Shuttle Edinburg

[nordski]

47 minutes ago, uktog said:

Interesting, I certainly agree the Royal Mile is busy but then, the cruise guests are the very tourists Edinburgh depends on!  If its your first time in Edinburgh the Royal Mile is an absolute must.

 

Totally agree. On our cruise we made an effort to take the first ship’s shuttle to visit/walk the Royal Mile and, as much as possible, avoid the crowds.

We loved that experience; it was memorable. When we return to Edinburgh, we will take in some of the nearby attractions, but we will still walk the Mile!

[govanguy]

On 7/4/2022 at 6:02 AM, uktog said:

For Edinburgh

(by the way you say it “burra” not “bowro”) 😀

 

 

Easier just to use the Weegie term....Embra...😁

Edited July 6, 2022 by govanguy
BooBoo

[uktog]

34 minutes ago, govanguy said:

Easier just to use the Weegie term....Embra...😁

No need for the M8 joke...... 

OK so our visitors understand the rivalry

 

Whats the best thing out of Edinburgh/Glasgow (choose your allegiance)

Answer The M8 (the motorway that connects the two cities)

[Nippy Sweetie]

Ooh. Edinburgh does not rely on tourists. What an insult!  It's been here for centuries before tourist hordes descended! Somehow we managed to make rather more than just a living. 

I know I sound ratty but the way Edinburgh has been turned into a sort of Disneyfied tourist 'experience' is painful and to hear that we depend on it just puts the tin lid on it! 

[uktog]

Tourism is worth £1 billion to Edinburgh and its surrounding area.  Thank you to everyone who comes to enjoy the city.  Edinburgh depends on lots of things, tourism certainly pulls its punches in terms of employment and economic impact.

Anyway - hope everyone enjoys Edinburgh, the buzz and business of the centre and for those going to the tattoo the sights and sounds.  And hope that the weather is kind

[PirateWife]

I am laughing at the back and forth about tourism and Edinburgh. We will try to be good tourists. Our ancestors came from Scotland a long time ago, but we will still get things wrong and ask you to repeat yourself when you try to help us. We watch all shows on BBC with closed captioning. Appreciate all of the info about getting to the Tattoo and back to the ship.

[nordski]

2 hours ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

I know I sound ratty but the way Edinburgh has been turned into a sort of Disneyfied tourist 'experience' is painful and to hear that we depend on it just puts the tin lid on it! 

Thanks for your viewpoint.

If you were writing about Venice I might well be tempted to agree. But, as you have pointed out, Edinburgh has far, far more to offer than just the Royal Mile.

 

As for being “Disneyfied”, I cannot imagine any such theme park would contain statues of two of the giants of the Scottish Enlightenment: Hume and Smith. In fact, I am now wondering if Smith made salient comments about tourism in his highly influential, The Wealth of Nations.

 

But I will agree that the residents of the city certainly have a right to apply pressure so that tourism brings benefits and is sustainable.

And as visitors we should keep those concerns in mind.

[Nippy Sweetie]

Alas the Enlightenment and the whole host of Edinburgh's other historic achievements, buildings and collections  seem rarely considered by visitors in the headlong rush to tick off the Royal Mile from their list of 'must sees'!

[excitedofharpenden]

On 7/4/2022 at 9:37 AM, excitedofharpenden said:

I'm up on the train to Edinburgh tomorrow just for a couple of days and have bought two hoho tickets. It's a while since I've been there and am looking forward to it. I'll report back here on how I get on. I know there are lots of roadworks around Edinburgh just now. 

 

Phil 

Coming back to this post, had a lovely couple of days visiting Edinburgh. We bought a 24 hour pass on the red bus route which was £16pp. I've been to Edinburgh a few times, but it's actually the first at the tourist stuff.

 

Enjoyed a hop off at the castle, saw the crown jewels and firing of the 1 o'clock gun and a walk aroind the shops there. I can highly recommend the Deacon's House Cafe (opposite Deacon Brodies pub, thanks for their selfless recommendation). Great coffee and nice cakes. We also hopped off at Dynamic Earth. Bought tickets on the bus for that and planetarium saved a litlle. We enjoyed it. Hoho staff very friendly and we had a lovely couple of days in Edinburgh. 

