Rental car around Edinburgh

The EDI airport.

Have never been there before but as we are staying in heart of town and can walk to Waverly in 5 minutes we are using Enterprise at the train station, alot closer.

The advantage of renting from the airport is that you avoid having to drive through narrow, potentially congested city streets. The airport in Edinburgh (ditto Glasgow, BTW) is located by major highways so you can drive off the airport campus and be on your way pretty quickly and easily. One caveat is the signs at the roundabouts as you leave the airport. IMO it's worth asking the rental agent which signs to follow to get to the Motorway that you want, headed in the direction you want.

P.S. you might get better advice posting this under Scotland instead of England.

Thanks for the replies about rental car agencies around Edinburgh. Many years ago, we did rent a car from the airport. I was hoping there would be a place I could rent from without heading to the airport; however, I do not want to drive in traffic, so it's sounding like going to the airport would be better. From Edinburgh I want to head to Berwick Upon Tweed, and I don't see that there's any place along the way to get a car. Thanks for the information!

We rented at Enterprise out in Leith. It's a quiet part of Edinburgh, they are extremely friendly and helpful, and you can skirt around the city to head south. There may be easier ones south of town but this one was convenient for where we were staying and where we wanted to go. We didn't have to go all the way back out to the airport and driving was easy compared to the city center.

Thanks, Anita!

I've rented a car from city Centre in Edinburg. I live in NYC. Have driven in LA, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, St. Louis, Seattle, and more. I have to say that while it is city driving on the left, it is absolutely possible to drive out of the city center of Edinburgh in a rental car without losing your mind. :) I liked renting out of the city center as I could get there very easily from my hotel. And it meant I didn't have to backtrack. So renting at the airport may be best for you. But I honestly, the traffic in Edinburgh just does not begin to compare with the cities mentioned above. As for Europe, I would NEVER rent a car in London. I've driven in France a fair bit and the most interesting (difficult?) was from Chartre to Senlis north of Paris. With good directions and firm resolution, I drove all the way around the south and east side of Paris to reach Senlis.

I would say look at your map. Look where you are staying and where you are going and make the call. I guess I am saying don't over think this.

Pam

And . . . I would politely disagree with Pam. I have both lived in and driven in Boston, DC, NYC, and Paris, and have NEVER been so unnerved as when driving a rental car in Edinburgh proper (and I did not have jet lag as an issue). I found it extraordinarily difficult and would take the tram out to the airport to pick up a rental car in a heartbeat.

So — you have two totally reasonable people with totally opposing advice !!