Updated January 2010
National Express is the UK's largest coach network with extensive coverage in England. The best value trip with National Express coaches is the London - Edinburgh journey which is very popular with tourists on a budget.
Tickets and timetables for London - Edinburgh coaches.
There are up to 5 coaches a day from Edinburgh St Andrews bus station to London Victoria coach station and up to 8 buses a day from London to Edinburgh. Out of these, 4 are direct bus journeys each way with no in-between stops and 2 of them are overnight services (each way). The direct overnight bus takes approx 8 hours and 40 minutes to cover the distance between London and Edinburgh while daytime coaches take 40 minutes to an extra hour to cover the same distance.
Daytime coaches
Book London - Edinburgh coach tickets
Overnight coaches
The other non-direct London to Edinburgh buses to St Andrews bus station or Victoria coach station include long waiting times at Heahtrow Airport, Manchester or Birmingham which can range between 20 minutes up to 4 hours. Given the choice, always go for the direct coach services.
The London - Edinburgh route is a National Express funfare route with prices for one-way journeys starting at £12-£15. These cheap bus tickets (non-refundable) are available only online when you book in advance. Buy London - Edinburgh funfare bus tickets online. Funfare prices are only available on direct bus journeys, all the more reason to avoid the coaches which change in Manchester or Birmingham.
Standard bus tickets for return coach journeys range from £36.50 for Economy Apex Return to £50.60 for a Standard Return ticket.
The cheapest National Express tickets for the London coach are:
Either ticket must be purchased 7 days in advance and offer very little flexibility -- no refunds or open dated returns are allowed.
Save up to 70% on good Edinburgh Hotels near St. Andrews Bus Station
Tickets, timetables and journey planner
Use the form to get timetables and tickets for coach trips London to Edinburgh or Edinburgh to London. Alternatively, you can buy your ticket from St. Andrews bus station or Victoria coach station. Remember that the cheapest Edinburgh - London bus tickets (funfare) are available ONLY online.
Website: National Express
Phone: +44 8705 808 080
Megabus offer cheap coach travel between various UK destinations. The London - Edinburgh service departs Victoria Coach station in London and arrives at St. Andrews bus station in Edinburgh. It follows a similar timetable with the National Express coaches. Megabus operate both overnight and day services. The journey time with Megabus is the same as with National Express (9 hours on average) but the fares are higher than the funfares available with National Express.
Website: Megabus
Phone: +44 01738 639095
>> Back to Edinburgh Coach Travel guide index
See the articles below for more information on travelling by bus or coach to and from Edinburgh.
Coach tickets and discounts Where to buy cheap coach tickets online and available discounts.
St Andrew's Square Bus Station Description of coach station in Edinburgh's St. Andrew's Square and walking directions.
Edinburgh - London by coach Cheap way to get from London to Edinburgh and return is by National Express coach. Travel by day or take the overnight coach.
National Express coach tickets Where to buy cheap funfare tickets for National Express coach routes to Scotland.
Megabus coach tickets Where to buy cheap coach tickets for Megabus bus routes to Scotland from London and within Scotland.
Eurolines passes to Edinburgh How to travel with Eurolines to Edinburgh via London.
Bus from Edinburgh to Glasgow Airport Getting to Glasgow Airport from Edinburgh City Centre by bus.
Bus from Glasgow to Edinburgh Airport Getting to Edinburgh Airport from Glasgow City Centre by bus.
Edinburgh to rest of Scotland by coach Tickets and bus times for popular bus routes within Scotland from Edinburgh or Glasgow to Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth with Megabus/Scottish Citylink.
Around Edinburgh by coach Information on coach travel from Edinburgh to the Scottish Borders and Fife.
Bus routes to and from Edinburgh
Edinburgh coach tours Suggestions for tours from and to Edinburgh by private or public coach.
Glasgow - London coach travel Cheap fares and online tickets for getting from Glasgow to London by bus.
Edinburgh travel guide How to travel to and from Edinburgh by different means of transport.
Ghost & History Walks to explore the Old Town and Underground Vaults. Dramatised or realistic, from £7.50. Walking Tours
Image of the entrance gate at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Photo #G8109
Photograph of Ramsay Gardens, the expensive residential flats on the Royal Mile, right next to the Edinburgh Castle esplanade. Photo #3276
View of the gate to the Covenanters Prison in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh. Photo #G3749
Tourists have problems with the name of Edinburgh. There are hundreds of ways people write it and the most common writings include 'edinburg', 'edinborough', 'edimburgh', 'edinbourgh', 'ediburgh', 'edinbugh', 'edinboro', 'edingburgh', 'edinbrugh', 'edimburg', 'edinburugh', 'edingurgh', 'edinbrough', etc.
According to the Scottish Place Names dictionary, the name Edinburgh means 'Fort of the Rock Face'. The 'edin' part comes from Scottish Gaelic and means 'rock face', while 'burgh' comes from Old English meaning stronghold.
Some more obscure (and quite funny) ways of writing Edinburgh include: edinburough, edingburg, edinbourg, edinburh, edinurgh, edenburg, edinbough, edinbourough, edinbrgh, edingborough, edenburgh, edinberg, edinborgh, edinborugh, edinburge, edinburhg, edingbourgh, etc.
Edinburgh is spelt Edimburgo in Spanish and Italian and Édimbourg in French.
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