Edinburgh recommendations please.

[Pacific Sandy]

Hello - We will arrive at South Queensferry at 7:00 am and our ship departs at 7:00 pm. I am looking for advice on how to spend our day. Transportation, tours, etc.

Thank you very much.  

[edinburgher]

9 hours ago, Pacific Sandy said:

Hello - We will arrive at South Queensferry at 7:00 am and our ship departs at 7:00 pm. I am looking for advice on how to spend our day. Transportation, tours, etc.

Thank you very much.  

HI, your first "go to" should be this link

 

https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/ship/

 

The "find my ship" will confirm your tender or docking location. There are four possible locations for Edinburgh. SQ is tender.  You don't say when you will travel, but if it is not THIS year, the calendar may not have been uploaded and you can check at a later date.

 

Regardless, you can go to the "how can I get around" section for the info. Assuming Lothian Buses will again run the Cruiselink X99 service after this year, and it may or may not,this would probably be your best option to access the city. It will drop you either on or very close to St Andrew Square in the city centre and from there you can go wherever you choose, but to get to the Old Town you would walk steeply uphill, or take a bus or taxi.  note that there are no public buses which go all the way to the castle..

 

Most cruise passengers visiting Edinburgh for the first time, will usually opt to spend that time in the Old Town area, exploring the Royal Mile and  Edinburgh Castle, Grassmarket, Victoria St etc.and that would take most or all of your time as the Castle alone can use up 2-3 hours. Should you decide to visit Edinburgh Castle (and not everyone does as  depending on personal interests they may visit other sights or museums instead) , it is becoming more and more essential to pre-book a timed entry and these bookings can usually be made 2 or 3 months ahead of time. Check the official Edinburgh Casdtle website.and when you see your date, book asap.

 

Edinburgh is a city and there are so many  sightseeing options that  with limited time here  you need to decide which are of most interest to you personally, and that means reading Tourist Information websites, guidebooks, YouTube, Tripadvisor etc, and some of the past threads would also be useful.  If you have not already searched for past threads, choose from these

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=edinburgh&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=148

 

There will also be websites specific to The Royal Mile and an internet search should find them.

 

There is no need for a tour, nor for a HOHO should you decide on the Casle/Royal Mile area as some sections are pedestrian only, and it is actually best explored on foot.

 

Hoping you enjoy your time in this lovely city.

 

 

Edited August 19 by edinburgher

[Thejuggler]

You will never do everything in Edinburgh in a day (I've been many times and still have things I've never seen).

 

Start with some initial basic internet research (link above or search 'top 10 Edinburgh sights and attractions'), youtube videos etc to get an idea of what is on offer then ask specifics about the attractions you want to see, transport, cost, timings etc so a more informed response can be provided.

 

Don't however expect to do all the top 10 sites in a day!  Edinburgh is spread out and walking is the only way between large parts of it, so it takes time to get around.

 

The weather and time of year can also be a big player when visiting.  Whilst Edinburgh is drier than other parts of Scotland, if the wet weather arrives it can be a miserable place if you don't have a plan for wet weather activities.  No point planning a walk up Arthur's Seat if its "blowing a hoolie" and the rain is sideways!

 

[edinburgher]

On 8/19/2024 at 2:51 PM, Thejuggler said:

 No point planning a walk up Arthur's Seat if its "blowing a hoolie" and the rain is sideways!

Thejuggler, I don't think many cruise passengers with limited time and on a first visit would consider this really quite demanding  hike as a "must see"  especially if they lacked appropriate hiking footwear. Depending on the chosen route it would take around 2 hours to climb up to the top of Arthurs Seat  from the Scottish Parliament building next to Holyrood Palace and back to the start point again, and in addition they need to get to and back from that building.

As an aside, I was surprised at the 2 hour r/t estimate, as I would have expected something more like 3 hours unless climbers are used to steep uphill walking and can set a good pace.

 

OTOH you are correct in that, should there not be dry and clear weather, it would not be worthwhile going up Calton Hill for the 360 degree views of the city.As this popular site is centrally located, it is  much more convenient for some of the best city views......and requires a lot less effort..😉

Edited August 20 by edinburgher

[mskaufman]

We started at E. Castle and walked the Royal Mile stopping along the way.  4 of us took a taxi in each direction. Pretty much used the entire day.

[fruitmachine]

On 8/19/2024 at 12:53 AM, Pacific Sandy said:

Hello - We will arrive at South Queensferry at 7:00 am and our ship departs at 7:00 pm. I am looking for advice on how to spend our day. Transportation, tours, etc.

Thank you very much.  

Whilst a taxi is usually an option (I think about £30-£35 each way and they seat either 5 or 6 passengers) they can be a bit of 'feast or famine' at South Queensferry. 

 

In my view, the best value for money and simplest option is the X99 Cruiselink bus (https://www.lothianbuses.com/cruiselink-x99/).  The £12 ticket covers both your round-trip to the city centre, and access to all Edinburgh's public buses, the tram in Edinburgh, and the wider network to the east and west of the city run by Lothian's sister companies.  So you can take the bus or tram to The Royal Yacht Britannia, or use it to go a couple of stops uphill when you're feeling a bit tired.

 

As for things to do, most see the Castle (https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/) as a priority, but my advice is not to take it as compulsory!  If you do want to go, book your ticket in advance or consider one of the HOHO tickets (https://edinburghtour.com/) that include Castle, Holyrood Palace (https://www.rct.uk/visit/palace-of-holyroodhouse) and Britannia (https://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/)..  Castle tickets bought as part of this bundle will almost never sell out, and they are also available as an add-on to a single HOHO route (though they get 100 per day, so often sell-out late morning).  I double checked at the Castle gate today.  You can get in up to 15 minutes before your timeslot, but as long after as you like, up until last entry at 5pm.

 

The National Museum of Scotland is excellent and free, so you can stay for five minutes or five hours. https://www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-scotland/ 

 

The Real Mary Kings Close is very good.  https://www.realmarykingsclose.com/

 

If you fancy a whisky distillery tour, consider the Port of Leith Distillery (https://www.leithdistillery.com/), the world's first vertical distillery and right next to Britannia.  The same parent company also has a gin distillery nearby (https://www.lindandlime.com/).  Their tour was excellent, starting with "Would you like a single, a double or a treble?"!

[GreenFamily]

Holyrood House located at the opposite end of the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle is the highlight of Edinburgh in my opinion, especially if you like the history of Mary Queen of Scots. It’s such historic place. 

 

https://www.rct.uk/visit/palace-of-holyroodhouse/highlights-of-the-palace-of-holyroodhouse

[onyx007]

Agree with the National Museum of Scotland - it's a great place and free (or run on donations) as are the National Gallery and the Portrait Gallery.

 

I've been twice to Edinburgh and at the first time coulnd't visit much. On the second time I was there on a land based trip with 5 nights. 

 

It all depends on your interests what you want to see.

 

- Castle (book your ticket in advance)

- Museums (above mentioned)

- Jonnie Walker Experience (allow 2 hours) might be available on short notice as well 

- Royal Yacht Brittania

 

or just walk around the Royal Mile and Calton Hill and the Gardens....(many films used Edinburgh as their location and JKR got many inspiration for Harry Potter here as well)