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Taxi from Edinburgh Airport

I will be arriving at Edinburgh airport late this coming Saturday. Since I'm staying at an airbnb instead of hotel, I'll be taking a taxi instead of a bus, so as not to inconvenience my host by being later than need be.

I've never taken a taxi before. I see online that there are many taxi companies to choose from. I also see that I can book ahead and that the driver will watch my flight details and wait if I'm delayed, which I really like.

Can anyone one recommend a particularly good taxi service (or steer me away from a not as good one?). Also, I read somewhere that taxis are particularly expensive in Edinburgh, and therefore people don't tip other than to round up to the nearest pound? (Not having taken a taxi before, I don't know what the expectation of tipping is in general.)

Thanks so much!

Heidi

Posted by
539 posts

Here's some info at the Edinburgh Airport about taxi options
You can round up a Euro or two to tip and I'd add another Euro per bag the taxi driver loads for you.

Posted by
1376 posts

Hi, Heidi,

The tram to town costs six pounds. It takes about 40 minutes, which is not much longer than a taxi would take. Once you get to York Place, you could flag down a taxi for the rest of your journey. Taxis are everywhere, even more so on a Saturday night.

Or you could just walk out to the taxi rank and take the first one in to town. Ask the driver how much it would cost from the airport to your destination. Depending on where you're going in the city, your fare should be about 20 pounds. I've found that it doesn't hurt to round up to the next pound, then add an extra two or three pounds for good service.

Best wishes!

Mike (Auchterless)

Posted by
521 posts

Mom and I took a taxi to and from Edinburgh airport two weeks ago. We simply followed the signs to the taxi line. I think it ended up costing 25 pounds to Leith. Similar issue, we arrived in the evening and after being awake all night didn’t want to have to figure out tram or bus schedules and needed to find our Airbnb as easily as possible. We tipped more than probably was necessary, but we had a great driver who helped with luggage and gave us a lot of wonderful advice on what to see and do. He also was kind enough to help us figure out how to access keys from the lock box as this was our first time doing so!

Posted by
3387 posts

We took a taxi from the airport to Leith, where our Airbnb was located. All you have to do is walk out of the airport to the taxi queue across the street. Easy. I didn't find the taxis to be any more expensive than anywhere else.

Posted by
12 posts

Fantastic! Thanks for the help everyone!

For anyone else seeking information here, I want to echo how awesome the tram is - have used it before for an earlier arrival and a hotel stay. So easy! I loved it! If I weren't arriving so late, I would definitely take it (and then a taxi, since the airbnb isn't near the tram stops), but if I'm delayed at all I'll be too late to take the tram.

I think my host is right about the taxi. In looking at buses, I notice I would have to transfer and also walk a bit between bus stops. It'll be dark; I'm a woman traveling solo, and I'm heading to a destination I won't recognize, so I think the taxi is the right option in this case.

Thanks again for the help!!

Heidi

Posted by
19 posts

There are four of us arriving on a Sunday afternoon next month coming in from Dublin, seems like at 6 pounds per person on the tram and a taxi running about 25 pounds the taxi is the more cost effective method, as long as there is a larger vehicle that can hold four plus our bags. We would stop at Haymarket and walk to the Hampton West End so I am thinking taxi...