Getting from South Queensferry to Edinburgh

[jstducky]

If my ship is scheduled to arrive in South Queensferry at 7:00 am, and knowing that this is a tender port...

 

Does anyone think that we can reasonably make it from the dock, walk to the train station, get on a train, and make it to Waverly Station in Edinburgh by 9:00 am?

 

I would appreciate any advice anyone may have. I am thinking of booking a one day tour out of Edinburgh that leaves from Waverly Station on the day I arrive.

 

However, the tour leaves promptly at 9:00 am and the bus won't wait for any latecomers.

 

Please note that I will be there on a Sunday if this makes any difference.

 

Thanks.

[Alan2504]

If my ship is scheduled to arrive in South Queensferry at 7:00 am, and knowing that this is a tender port...

 

Does anyone think that we can reasonably make it from the dock, walk to the train station, get on a train, and make it to Waverly Station in Edinburgh by 9:00 am?

 

I would appreciate any advice anyone may have. I am thinking of booking a one day tour out of Edinburgh that leaves from Waverly Station on the day I arrive.

 

However, the tour leaves promptly at 9:00 am and the bus won't wait for any latecomers.

 

Please note that I will be there on a Sunday if this makes any difference.

 

Thanks.

 

The current timetable valid till 17 May2008 shows a Sunday service departing

Dalmeny at 08.41 arriving at Edinburgh 09.00

 

Here's a link to the timetable

 

http://www.firstgroup.com/scotrail/tt/1197159961-fife%20circle%20dec.pdf

 

If you are travelling after this date better re-check in case of any changes.

Train services on a Sunday are not as extensive as Monday to Saturday in the UK.

[edinburgher]

Your difficulties are two-fold. First you are tendering and if not on a ships tour might not get onto a tender as quickly as you would like unless you make special arrangements for an early tender once onboard.

 

Secondly if it is a Sunday then it does make a huge difference as the usual weekday early morning/commuter buses and trains do not run until later in the morning.

 

Another option is to take a private taxi. You could either take this all the way into Edinburgh (and if there are only 2 of you try to find two others to share with you and half the cost) or, you could take a taxi only as far as Edinburgh airport. This is because it only costs approx £5 pp return from the airport to Waverley Bridge and back again. £3 single journey. It is a lot less than a taxi would charge to take you right into Edinburgh city centre. The airport service bus no 100 runs throughout the day at approx 15/20 minute intervals....even on Sundays. And it terminates at Waverley Bridge right next to the train station. The Hop on/off buses leave from Waverley Bridge too, as do many tours.

 

I am not sure if taxis will be at the tender point that early on a Sunday or not. They may be, they may not. You could probably pre-book a taxi ahead of time by googling for local taxi companies.

This link might be helpful as it gives you the various options and links to timetables.

 

http://wikitravel.org/en/South_Queensferry

 

Where were you thinking of touring to? It may be that there is another way to see everything other than by a tour which leaves at a fixed time.

[haggis]

Seems too tight a schedule in my opinion. By the time the tenders are running on a 7am arrival it could be well gone 8am before you get ashore.

There are usually plenty of taxis at the slipway however to get you up to the station, so if you are ashore early, get a taxi. Walking is out of the question, its all uphill through a wood and not straightforward at all.

Then again, if you are ashore early, take the taxi into Edinburgh, that time of the morning should be a clear run in.

Best of luck if you go for it.

Jimmy

[jstducky]

Thank you all for your help.

 

I figured that it might be too much to ask to be able to make it from South Queensferry to Edinburgh by 9:00 am.

 

The only reason I asked is that I found this tour

 

http://www.heartofscotlandtours.co.uk/wizards_warriors.php?prod=Tour-7

 

And I thought it looked interesting, if it would be possible to make it to Edinburgh on time.

 

My other option is just going to Edinburgh and catching the hop-on, hop-off bus tours they have.

 

What do you guys think? Do you know anything of these HOHO buses? Is it worth it? Or is walking around town on my own by way of the Royal Mile a better option?

 

Thanks!

[whiteheather]

[quote=

 

What do you guys think? Do you know anything of these HOHO buses? Is it worth it? Or is walking around town on my own by way of the Royal Mile a better option?

 

Hi, I would take a taxi all the way to Edinburgh as I don't think you would save enough money to make it worth the bother of going to the airport and changing to the airport bus which would also be time consuming. I have been on the HOHO tour of Edinburgh and enjoyed it even although I live just 25 miles away and visit the city often. You will see much more from the bus than you could take in by walking. Have a fantastic trip.

[Mad Jayhawk]

Our Princess tenders docked at a ramp between the railroad bridge and the road bridge (A90) over the Firth of Forth. There are sometimes three do-it-on-your-own options. Princess charged $59 for Edinburgh on your own.

 

1. Taxi - $22 each way into Edinburgh. There will be taxis lined up to the right in the parking lot after you come up the ramp and pass through the security gate.

 

2. Bus - a private bus company had representatives standing near the security gate, offering to take passengers to Edinburgh for 5 GBP each way/person. They have a round trip deal. They have big busses and 12 person vans that they use. It is only about 8 miles into Edinburgh. The bus drops you at West Register House in central Edinburgh. It picks you up there too. They run buses back to Queensferry about every 2o minutes. The people are efficient and friendly. It is a short walk from the West Register House to Princes Street, one of Edinburgh's main streets.

 

3. Train. The train station is a relatively short walk from the security gate. Go out the gate, turn left and walk down a very short distance Hawes Brae (B924) until you see a sign on the left to Dalmeny Station. Go to nationalrail-dot-co-dot-uk. Now comes the hard part. there are 150 steps up to the train station. A fare only costs around 3 GBP/one way/person. The train station in Edinburgh is very close to the castle in central Edinburgh.

[dog]

Our Princess tenders docked at a ramp between the railroad bridge and the road bridge (A90) over the Firth of Forth. There are sometimes three do-it-on-your-own options. Princess charged $59 for Edinburgh on your own.

 

1. Taxi - $22 each way into Edinburgh. There will be taxis lined up to the right in the parking lot after you come up the ramp and pass through the security gate.

 

2. Bus - a private bus company had representatives standing near the security gate, offering to take passengers to Edinburgh for 5 GBP each way/person. They have a round trip deal. They have big busses and 12 person vans that they use. It is only about 8 miles into Edinburgh. The bus drops you at West Register House in central Edinburgh. It picks you up there too. They run buses back to Queensferry about every 2o minutes. The people are efficient and friendly. It is a short walk from the West Register House to Princes Street, one of Edinburgh's main streets.

 

3. Train. The train station is a relatively short walk from the security gate. Go out the gate, turn left and walk down a very short distance Hawes Brae (B924) until you see a sign on the left to Dalmeny Station. Go to nationalrail-dot-co-dot-uk. Now comes the hard part. there are 150 steps up to the train station. A fare only costs around 3 GBP/one way/person. The train station in Edinburgh is very close to the castle in central Edinburgh.

 

Imy friends took the large white coach shuttle for 5 GBP pp each way. Drp off was at Princess Street at the corner of the House of Fraser store. Pick up same every half hour. End of pier go left a few steps.