Day Trip

[Zechmanm]

Is it feasible to take in St. Andrews, Edinburgh Castle, and the Mile Walk in Edinburgh in 11 hours?  If so, recommendations on tour guide?

[Scottishclover]

Yes it would be feasible, depending on where you dock but would feel quite rushed. I think you might be clock watching all day. You need a couple of hours for the castle ( buy tickets beforehand to avoid the queues ) and then a hour or so to do the Royal Mile and take in the atmosphere. There is of course a lot more to Edinburgh than these two attractions. Be aware that there’s a a lot of roadworks just now in Edinburgh due to tram construction so traffic could  be an issue. Also, Edinburgh has  grown in popularity the last few years so please expect it to be very busy.

 

St Andrews is about an hour and 15 mins away but depends on the traffic on “the bridge”. Things much better now that there is the new Queensferry Crossing. The three bridges over the Firth of Forth are an added bonus if you decide to go to St Andrews. St Andrews is not big and is nice for a stroll. An afternoon would do it to look at the Old Course, University, castle , beach etc. Lots of nice coffee shops and book shops if that’s your thing. Another tip is to check for important events at the university, graduations, freshers, start of term. This can really affect your enjoyment of the town as it will be overrun by students and their families. If you do go to St Andrews, there are some very pretty fishing villages in the vicinity such as Craig, which merit a look. Sorry but I can’t help you with a tour guide. I would look at all the usual sites for listings. Enjoy your trip.

[Cotswold Eagle]

9 hours ago, Zechmanm said:

Is it feasible to take in St. Andrews, Edinburgh Castle, and the Mile Walk in Edinburgh in 11 hours?  If so, recommendations on tour guide?

More context would be useful:

 

- starting and finishing from where?

- what is the 11 hour window? (6 am - 5pm is a different proposition to 9 am - 8 pm!)

- what do you mean by “take in”? There are tons of things to see and do at the Castle, along the Royal Mile (which is what I presume you mean) and  in St Andrews. Any ‘must do’ on your list?

 

But for starters it takes just over an hour from Edinburgh to St Andrews by road -  you’d probably need to write off at least 3 hours for driving (assuming you are returning to a starting point), so it’s feasible as long as you don’t want to actually want to do too much at either place! 

Edited May 29, 2022 by Cotswold Eagle
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[Globaliser]

12 hours ago, Zechmanm said:

Is it feasible to take in St. Andrews, Edinburgh Castle, and the Mile Walk in Edinburgh in 11 hours?

 

2 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

More context would be useful:

 

- starting and finishing from where?

- what is the 11 hour window?

 

And also, what is the 11-hour window? Is that published arrival time and departure time? Because if they are, then you'll lose time off either end because it may take you some time to get off the ship, and you'll have to allow some margin to sure of getting back to the ship before the time by which you have to board. So you may only have about 9 hours that you can plan to use, of which the best part of 3 would be spent simply driving to and from St Andrews.

[Harters]

If this was me, I'd drop St Andrews from my plan, for the travel reasons already mentioned. Plenty to keep anyone interested for a day in Edinburgh. On our last cruise, we were "fogged in" for several hours and couldnt tender, which meant we scrapped plans to go ashore - which meant we missed our planned trip to the National Gallery of Modern Art. We'll make a point of visiitng next time we stay in northeast England - it's about a 90 minute drive from where we stay and, in the past, we've driven up just for lunch at a favourite restaurant but we'll have a longer day next time.

[edinburgher]

And where are you scheduled to dock or tender as  that too can impact your timing.

 

And time of year?  Once the clocks go forward you gain daylight, but after they go back you lose daylight earlier.

[Zechmanm]

23 hours ago, Zechmanm said:

Is it feasible to take in St. Andrews, Edinburgh Castle, and the Mile Walk in Edinburgh in 11 hours?  If so, recommendations on tour guide?

We will be docking at Edinburgh Southqueen’s Ferry at 7:00 am and departing at 7:00 pm, September 27, 2022.  It looks like we may be forced to skip St. Andrews. ☹️

[edinburgher]

 will be docking at Edinburgh Southqueen’s Ferry

As South Queensferry is a tender port  expect to lose some time right  from the beginning of your port time and again at the end..

[Oceanwench]

I'd visit Edinburgh Castle, then walk down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace.

As someone suggested, buy your tickets ahead of time online.

 

As you walk down the Royal Mile, you can pop into some of the closes, enjoy a pint in one of the many pubs (World's End is a favorite!) or stop for lunch at one of sidewalk cafes. There are lots of shops selling souvenirs, woolen scarves, kilts, etc.

 

That would make for a nice visit!