hail them like taxi.
Edinburgh City Private Hire: 0131 477 4000.
Travellers with car... It is not advisable to drive into the city centre. Not to mention the sky rocket parking charges (£3-4 per hour depending on location) but the traffic in the city is crazy due to tram construction. Not to mention people who tried to cross the road during red light. Parking summons cost £60. If you pay within 14 days from the issued date, you will have 50% off. You can pay on-line. There is no way you can dodge the penalty as the parking officer will take pictures of every inch of your car... There are free Park and Ride parking area. Travellers from south and motorway M8 can use Riccarton Park and Ride (next to Heriot-Watt University).
Enjoy Edinburgh!
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