Edinburgh Day Tours and Trips

Suggestions for day and half day trips and tours

Taking trips and tours in and around Edinburgh on your own is easy when you know what buses and trains to take, what is worth visiting and how long to spend touring places of interest. There is also the option of organised bus tours or train trips.

While organised tours are quite inflexible, they are ideal for those more comfortable travelling with a group and guide. The commentary of local guides is an added bonus. No guide book or foreign guide could possibly compete with the entertaining story-telling Scots are famous for or with their unmistakable accent.

Day and half-day trips from Edinburgh

Best Guided Day Tours from Edinburgh:

Loch Ness, Glencoe and the Highlands Day Tour which has the best possible Highlands day trip itinerary.
West Highlands Lochs and Castles Day Tour which allows you to experience a different part of the Scottish Highlands
The East Coast and fishing villages tour, the St Andrews and Fife Day Trip.
Or my other favourite, the Da Vinci Code and Scottish Borders.

Self-Guided Day Tours from Edinburgh:

North Berwick trip from Edinburgh - A short 30 minute train journey from Edinburgh lies North Berwick, the ideal destination for a family day out.

Day and half-day tours in Edinburgh

Photography walking tour - A tour around Edinburgh's most impressive attractions any tourist should capture on camera.
Edinburgh Castle tour - Best things to see when doing a tour of Edinburgh Castle.

Trips to Edinburgh

Edinburgh day trip from London - A quick day trip from London by train to see Edinburgh's most famous attractions.
London train break to Edinburgh - Two days and one night short break by train from London to Edinburgh.

Orient Express Day Trips in the UK (to or from Scotland)

Orient Express day trips to Edinburgh - A luxury one day train trip to Edinburgh on the Northern Belle, the Orient Express of the North.
Orient Express Edinburgh Tattoo Break - A luxury Orient Express weekend trip to Edinburgh to experience the world-famous Military Tattoo.
Trips on the Orient Express from Edinburgh - Choice of day trips and weekend trips from Edinburgh to experience the luxury of the Northern Belle train.

Plan the Best Edinburgh Holiday:

Edinburgh Travel Essentials

Coach Tickets to Edinburgh from £15. Guaranteed seats, overnight or daytime journeys. Coach & Buses

Beautiful Photos from Edinburgh

Photograph of Edinburgh Castle's south face with the Union flag at half-mast taken from the Grassmarket. Photo #G3205

Picture of Leith shorefront buildings and the Harpoon, taken from the Victoria Swing Bridge; in the distance, the Mary of Guise barge and the Ocean Mist boat now turned into a floating restaurant. Photo #G0848

Picture of Princes Street Gardens taken from the Scott Monument with Edinburgh Castle and the National Gallery of Scotland in the far center. Photo #3316

Origin of 'Edinburgh'

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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