Pre Cruise Scotland

[1island2go]

Hi all

Flying into Glasgow and heading to St Andrews for a couple nights then on to Edinburgh for a few nights before heading to London for our cruise.  Trying to figure out transfers from Glasgow airport to ST Andrews. It says bus train and private car from what I am seeing. But when looking at it no trains are directly into St Andrews that I can find and the bus takes over 3 hours. Car hire (private) for two people is $225-$250. I can not find a shuttle service that pulls up a schedule so seem to be out of service???I am wondering what most folks do to get there. Also how far is bus terminal from the airport? If there is a train how far is train station from airport? Thank you in advance

 

[gumshoe958]

That’s not an easy journey by train as neither Glasgow Airport nor St Andrews are on the rail network, so you’d need to catch the airport bus into Glasgow (every 12-15 mins), then a train from Queen Street station to Dundee (twice an hour), then a bus to St Andrews (every 10 mins). All of which takes around 3 hours.

 

An easier option would be the airport bus into Glasgow, then the hourly X24 bus direct to St Andrews. Which also takes about 3 hours but with one simple transfer at Buchanan bus station.

 

The upshot is it’s a long journey on public transport, however you do it. By car it takes between 90 minutes and 2 hours so that would be faster, but a cab or private transfer wouldn’t be cheap, as you’ve discovered. 

[Island2Dweller]

You won't find a shuttle.  They have been tried a few times in the UK and always fail - the existing public transport options work best for most people so there isn't a market opportunity for shuttles.

[fruitmachine]

2 hours ago, 1island2go said:

Hi all

Flying into Glasgow and heading to St Andrews for a couple nights then on to Edinburgh for a few nights before heading to London for our cruise.  Trying to figure out transfers from Glasgow airport to ST Andrews. It says bus train and private car from what I am seeing. But when looking at it no trains are directly into St Andrews that I can find and the bus takes over 3 hours. Car hire (private) for two people is $225-$250. I can not find a shuttle service that pulls up a schedule so seem to be out of service???I am wondering what most folks do to get there. Also how far is bus terminal from the airport? If there is a train how far is train station from airport? Thank you in advance

 

I'd rent a car, returning it when you reach Edinburgh rather than hanging on to it until leaving for London.  That could be at Edinburgh airport (taking the tram or airport bus into the city) or at one of the city car rental locations, depending on your hotel location.  It would give you a bit of flexibility and options of visiting the Fife costal fishing villages on your journey to Edinburgh.

 

There will likely be a one-way charge, but that gets included in the quoted rate.

 

If that doesn't appeal, you could do the Glasgow-Dundee leg on the train as @gumshoe958 has suggested, but swap the two bus legs for taxis.  There will be no issue getting a taxi at Glasgow airport, and there have always been a few taxis at Dundee train station when I've been there. 

For your journey from St Andrews to Edinburgh, either use a local St Andrews taxi (about £100), or take the X59 bus (£12 each), or take a taxi to Leuchars and the train from there (about £15 for the taxi and £15 each for the train)..

[1island2go]

18 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

I'd rent a car, returning it when you reach Edinburgh rather than hanging on to it until leaving for London.  That could be at Edinburgh airport (taking the tram or airport bus into the city) or at one of the city car rental locations, depending on your hotel location.  It would give you a bit of flexibility and options of visiting the Fife costal fishing villages on your journey to Edinburgh.

 

There will likely be a one-way charge, but that gets included in the quoted rate.

 

If that doesn't appeal, you could do the Glasgow-Dundee leg on the train as @gumshoe958 has suggested, but swap the two bus legs for taxis.  There will be no issue getting a taxi at Glasgow airport, and there have always been a few taxis at Dundee train station when I've been there. 

For your journey from St Andrews to Edinburgh, either use a local St Andrews taxi (about £100), or take the X59 bus (£12 each), or take a taxi to Leuchars and the train from there (about £15 for the taxi and £15 each for the train)..

 

[1island2go]

Where is Leuchars at?

[fruitmachine]

1 hour ago, 1island2go said:

Where is Leuchars at?

It's the train station closest to St Andrews, about 6 miles north west of the town.
https://goo.gl/maps/Juo1UckhftitgnyV6

[1island2go]

1 hour ago, fruitmachine said:

It's the train station closest to St Andrews, about 6 miles north west of the town.
https://goo.gl/maps/Juo1UckhftitgnyV6

Thank you!

[1island2go]

So far...Looking at the following car services for between Glasgow airport and St Andrews. Has anyone heard or experienced goo or bad with the following. 

Davidson Transfers

E2G

my taxe.uk

Thank you!