Basics - The Rough Guide to Scotland - page 24

Getting there
The quickest, easiest and cheapest way
to get to Scotland is by plane. Scotland
has three main international airports:
Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Glasgow handles most long-haul flights,
though all three have a reasonable
spread of European connections, as does
Glasgow Prestwick Airport, a hub for the
budget airline Ryanair.
With most airlines nowadays, how much you pay
depends on how far in advance you book and how
much demand there is during that period -
generally speaking, the earlier you book, the
cheaper the prices. That said, it's worth looking out
for sales, which often start 10-12 weeks before the
departure date.
If you're coming from elsewhere in Britain, from
Ireland or even northwest Europe, you can reach
Scotland easily enough by train , bus or ferry - it
probably won't work out cheaper or faster than flying,
but it's undoubtedly better for the environment.

From Ireland

Travel from Ireland is quickest by plane, with
airfares from either Belfast or Dublin to Glasgow
from as little as €45 return; try Aer Lingus
( W aerlingus.com) and Ryanair ( W ryanair.com),
both based in Ireland. There are also good ferry
links with Northern Ireland and the combined
coach and ferry fares are very competitive: Belfast
to Glasgow (via Cairnryan) is just £56 return (6hr
one-way). P&O Ferries runs several sea crossings
daily from Larne to Cairnryan (1hr) and Troon (2hr
15min) and Stena Line operates several services
daily from Belfast to Stranraer (2hr 10min; single
passenger without car £28).

From mainland Europe

Ferries run by DFDS Seaways go overnight from
IJmuiden, near Amsterdam, to Newcastle (daily;
16-17hr), less than an hour's drive south of the
Scottish border. High-season return fares start at
around €500, for a passenger with a car and an
overnight berth. The very useful Direct Ferries
website ( W directferries.co.uk) gives you the latest
information on crossings and allows you to
compare all the options. A much quicker (and
usually cheaper) alternative is to fly with one of
Europe's big budget carriers, such as easyJet
( W easyjet.com), Ryanair ( W ryanair.com), Norwegian
( W norwegian.com) or Jet2 ( W jet2.com).

From England and Wales

If you're heading out to the Highlands and Islands,
flying is the quickest way to travel. Airfares are
most competitive on popular routes such as
London or Birmingham to Edinburgh and Glasgow,
which can cost as little as £50 return (journey time
around 1hr). Once you add on the cost of transport
to the airport and flying with luggage (many
budget airlines charge for all but the smallest cabin
bags), the savings compared with doing the same
journey overland are often minimal.
Flying with airlines such as British Airways ( W ba
.com), Ryanair ( W ryanair.com) and easyJet
( W easyjet.com) may be quick, but coach and train
fares can be pretty competitive. If you book far
enough in advance, return train fares to Glasgow
can cost as little as £50 from Manchester (3hr
30min) or £70 from London (4hr 45min). A more
flexible or last-minute fare will cost two or three
times the amount. Another option is the overnight
Caledonian Sleeper run by ScotRail ( W scotrail
.co.uk) from London Euston (daily except Sat;
journey time to Glasgow around 8hr); again, if you
book in advance, single overnight fares cost around
£25, though most return fares are more like £100.
The coach takes much longer than the train
(around 9hr one-way), but costs less, with a London
or Birmingham to Glasgow return starting for as
little as £20.

From the US and Canada

If you fly nonstop to Scotland from North
America , you'll arrive in either Glasgow or
Edinburgh. The majority of cheap fares, however,
route through Amsterdam, London, Manchester,
Dublin or Paris. To reach any other Scottish
airport, you'll definitely need to go via London,
Glasgow or Edinburgh.
Figure on six to seven hours flight time nonstop
from the east coast of the USA to Glasgow, or
seven hours to London plus an extra hour and a
quarter from London to Glasgow or Edinburgh (not
including stopover time). Add three or four hours
more for travel from the west coast .
United ( W united.com) flies direct from Newark
Liberty International Airport in New York to
Glasgow, with return fares (including taxes) from
around $850. Air Canada ( W aircanada.com) has
direct flights to Edinburgh from Toronto; return
fares for nonstop flights (including taxes) cost
around $1000.