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So I planned a trip for next month to the UK and Ireland. I reserved my accommodations but now need to figure out the best way to get between cities...
1) On April 13th (evening) or April 14th (morning) I need to get to Edinburgh (from London). I have been looking at trains and found some for 52GBP. Kings Cross to Edinburg Waverly. Flights (RyanAir) from Stansted to Edinburgh Airport from about 30GBP. But have to get to the airport from Central London and go through security and wait and everything. As a US citizen what do you think would be the quicker (customs?) and EASIEST way to get to Edinburgh?
2) How the hell should I get from Edinburgh to Dublin? Fly or is there a better/easier way? thoughts? Other than plane tickets I am having difficulty finding options here...
The train is the most convenient. As you indicated, while the ticket fare is higher than a flight, once you factor in the expense of getting out to the low cost airline airports (Stanstead? Luton?) much of the savings is wiped out, as is the timing advantage due to security and the journey to/from the airports from the city centers.
The train also allows you to view Britain's countryside and a large part of the journey is lovely. You may want to consider having a few hours' stop in York (approximately halfway between the two cities) and visit the cathedral and charming city center. It really is a lovely place. We have done this a number of times and if I remember correctly you can do this with a single ticket if you buy a flexible ticket.
If you buy an "Advance" ticket (which seems to be the 52 GBP ticket you found) you must stay on the train the entire journey. But you can simply buy two one way tickets, one from London to York and one from York to Edinburgh. For the 14th I found a 9:08 train from King's Cross to York for 21 GBP, and a 5:36 train from York to Edinburgh for 27 GBP, which together works out to 48 GBP and cheaper than the 52 GBP ticket you found. Both trains take about 2 1/2 hours. There is left luggage at the York train station.
So I planned a trip for next month to the UK and Ireland. I reserved my accommodations but now need to figure out the best way to get between cities...
1) On April 13th (evening) or April 14th (morning) I need to get to Edinburgh (from London). I have been looking at trains and found some for 52GBP. Kings Cross to Edinburg Waverly. Flights (RyanAir) from Stansted to Edinburgh Airport from about 30GBP. But have to get to the airport from Central London and go through security and wait and everything. As a US citizen what do you think would be the quicker (customs?) and EASIEST way to get to Edinburgh?
2) How the hell should I get from Edinburgh to Dublin? Fly or is there a better/easier way? thoughts? Other than plane tickets I am having difficulty finding options here...
Thanks in advance!
Why not book a flight from to Edinburgh from the London City Airport, which is just beside Canary Wharf in London and there is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) Station near the airport, whilst in terms of Edinburgh Airport there is now a new tram system that links the Airport with the heart of Edinburgh. In terms of Dublin, other than taking the Ferry, the only option is flying, and you should be able to find an economy airline operating flights between Edinburgh and Dublin without much trouble. Indeed Ryan Air have been advertising flights between Edinburgh and Dublin for as little as £15.
Flybe offer flights from the City Airport to Edinburgh at a reasonable price.
I recommend the London City airport > Edinburgh option. As already stated, just take the DLR to the airport, then once at Edinburgh airport the tram is adjacent to the airport and only costs £5 into the city. I've made this trip a few times now and it couldn't be easier.
There are no customs considerations as you'll already have endured that when arriving in the UK.
You could take the train, as the scenery along the way is nice, but my choice would be to fly.
There's nothing like the train trip from London to Edinburgh. Gorgeous scenery, and you have room to spread out and relax a bit after being cramped on the plane. Also you see a few more real people, not just tourists (although there are plenty of tourists on the train, too!) I'd opt for that if time is not a problem.
thanks guys! My schedule is looking pretty tight since I added Edinburgh. I'm looking at now 4 days in LON, 2 in EDN, and 3 in DUB. So I think I may just opt for the flights over trains. I would love to do the train route from LON to EDN, but now that I understand the London City airport option I may go that route instead of 5 hours via train.
Looks like EDN to DUB is going to be train too. Just crammed too much into this short trip. I am assuming I'll have to go through customs in either Edinburgh or Dublin? What's your experiences on this route?
just chiming back in - ended up getting a flight via FlyBe from London to Edinburgh and RyanAir from Edinburgh to Dublin. The price was fairly on par (cheaper a bit) compared to trains and the time was so much quicker so for a short trip it was worth it to skip the trains.
We don't always get feedback on such a thread, so thanks again.
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