We will be arriving in Edinburgh by train from London on Friday Aug. 30th. We will be in Edinburg until checkout on Monday September 2nd. We'll use the Royal Edinburgh Ticket on Saturday and Sunday since it is a 48 hour pass. We'll see the palace, the castle, and the yacht as well the sites along the Royal Mile, probably on Saturday. We will take the bus to Rosslyn Chapel at sometime as well. Any advice on how to split up the sightseeing between Saturday and Sunday would be appreciated.
To make the most of our time, I'd love some advice on what to do Friday after checking into our hotel. I imagine we'll be ready to go out by 4:00PM. Maybe check out the some of the shopping areas that RS recommends although they close around 6:00. Any thoughts on an itinerary that makes the most of our time in Edinburgh would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7146 posts
A lot depends on how long you spend at each venue. The yacht visit alone could easily occupy half a day. You’ll need to take a bus to the Royal yacht, then there’s a few minutes walk. My guess is there will be a line because of when you’re going. The same goes for visiting Rosslyn Chapel. We spent a couple hours each at the castle and Holyrood, but we’d visited them previously. If the pass includes skip-the-line and anytime entry, then you’ll save some time.
Posted by
Chicago
3125 posts
You’ll need to take a bus to the Royal yacht, then there’s a few
minutes walk.
The tram line has been extended to reach Leith. So, that is an alternative to the bus.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7146 posts
I stand corrected. That tram extension was still under construction last time I was there in 2022.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thank you for your advice!
On our first full day (Sat.) I thought we'd tour the castle, sights near/on the mile and Holyroodhouse. I purchased the Royal
Edinburgh Ticket (48 hours) which includes the castle, yacht and palace. **The Royal ticket says that you get your castle reservation when they scan your ticket as you get on the bus. HOWEVER, everything else says that you need to make an advance reservation for the castle. I checked the online RS updated book section for Edinburgh but it does not address this. Does anyone know what the current procedure would be?
It looks like the Royal Edinburgh Ticket incudes the hop-on-hop-off bus going to the Britannia. I thought we'd start there in the morning of day 2 (Sunday) and then come back to Edinburgh and take the bus to Rosslyn Chapel. The two sights seem doable in one day.
Posted by
Lake District, England
7838 posts
For Rosslyn you need to reserve a specific time slot. The service bus #37 takes 50 minutes from the City Centre, running every 20 minutes.
Thus I think the 1.45 time slot would be too tight, and 1200 way too early so you need the 3.30 time slot. In any event 1.45 is booked out that day (already) so you need to book that 3.30 entry ASAP here- https://www.rosslynchapel.com/book-tickets/
Note that you may have to stand outside if you arrive early, so there is an art to timing your arrival. You ideally want to be on the 1422 bus from the Scott Monument on Princes Street, arriving at 1512.
PS- For the Castle, from the website, it looks as if the tour block books tickets.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thank you so much! I just booked the 3:30 appointment. I never would have known if you hadn't written back!
After I purchased the tickets it said "your booking is confirmed". It didn't say anything about emailing me the tickets but I assume that is what they will do. Hopefully. No confirmation number either.
Thanks for the quick response!
Posted by
OP
6 posts
They did send an email. Perfect and thank you for your help!