We are coming to Edinburgh the first of October 2006. We will be in town for a few days and then touring the country for a few days and then back into Edinburgh for a few days before we leave. We will be flying into and out of Edinburgh.
Does anyone have any links or information about public transportation that comes and goes from the airport into town or for gettting around town? Also what are some of the more off the wall places to visit while in Edinburgh besides the castle? Any recommendation on Bed and Breakfasts or places to eat that are not expensive are greatly appreciated.
We so far are planning to go to the Orkney Islands and the highlands. We are wanting to stay out of the large towns for the most part. What is a good way to handle the money while there. We plan to use prepaid visa cards instead of carrying lots of cash. I know that most of the B&B's we want to stay at want cash instead of plastic. How do the ATMs work there? If we have debit type cards with american dollar amounts on them will the ATMs convert that into Pounds? Is it better to go through a local car rental instead of a major car rental company like Hertz? Do most places take visa cards and are there problems with using them there? Are there any cultural differences that I should be aware of? I have heard that eating with a fork the tines have to be turned downward instead of upward because if you have them upward it is like shoveling your food into your mouth. Are there areas that as being a foriegner should avoid?
Any and all suggestion are welcome. I will probably expand on this as comments are given.
Thanks
david
Does anyone have any links or information about public transportation that comes and goes from the airport into town or for gettting around town? Also what are some of the more off the wall places to visit while in Edinburgh besides the castle? Any recommendation on Bed and Breakfasts or places to eat that are not expensive are greatly appreciated.
We so far are planning to go to the Orkney Islands and the highlands. We are wanting to stay out of the large towns for the most part. What is a good way to handle the money while there. We plan to use prepaid visa cards instead of carrying lots of cash. I know that most of the B&B's we want to stay at want cash instead of plastic. How do the ATMs work there? If we have debit type cards with american dollar amounts on them will the ATMs convert that into Pounds? Is it better to go through a local car rental instead of a major car rental company like Hertz? Do most places take visa cards and are there problems with using them there? Are there any cultural differences that I should be aware of? I have heard that eating with a fork the tines have to be turned downward instead of upward because if you have them upward it is like shoveling your food into your mouth. Are there areas that as being a foriegner should avoid?
Any and all suggestion are welcome. I will probably expand on this as comments are given.
Thanks
david
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Re: need information regarding trip to Edinburgh and Scotland
Sun, October 1, 2006 - 5:31 AMYou MUST go to 21st Century Kilts at Geoffrey Tailor on the Royal Mile! After you do the Castle thing.
There is a Tourist Center right next to the train station in the park on Prince's Street who can hook you up with a B&B. You tell them the ceiling of what you'll pay and for how many days, they do the calling and set the price so the owners can't cheat you and give you the address! Cabs are at the corner. -
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Re: need information regarding trip to Edinburgh and Scotland
Thu, January 4, 2007 - 9:29 PMWe went in October 2000 and LOVED it! Edinburgh is now one of my favorite cities in the whole world . I'm sure transportation from the airport is plentiful although I wouldn't know from experience ... We had a rental car and drove up from London, but once you are in the city I think it's a big pain to drive down the narrow one-way streets (and parking was another nightmare!) so I don't think one will be all that useful until you leave town. We love to walk so walked everywhere-as did almost everyone....even though the Scots eat plenty of fatty foods they are all really fit and I'm sure all of that walking is the key! Take comfortable shoes and raincoat and umbrella-leave most of your designer clothes and high heels at home as it seems to me they cause unnecessary pain and reliance on public transporattion and don't really fit in anyway!
If you go there take the night time "Tales of Terror" or "Witch Trail" tours by a guy who I think was called Adam Lyle...the tour is complete with fake ghosts leaping out at you and tons of ghoulish historical info. as in plague, beheadings, and murderers (Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde was an Edinburgh Scot.
Also, they have tons of pubs and night life all within walking distance of wherever you stay-we went on the "Eeirie Pub Tour" where you have to drink 2 pints each at all of these trippy, scary pubs constructed on properties where crazy people lived or died. Edinburgh is a college town so there are plenty of pubs to visit and everyone is nice and fun (and maybe a little drunk) all the time! The downtown area is spectacular with a large park and impressive buildings and even 2 nice castles. We couldn't go into 1, because that is where the Queen of England stays when she is in Scotland so it's not open to the public.
We took lots of traveler's checks-maybe $1000-I don't think crime is too bad there but better safe than sorry-and they are really easy to cash in at American Express for a good exchange rate. I was able to use my credit card at some shops (and for our hotel in Edinburgh) but the exchange rate wasn't as good so we lost some money there. Still, we didn't run into any problems spending our money (I don't think we ever even looked for an ATM-but sure didn't see any).
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