Edinburgh family holidays
Scotland's magnificent capital city provides a wealth of things to do and see for families, no matter what age your children, your budget or the time of year you choose to go. It's a compact, buggy-friendly city so you will find it easy enough to explore the many historic sites and attractions on foot, in a relatively short period of time. Edinburgh is synonymous with festivals and the city provides a packed calendar of events that will keep your children entertained no matter what time of year you choose to visit. As the city has been smoke free for over 2 years now, there's generally no problem taking the kids into one of the many hundreds of pubs or restaurants scattered throughout the city to enjoy a traditional Scottish family-friendly meal and a pint.
When to go
The best time to travel to Edinburgh is during the Summer months when the weather is generally fine and mild and the hours of daylight are longer. Nevertheless, the weather is unpredictable so it is advisable to take rain-jackets, an umbrella and a rain-cover for your buggy. The winter months can get extremely cold and wet, with the occasional snowfall. The Edinburgh Festival is held during the entire month of August making this a popular time to visit, with a good calendar of child-friendly events and performances including the world-famous MilitaryTattoo. Be aware though that the city becomes extremely crowded over this period - hotels will charge premium rates and restaurants will tend to book up early - so plan your trip well in advance if travelling at this time. The same is true over Hogmany, Scotland's traditional New Year celebrations. A visit to Edinburgh in the Spring or Autumn will avoid overcrowding and peak pricing whilst having a decent chance of fine weather.
Getting to and around Edinburgh
Edinburgh Airport is conveniently located approx. eight miles (13km) west of Edinburgh and serves most major UK and European cities. Airlink 100 (http://www.flybybus.com) operates a buggy-friendly express bus service to Edinburgh city centre with frequent departures throughout the day from early morning until after midnight. Tickets cost £3 single and £5 open return for adults with children aged 5-15 years paying £2 single and £3 open return and the journey takes approximately 25 minutes. Tickets can be purchased in advance or directly from the driver. For a more bespoke service, try Edinburgh Shuttle's fleet of 7-seater mini-buses. These run every 15-30 minutes between the airport and pick up and drops off anywhere within any address in Edinburgh Shuttle’s City Centre zone including hotels, guest houses or home. Advance bookings can be made in advance by telephoning +44 (0)845 500 5000. Fares are fixed at £8.00 one way for an individual, door to door, with reduced rates for passengers travelling together to the same destination. A private taxi ranks is in operation outside the eastern end of the terminal building with the city black cab taxi rank available adjacent to the coach park. The third rank is located on the ground floor of the short stay multi storey car park and is available for taxis that have been pre-booked. Journey time is approximately 25 minutes. There are number of car rental desks within the terminal building and road access to the airport is easy from the two-level junction on the A8 midway between the Gogar and Newbridge roundabouts.
Edinburgh has an extremely good network of public buses and with bus lanes in operation ensure that services are relatively free-flowing. Exact change is required and tickets cost £1 per adult and 60p per child aged 5-15 years. Day tickets providing unlimited travel for one day are available at £2.50 per adult and £2 for children aged 5-15 years. Up to a maximum of 2 children under 5 travel free with each adult fare payer. For details see http://www.lothianbuses.co.uk. There is no tram, metro or local rail service. Black taxis are easily hailed in the street and there are numerous taxi ranks dotted throughout the city. For those travelling by car, parking can be difficult and expensive, whilst traffic bad – not recommended.