 

Phil 

[Mackdogmolly]

7 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Coming back to this post, had a lovely couple of days visiting Edinburgh. We bought a 24 hour pass on the red bus route which was £16pp. I've been to Edinburgh a few times, but it's actually the first at the tourist stuff.

 

Enjoyed a hop off at the castle, saw the crown jewels and firing of the 1 o'clock gun and a walk aroind the shops there. I can highly recommend the Deacon's House Cafe (opposite Deacon Brodies pub, thanks for their selfless recommendation). Great coffee and nice cakes. We also hopped off at Dynamic Earth. Bought tickets on the bus for that and planetarium saved a litlle. We enjoyed it. Hoho staff very friendly and we had a lovely couple of days in Edinburgh. 

 

Phil 

Glad you’re able to hop on and hop off, Phil. The knee must be much better!

Betsey

[excitedofharpenden]

32 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Glad you’re able to hop on and hop off, Phil. The knee must be much better!

Betsey

It is. The shot in the knee helped!

 

Phil 

[macmax]

On 7/4/2022 at 4:25 AM, Nippy Sweetie said:

Another Edinburgh resident here. The Hop on hop off bus is a really good suggestion for tourists. They go to all the best sights and give good information via the headsets. I wouldn't bother trying to negotiate the local buses right now. The routes are diverted and messed up by road works.

 

It looks like there are 3 Ho--Ho bus operators. Any recommendations for one over the others?

[uktog]

These tours are the ones I suggest to visiting family.  They are run by Lothian Regional Council ie the local government.

https://edinburghtour.com

 

I would probably choose the red or green tour (red would be my first choice).  I would not go for the Cobbles Tour it seems to be less popular but best to read up the options and decide which one stops where you want

 

[Nippy Sweetie]

I think some go out to see the Forth Bridges which are worth seeing but I'm not sure which company it is. The buses are yellow.

[uktog]

1 hour ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

I think some go out to see the Forth Bridges which are worth seeing but I'm not sure which company it is. The buses are yellow.

Thats one of the options on the Edinburgh Tour link.  They work if you are there for a few days but the timings of the three bridges tour does not work will if you also want to stop off at the Castle and Holyrood and only have a day.  You need to be really organised and watch conscious to make it work

[Work in to Cruise 2023]

43 minutes ago, uktog said:

Thats one of the options on the Edinburgh Tour link.  They work if you are there for a few days but the timings of the three bridges tour does not work will if you also want to stop off at the Castle and Holyrood and only have a day.  You need to be really organised and watch conscious to make it work

Thank you uktog for all of this wonderful information!  Your insight will help to ensure the rest of us have a fabulous time in Edinburgh.  💖

[Nippy Sweetie]

Sounds like a visit to Edinburgh is very hard work @uktog!! 

On cruises OH and I take it easy and don't feel compelled to tick off key 'sites' from a list. We like to just wander and take in the local atmosphere. If we miss the odd castle or church we're not bothered. 

[nordski]

4 hours ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

Sounds like a visit to Edinburgh is very hard work @uktog!! 

On cruises OH and I take it easy and don't feel compelled to tick off key 'sites' from a list. We like to just wander and take in the local atmosphere. If we miss the odd castle or church we're not bothered. 

 

We share your approach to travelling.

 

On the other hand, I have friends who are very much of the "list" strategy. At first I was dismissive, thinking that "They won't even remember what they've seen.", only to discover that, indeed, they did remember and certainly more than I with my more leisurely strategy.

 

I learned to admire a skill that I simply didn't have and to appreciate their stamina.

 

I didn't take it that uktog was advising the "hit the ground running" approach in Edinburgh. In fact, I thought she was cautioning against it.

[Nippy Sweetie]

No I didn't think that either. It was just that the Yellow bus tour couldn't be combined with the other ones. Actually, the Bridges tour would most likely be much pleasanter than trying to squeeze through the crowds of tourists in the Royal Mile. 

[uktog]

Time Out Magazine 2022 Worlds Best Cities Index has just placed Edinburgh as No 1 (Chicago No 2 and interesting Glasgow No 4). Maybe the vote was a little bit biased to Scotland but at least those on the UK cruises this year can claim to have visited No 1 and No 4 on the same trip.