Best day trips from Edinburgh by train and bus

Edinburgh is the gateway to Scotland, and many of the country's highlights are within an hour by train: a royal castle, Scotland's largest city, the coast of East Lothian and the home of golf. The short answer: Stirling is the best day trip for history, North Berwick the best for the sea, Glasgow the best city trip. The Highlands are a long day on the road and the one trip where a guided tour makes the most sense.

Day trips from Edinburgh at a glance

Train times are typical direct connections from Edinburgh Waverley. For Glencoe, the time is the pure driving time of 191 km; plan about a third more for stops and traffic.

Stirling: castle and Wallace Monument

How to get there: ScotRail trains run frequently from Edinburgh Waverley to Stirling in under an hour. From the station, the walk up through the old town to the castle takes about 20 minutes.

What to see: Stirling Castle, one of the most important castles in Scottish history, with the restored Great Hall and the Royal Palace of the Stuart kings. Below it, the old town with the Church of the Holy Rude, where James VI was crowned. On a hill outside town stands the National Wallace Monument, a Victorian tower dedicated to William Wallace, with a wide view over the battlefields of Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn.

How long: a full day for the castle, the old town and the monument; the castle alone takes two to three hours.

Best for: history lovers, families, travellers who want a classic Scottish castle without the Edinburgh crowds.

Glasgow: Scotland's largest city

How to get there: ScotRail trains run from Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street in about 50 minutes, every few minutes during the day.

What to see: the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, free to enter, with Dalí's Christ of Saint John of the Cross; the Gothic Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis on the hill behind it; the buildings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh; and the Riverside Museum of transport on the Clyde. In the evening, Glasgow's music and pub scene.

How long: a full day.

Best for: museums, architecture, a lively city. Glasgow's big museums are free.

North Berwick: the seaside town

How to get there: ScotRail trains from Waverley take about 35 minutes to North Berwick.

What to see: two sandy beaches, the Scottish Seabird Centre by the harbour, and, out at sea, the Bass Rock, home to one of the largest colonies of northern gannets in the world; in summer, boat trips go around it. A short climb leads up North Berwick Law, a volcanic hill with a view over the coast. A few kilometres east, the cliff-top ruin of Tantallon Castle.

How long: half a day, a full day with Tantallon.

Best for: families, a fresh-air day, birdwatchers.

St Andrews: golf, university and a cathedral ruin

How to get there: trains towards Dundee and Aberdeen take about an hour to Leuchars, the nearest station; from there, buses run to St Andrews in about 15 minutes. The trains cross the Forth Bridge on the way.

What to see: the Old Course, the oldest golf course in the world, and the beach of West Sands; the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral, once the largest church in Scotland, and of the castle on the cliffs; the old streets of the university, the oldest in Scotland.

How long: a full day.

Best for: golfers, students of history, anyone who likes a small university town by the sea.

Rosslyn Chapel: carved stone in Roslin

How to get there: Lothian bus 37 (towards Penicuik/Deanburn, via Roslin) leaves from Princes Street and North Bridge; the journey to Roslin takes about 45 to 60 minutes, and the chapel is a few minutes' walk from the stop.

What to see: Rosslyn Chapel, a 15th-century church covered inside with stone carvings of plants, angels, green men and the famous Apprentice Pillar, known far beyond Scotland since it appeared in The Da Vinci Code. From the chapel, a path leads down into Roslin Glen with the ruin of Roslin Castle.

How long: half a day.

Best for: fans of stone carving and legends, a short afternoon trip.

The Highlands: Glencoe and Loch Ness

How to get there: by car, Glencoe is 191 km and about 2 hours 45 minutes of pure driving away; Fort Augustus on Loch Ness is 256 km and about 3 hours 30 minutes. Public transport in the Highlands is too slow for a day trip, so most visitors take a guided coach tour from Edinburgh. These usually stop at viewpoints along the way, such as Glencoe and the shores of Loch Ness, and return in the evening.

What to see: the valley of Glencoe with its steep mountainsides, Rannoch Moor, Loch Ness and, depending on the route, the ruin of Urquhart Castle.

How long: a full day of 10 to 12 hours, most of it on the road.

Best for: travellers with only one day for the Highlands. This is where a tour truly helps: the driving on narrow roads is long, and the guide explains the landscape and history on the way. Highland day tours from Edinburgh^* can be compared on Viator. If you have more time, it is much better to stay a few nights in the north – our Scotland road trip in 10 days shows a route.

Train, bus or guided tour?

For Stirling, Glasgow, North Berwick and St Andrews, the train is the best option: fast, frequent and easy. Trains in Scotland^* can be compared on Omio. For Rosslyn Chapel, the city bus is enough. For the Highlands, a guided tour is the practical choice unless you rent a car and stay overnight.

Tickets for Stirling Castle, Edinburgh Castle and many other historic sites are sold online by Historic Environment Scotland; for tickets to Edinburgh's own sights^*, see Tiqets.

How many day trips fit into an Edinburgh trip?

With two or three days, Edinburgh itself is enough: the castle and the Royal Mile, the New Town, Arthur's Seat. From four days, add Stirling or North Berwick; with five days or more, a Highlands tour or Glasgow. Our article how many days in Edinburgh explains the split.

How YesTrip helps you plan

YesTrip has a ready-made plan for Edinburgh with times, short walks and a map for each day. With one tap you copy it into the app and add a day in Stirling or a Highlands tour. The app shows the weather for your travel days – important in Scotland, where a clear day is the one to save for the coast or the mountains – and the packing list suggests a rain jacket when needed. With the offline package you have the map without a signal, which helps in the Highlands. YesTrip is free.

Edinburgh trip planDay by day, with map and tips

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