Edinburgh Travel Forum

We have never been there and I was looking for the best ways to spend our time. I'm planning on renting a car and learning how to drive on the wrong side of the street.

Edinburgh is definitely not a place to "learn how to drive on the wrong side of the street."

Better buy a bus pass!

Agree.

It is neither necessary nor sensible to have a car in Edinburgh (or any other large UK city). Edinburgh has good public transport....and, like all UK cities, it is best seen on foot anyway.

Parking in the UK cities, is expensive and difficult and, to be frank, it is really not a very good idea to practice driving 'on the wrong side' in city traffic.

Agree with the other posters above. If I'm going to Edinburgh for a meeting, I leave the car on the outskirts & take a train into the centre. Parking in the centre costs an arm & a leg, and the whole city centre is in chaos because of building work for the new tram system. Definitely not a place to learn to drive on the left (correct) side of the road.

Most of the main attractions are close to the city centre anyway, and you can splash out on taxis with the money you save in car hire/parking.

Please do not try to learn to drive on the "wrong" side of the road in Edinburgh! A car is both an expense and a liability in Edinburgh, as well as being completely superfluous. Perhaps the first thing you should do is take a hop on/hop off bus tour to acquaint yourself with the places to see. Or you could start at the top of the Royal Mile with the Castle and work your way down to the foot and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Parliament and Queen's Gallery. In between are, Camera Obscura, the Whisky Place (sorry, can't recall the exact name at the mo), Gladstone's Land, John Knox's House, Museum of Childhood, Museum of Edinburgh.......... Outwith the Royal Mile, there's also the Writers' Museum, the National Gallery of Scotland, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, the Scott Memorial (climb all the steps and get a great view of Edinburgh), the Georgian House, the Natural History Museum, the Museum of Scotland (which also has a great view from the roof and is free)...... and the Modern Art Gallery which you can reach by free bus from outside the National Gallery, or the Portrait Gallery. There's also the Edinburgh Zoo. And you can climb to the top of either Calton Hill or Arthur's Seat for more views. You can also take a bus into Leith, the port for Edinburgh and explore that area, amongst which places to visit is the Royal Yacht Britannia. I'm sure I must have missed out something but you can see there's plenty to do and to do it all would take you longer than four days.

We rented a car in Scotland and purposely chose to drive out of the airport on a dual carriagway road so our first experience driving on the wrong (to us) side would be safer. There was no problem adapting that way.

Unless you are using Edinburgh as a base to explore the country, renting a car is a complete waste of money. We saved the city to the end of our trip, dropped the car at the airport, took the bus into town to our hotel and used the bus the entire time we were in town. It's cheaper and easier . . . and everyone can see the sights. All this without endangering yourself or the local inhabitants!

Enjoy Edinburgh; it's a really fun city.

Thanks,

I guess the idea of renting a car is to drive into the country side. But I wouldn't know what to look for. Maybe you can shed some light

Hi Greg. If you only have four days, you might want to spend them right in the city of Edinburgh. There is plenty to do and see right there and you wouldn't have to rent a car for that.

I notice one of your hobbies is oil painting so if you are looking for scenery, nearly anyplace outside the city is incredibly beautiful. The highlands are spectacular, but so is southern Scotland. You could take a train to a chosen destination or you could rent a car.

If you do rent a car, pick it up at the airport so you don't have to fight city traffic the first time you drive on the wrong (to you) side of the road. Outside of the dual carriageways (double highways), you will find roads in Scotland extremely narrow including some that are one-lane with pull-outs to pass the rare oncoming vehicle. This necessarily slows down the drive so it takes much longer to drive someplace than you would expect.

For 4 days, I'd either stay in town or use the train and bus system so I'd have more time to see what's there. If you want to drive around the countryside, plan a future trip and base yourself in a small town where you can really enjoy the ambience.

Is there anything in particular that you want to see? That could make a difference.

Enjoy your trip.

Hi Greg, It takes about 30 minutes and the next thing you know you are not even thinking about it, except for the first 1 or 2 roundabouts as it is opposite direction. Also the shifting with the left hand is a bit clumsy the first couple of hours, while you hold your mobile or brew with your right... (just kidding on holding the brew). My family added the extra challenge by stretching their feet over the shifter. No reason to drive whilst in the city. Transportation is good. Depending on how many people, you might find taxis just slightly more expensive than the bus fares. The suggestion on waiting till you were out of the city to drive is sage advice. The traffic in Scotland is tame compared with our California driving. Fortunately the horn is right in the middle of the steering wheel. We loved Edinbrough. Lots to see, great ambience, excellent pubs (check out the ones on Rose - I think it was Rose). Food was more expensive than I expected, but with the drop in the pound it should help. Don't expect to find any quality wine, even with dinner in the nicer places. With all due respect, they don't get it. On the other hand the ale is the best I've tasted. Karl

You will be giving yourself a wonderful excuse to drink lots of scotch whiskey and beer if you decide to rent a car and learn to drive in Edinburgh - believe me you will need it to sooth your nerves. Public transportation is a much better idea and you will meet a lot of friendly people and bus drivers that way - at least I did.

If you really want to have a car, stay somewhere out of the city center near a bus or train and use public transport for getting into town and the car for the countryside. You will have no trouble staying busy for three or four days in Edinburgh. You will get used to driving pretty quickly as long as you are not jet lagged, tired or have even slightly under the influence. You need to drive with your brain, not your instincts, as your instincts will get you in an accident.

Gosh, what a strange thing to mention - no quality wine! I guess you don't know where to go!

Your are right Hawk, it does seem strange, but I could not find a restaurant with a good wine list to save my life. I do admit to being a little of a wine snob. Even at the Witchery the wine list was sparse. I could understand why there were no better quality cabs from California, but very few Bordeax's. The waiter was of no help. We dined at the hotel we stayed, the Tigerlily, and the wine list was modest at best. I suspected such when the Tigerlily sponsored a "white zinfindel" night. I even checked a liquor store in New Town that advertised fine wines and there were more box wines than bottles. If I was at the wrong places (which I have been known to frequent), please let me know. Best, Karl

There's probably enough to do in Edinburgh for 4 days without hiring a car. Although the Scottish countryside is beautiful.

Kathy

I know I'm being pedantic, but "whiskey" is produced in Ireland or the USA. In Scotland, we make whisky.

Slainte!

Ah Lichtie - I knew it was different I just didn't know which one it was - I am more a beer and wine drinker myself but did enjoy the whisky when I was in Scotland. And my Firefox apell checker is of the Irish/American persuasion. LOL

Whisky . . . you learn something new every day . . . 8^)