Edinburgh can easily be reached by train from anywhere in the UK or by plane from abroad.

Our venue, the Edinburgh International Conference Center, has excellent information about getting to Edinburgh, including comparing the CO2 impact of different travel options.: https://www.eicc.co.uk/visiting/how-to-get-here/

Train

Edinburgh’s main station, Edinburgh Waverley, can be reached in about 4 1/2 hours from London.

The main train service running the London to Edinburgh line is LNER with trains running up to every half hour during peak times. Booking in advance is recommended as trains can be full. It is also cheaper than buying a ticket on the day of travel.

Lumo runs generally a bit cheaper services from London to Edinburgh five times a day. Booking in advance is recommended.

Caledonian Sleeper runs a sleeper train connecting London to Edinburgh every night. Prices vary depending on the room and bed sizes (it is also possible to by a seat on the sleeper train).

London is well-connected by rail to Europe via the Eurostar. There are various websites, such as Rail Europe and Omino, that assist with finding and booking train connections across Europe. Interrail, for anyone living in Europe, and Eurail, for anyone living outside of Europe, offer multi-day train passes. Please note, that for some services (such as the Eurostar and the Caledonian Sleeper) additional seat reservations have to be bought in addition to the pass.

Bus

There are coach services operated by National Express that connect London to Edinburgh and run generally cheaper than the train services. Booking in advance is recommended as buses can be full. It is also cheaper than buying a ticket on the day of travel.

Plane

Edinburgh Airport has direct connections to many European cities, direct connections to North America (Atlanta, Boston, Calgary, Chicago, New York, Orlando, Toronto, Washington D.C.), a direct connection to Doha in the Middle East, as well as a direct connection to Beijing in China.

To reach the City center from Edinburgh Airport, you can either take the Airlink 100 bus (£8 for a return ticket), or the Tram (£9.50 for a return ticket) to the City Center. Both follow similar routes, embark at the station “Haymarket” for the conference center, or at the station “Princes Street” for the City Center. On the bus and at the tram ticket machine, you can pay contractless, or using Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

Glasgow Airport is about 2 hours away from Edinburgh by public transport (Airport Bus and Train). It has a direct connection to Dubai as well as many European cities.

If you cannot fly directly to Scotland, you can consider changing once at a major European Hub, such as London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Paris, or Frankfurt, which have multiple daily flights to Edinburgh Airport.

Local Transport

Edinburgh is a very compact and walkable city. It is not unlikely that you will not need public transport for your entire stay, besides the connection to and from the Airport.

Edinburgh has an extensive Bus network that is operated by Lothian Buses. You can pay contactless, or using Apple Pay, or Google Pay, when entering the bus. There is an automated daily cap so that you will always pay the lowest fare.

To use the Tram you need to buy a ticket before you board. You can pay contractless, or using Apple Pay, or Google Pay at the ticket machines at every station.