Travel from Inverness to Edinburgh by Bus

Cheapest way to get from Edinburgh to Inverness by bus

Updated September 2011

You can get from Inverness to Edinburgh (or Edinburgh to Inverness) by taking the Megabus (Scottish Citylink) buses. The journey is 3 hours and 35 minutes approx. Travelling by bus is the cheapest way to get from Inverness to Edinburgh with very cheap tickets:

• Starting at £2 for Megabus/Citylink return tickets made up of 2 super single tickets.
• Megabus/Citylink have the cheapest one-way bus fares, £1 (super single tickets). These are limited in number but most Megabus/Citylink singles for this route cost between £5-£10 if booked far enough in advance.

It's cheaper to travel between Edinburgh and Inverness by bus than it is to travel by train. The cheapest Off-Peak Return train ticket is £48.50. Even the cheapest possible return rail ticket made up of two single fares is £20.60, at least twice as expensive as travelling by Megabus. See our Scottish Megabus / National Express coaches in-depth coach guide.

Tickets and times for Megabus/Scottish Citylink bus services between Edinburgh and Inverness.

Bus timetables for transport between Edinburgh and Inverness

The is a frequent service with buses leaving from Farraline Park Bus Station in Inverness or St. Andrews Bus Station in Edinburgh every hour. Megabus/Citylink operate a daytime and evening bus service. There are no night buses operating on this route.

Megabus/Citylink Inverness buses

Bus times from Inverness to Edinburgh (day/evening buses)

	Weekdays					Weekend
From Inverness (buses approx every hour)	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
First bus to Edinburgh	07:10	07:10	07:10	07:10	07:10	07:10	07:10	Book bus ticket
Last evening bus to Edinburgh	18:55	18:55	18:55	18:55	18:55	18:55	18:55	Book bus ticket

Bus times from Edinburgh to Inverness (day/evening)

	Weekdays					Weekend
From Edinburgh (buses approx every hour)	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
First bus to Inverness	08:35	08:35	08:35	08:35	08:35	08:35	08:35	Book bus ticket
Last evening bus to Inverness	20:45	20:45	20:45	20:45	20:45	20:45	20:45	Book bus ticket

NOTE: the schedule of buses may change without notice. Please double check with the Megabus/Scottish Citylink for the latest travel times for getting to Inverness or Edinburgh.

First and last buses to Inverness (Megabus/Citylink)

First buses to Inverness

• The first bus to Inverness (weekdays and weekends) leaves St Andrew's Bus Station at 08:35 and arrives at Farraline Park Bus Station at 12:10.

Last buses

• The last bus to Inverness (weekdays and weekends) leaves St Andrew's Bus Station at 20:45 and arrives at Farraline Park Bus Station at 00:20.

Night buses

• There are no night buses to Inverness from Edinburgh

First and last buses to Edinburgh (Megabus/Citylink)

First buses to Edinburgh

• The first bus to Edinburgh (weekdays and weekends) leaves Farraline Park Bus Station at 07:10 and arrives at St Andrew's Bus Station at 10:45.

Last buses

• The last bus to Edinburgh (weekdays and weekends) leaves Farraline Park Bus Station at 18:55 and arrives at St Andrew's Bus Station at 22:25.

Night buses

• There are no night buses to Edinburgh from Inverness

How long does it take to get from Inverness to Edinburgh by bus

The journey is 3 hours and 35 minutes approx.

How much does the bus ticket from Inverness to Edinburgh cost

You can buy your Megabus (Scottish Citylink) bus ticket online.

Megabus/Scottish Citylink Bus fares

• Single ticket: starting at £1 (super single ticket). Limited in number, though most singles start at £5-£10
• Return ticket: starting at £2 (2 super single tickets). If £1 super singles are sold out then the return bus fare is between £10-£20.

Booking fee of 50p applies.

Book Inverness - Edinburgh bus tickets

Where does the bus between Inverness and Edinburgh stop

The Megabus/Citylink buses go via Edinburgh, Dunfermline, Kinross, Perth, Pitlochry, Dalwhinnie, Kingussie, Aviemore and Inverness.

