Please sign in to post.

Rosalyn Chapel

We have only two days in Edinburgh and have decided to hire a taxi to visit Roslyn Chapel (a must-see for my husband). Is it necessary to purchase tickets in advance for the chapel?

Posted by
2636 posts

if visiting in july or august then might be an idea to buy in advance and if visiting on a Sunday remember they don't open toil about 12.30. There are buses direct from the city center to the Chapel takes about 40 minutes each way and costs £1.70 per person each way, Taxi is going to cost around £50 return.

Posted by
6386 posts

When I visited there, we just showed up. We took a bus from downtown that drops you off by the chapel. It would be much cheaper than a taxi.

Posted by
64 posts

Thanks, so much. We will be there on a Thursday in mid June, so I’m guessing we will be ok not to pre purchase. I’ve already weighed out the cost of bus vs taxi as well as the time (40 minutes one way vs 15) and decided to grit my teeth and do the taxi since our time is very limited.

Posted by
415 posts

15 minutes by taxi sounds very optimistic. Plan to get there early before the tour buses start rolling in. Do your research the more you know beforehand more amazed you will be. An older docent grabbed us and walked us around the outside of the Chapel showing us all kinds of stuff but we never would've seen on our own . There's a nice café on the grounds for a simple lunch.
Brad

Posted by
64 posts

Good tips, Brad - thanks. We are on a tour so will do Rosslyn in the afternoon during our free exploration time. I know what you mean about the taxi time - 15 minutes is what I am finding on their web sites. The Roslyn chapel website estimates 40 minutes for both bus and taxi which also seems a little off.

Posted by
2636 posts

30-40 minutes by taxi from the city center, not a chance of doing it in 15 unless you are getting it from the south side of the city.

Posted by
64 posts

Thanks. It looks like we will be taking the bus based on your replies. Certainly not worth the money to save 10 minutes. And we’ll definitely take a look at the video.

Posted by
839 posts

There is the option of taking a guided day tour to get there if you were interested in seeing a couple of other places. I did one that included Hadrian's Wall, Melrose Abbey, and Rosslyn. It was a good tour.

Posted by
64 posts

Thanks. I would love to do that tour but our two mornings are already booked.

Posted by
64 posts

We visited Rosslyn Chapel today and would like to share that our taxi ride from Edinburgh took just under 20 minutes and cost 20 pounds. We took the bus back to the city, which took 45 minutes (plus an additional 15 waiting at the bus stop and 10 walking to and from the stop.). The cost was 3.70 pounds for the two of us. Both were very easy to do, so clearly the taxi saves time and the bus saves money. Either way, the chapel is well worth a look.

Posted by
3067 posts

Thank you for reporting back!
So many people don't bother, so it's really nice to get up to date information.
Hope you loved Edinburgh, my old home!

Posted by
13809 posts

Thank you so much! Have a few days in Edinburgh and contemplating going tomorrow or Saturday so I appreciate knowing about the taxi fare. I’m walked out, lol.