Edinburgh Car Rental (drive to Glascow/St. Andrews)

I would very carefully look at where you want to go in Glasgow. It might be just as easy to cab it. The train ride from Edinburgh to Glasgow is sooo easy. I would only keep the car to drive to London if you want to stop of and do some touring on the way. If you want to tour the borders, maybe the Yorkshire Dells or even York itself (although it's very easy to take the train to York). Don't forget to drop your car off outside of London. You do not want to drive into the city centre. ; )

Glasgow - note spelling - is an easy drive, but within Glasgow, roads are busy and narrow. I have not been to Chicago, but I am sure the streets are not as narrow and twisting as Glasgow. You may want to park the casr on teh outskirts and take a bus or train into wherever you want to go. St. Andrews looks a straightforward drive from Edinburgh, but it is not. Make sure you have a good map or GPS. You will be on narrow roads for much of the way - allow twice as long as you think it will take. If you have teh time, take the coastal route round Fife either going or returning. The small towns, Elie, Anstruther, Crail, etc. are quite an experience.

I hate to say this since I love the English countryside and really enjoy the freedom of having a car in the UK, but I found the drive from Edinburgh to London to be...well, not very scenic and much longer than I anticipated. That was on the motorway, though, so if you have time to take more enjoyable roads, it would be a different story. I haven't driven in Glasgow but totally believe the posters who say it would be difficult.

Jennifer, I wouldn't opt for a car in Edinburgh. I think Glasgow & St. Andrews are very walkable cities. There is no need to book your tickets in advance for Glasgow, and Leuchars. Glasgow same day return is £10.70. Leuchars same day return is £14.50. From the Leuchars station, you can catch a regional bus to St. Andrews. For train travel to London, if you book early enough, the fare can be a low as £13.00.

Does anyone recommend renting a car? Anyone have experience with car rental in Scotland. Besides the actually driving, how is parking? We are staying in Edinburgh at a B&B with parking. How is parking in Glasgow/St. Andrews. We don't mind slow, longer drives. Are the drives scenic?

We rented a car in Edinburgh and drove around the Scottish Highlands then South to the Cotswolds and on to London. It was a wonderful trip with our boys. Driving in Scotland is not difficult though the roads can at times be narrow and slow, so plan accordingly. I can't offer specific advice on Glasgow or St. Andrews, but through a number of driving trips around Britain I have yet to find a village, town or city that didn't have adequate parking facilities for the size of the community so I wouldn't sweat that. However, that doesn't mean that on any particular street in Glasgow that you'll be able to park. From Glasgow to St. Andrews, first drive North through the Trossachs for some beautiful scenery. I urge you to keep the car and drive to London. Along the way you can visit Rosslyn Chapel, the lovely ruins of Melrose Abbey, Houseteads Fort on Hadrians Wall, the achingly beautiful Yorkshire Dales and the handsome old city of York, just to name a few places. But it really depends upon the time you have. As for driving in London, it isn't nearly as bad as some people make it sound. London drivers are really pretty good. My problem has always been finding the street signs which can be on the sides of buildings, fences, or wherever. With the advent of GPS, that problem is solved. Just be aware that there's a London congestion charge zone and figure out how to avoid that.

The drive from Edinburgh is not but not excessively scenic. Driving in Fife to St. Andrews is quite lovely. Neither of these drives compares to driving in the highlands which is really spectacular. Pam