Full list of bus stops for this route:

• Edinburgh (St Andrew Square Bus Station, Queensferry St at 9/11, Barnton Junction),
• Forth Road Bridge Bus stop at Slip Road,
• Ferrytoll Park & Ride Car Park,
• Dunfermline (Bus Station, Bus Bay opp. Carnegie College),
• Duloch Park Fife Leisure Park Bus Stop,
• Kinross (Park & Ride Car Park, High St at Kirklands Hotel, Bank of Scotland, Loch Leven Health Centre),
• Milnathort opp Royal Bank,
• Perth (Edinburgh Rd opp Tesco's, Edinburgh Rd opp South Inch Car Park, Perth Broxden Park & Ride, Leonard St Bus Station, South St at The Tavern),
• Luncarty Northbound Bus Bay on A9,
• Birnam (for Dunkeld) Opp. Birnam Hotel,
• Kindallachan Road End Bus Stop,
• Ballinluig Road End Bus Stop,
• Pitlochry (Aldour Bus Stop, Fishers Hotel),
• Blair Atholl Atholl Arms,
• Calvine Road End Layby No.56,
• Dalwhinnie Road End Lay-by,
• Newtonmore (Clan McPherson Museum, Waltzing Waters),
• Kingussie (Duke of Gordon Hotel, High St, north end Bus Stop),
• Kincraig (Highland Wildlife Park, War Memorial),
• Dalraddy Opp. Caravan Park Entrance,
• Aviemore (Cairngorm Hotel opp Rail Station, Burnside Bus Stop),
• Tomatin Road End Lay-by,
• Inverness (Farraline Park Bus Station)

NOTE: The bus may not stop at some of these on certain services.

Where do the buses leave from?

The Megabus/Scottish Citylink buses travelling between Inverness and Edinburgh leave from the following bus stations:

Address of Farraline Park Bus Station

Farraline Park
Margaret Street
Inverness
Scotland
Postcode: IV1 1NH

Address of St Andrew's Bus Station

St Andrew's Square
Edinburgh
Scotland
Tel: +44 (131) 5556363
Tel: +44 (131) 2253858

No exact postcode has been found for St Andrew's Bus Station in Edinburgh

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Visitor Comments on Edinburgh Attractions

Museum of Childhood

Located on High street, this was a gem of a find. It was just like stepping back in time. Set in 5 seperate galleries this tour took you from teddies to trains, through games and dollshouses. There is something for all ages here, and all for free. The visit for us took about 1hour and we shared the experince with more adults than children! It is said to be the noisiest museum ever, and during school holidays I would imagine it to be so. We were quite quiet! This is one of several good museums within a very small area, and really great way to spend some time. The staff were really friendly and there is a small shop at the entrance.

Palace of Holyroodhouse

I was really pleased that we could find the time to visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Personally, I think this is a even much more interesting site to visit than Edinburgh Castle. Since this palace is the official residence in Scotland of Her Majesty The Queen, everything is very well maintained and the palace is so beautifully decorated. Besides, this was also the home of Queen Mary, so everything was excellent preserved, looked just like 450 years ago. A fabulous place, definitely recommended to visit.

Our Dynamic Earth

Overall it was a great attraction for kids - and adults too! I think they could improve the presentations given by some staff in certain areas. It seemed a bit rushed (there were some field trips going on) and they tended to be talking before everyone was in the area. Worth the visit though!

Greyfriars Kirkyard

Greyfriars Graveyard is just off of Candlemaker Row in the centre of Edinburgh. It is the final resting place of that most loyal dog Greyfriars Bobby, situated just opposite his statue on George IV Bridge. The Graveyard is has some very beautiful views of the Castle and is a little oasis of calm in the centre of Edinburgh. One of my favourite features of this graveyard are the frequent skeleton motifs on the gravestones, an ancient morbid convention. The church at the centre of this graveyard is one of the oldest Edinburgh buildings, with building beginning in 1602. It is the only Church of Scotland church to still perform a Sunday mass in Gaelic.

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Edinburgh Travel Essentials

Ghost & History Walks to explore the Old Town and Underground Vaults. Dramatised or realistic, from £7.50. Walking Tours

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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