Any recommendations for bus/train travel from St. Andrews to Aviemore and how far in advance to book for a June Trip. ScotRail shows multiple bus changes but google maps looks like you can book with a Stagecoach East Scotland to Perth and then Perth to Aviemore via train. My fear is that if the bus is late, then we will miss the train and have to buy new tickets during a peak travel season. Has anyone done this journey before and have recommendations? Thanks!
Posted by
Lake District, England
9198 posts
The Stagecoach bus #65 from St Andrews to Perth is just a normal service city bus, which can't be booked. Just turn up and pay the driver, and it runs hourly.
The bus can not sell out and won't be full.
What Scotrail are showing is bus to Leuchars, train to Dundee, train to Perth, train to Aviemore.
Book Scotrail from 8 weeks out, but the trains can't sell out.
If really worried, allow a one hour connection at Perth, or if you buy a full priced ticket on the train, as opposed to a cheap Advance Fare you can travel on any train.
You can also book seat only on the next train, with a full priced ticket as I did today on the Oban line. You do that on the GWR website.
So today I came from North West England to Arrochar. The cheapest way to do that was an Advance Ticket to Helensburgh, then a walk up ticket from Helensburgh. Because I couldn't be sure if my trains from England would be on time I purchased the second half of the ticket on the spot but had made duplicate free seat reservations yesterday on the GWR website- the only railway website where I can do that. Duplicate reservations for the train I planned to be on (and was) and the next train