Flying to Scotland from Philadelphia

What time of year are you going because it looks like there is a non-stop from Philly to Glasgow. You could fly to Glasgow and take the train to Edinburgh. I can’t tell whether or not you were aware of that flight when doing your search.

We live near Philly but sometimes find it easier to fly out of Newark. Easy ride up the turnpike and in this case non stop flights to and from Edinburgh.

First, you want any flights you buy to be all on one ticket. This way, if you miss your connection in Dublin, London, or anywhere else due to a flight delay, the airline is responsible for putting you on the next available flight at no extra charge. If you buy separate tickets and miss the second flight, you are responsible both logistically (no airline will help you figure out options) and financially (a last minute ticket can be very expensive - especially for the flight back to the US).

Second, as said above, for part of the year American has a nonstop flight from PHL to Glasgow. From Glasgow airport, you can take a bus to Glasgow's center (make that centre) and then another bus to Edinburgh. Both of these buses are frequent and easy - even jetlagged.

Third, if flying from Newark is an option, United has a nonstop flight to Edinburgh year-round. Remember that Newark airport has its own train station

EDIT: You can often book the train from Philadelphia 30th Street to Newark airport as part of your ticket. On United's website, use "airport code" ZFW for 30th Street Station.

Fourth, if the nonstop from PHL or a flight from Newark won't work, you will have to change. As long as you book the itinerary all on one ticket direct through the airline's website (British Air, American, Aer Lingus), you will have a "legal connection," meaning that the airline is saying this is enough time to connect, and that they will put you on the next available flight if there's a problem. From both Dublin and Heathrow, there are multiple flights per day to Edinburgh, so there shouldn't be a problem getting there the same day (an issue if the "next available flight" is not until the next day).

That said, Heathrow is a very big airport with multiple terminals. Before booking a ticket, you may want to see all the steps involved in your connection. To do this, go to the Heathrow Connection Tool and put in all the details: https://www.heathrow.com/flight-connections. Dublin airport is smaller, but the gates for Edinburgh and Glasgow are a 10-15 minute walk beyond other gates, and (at least when I did this in September 2016) were not properly signed. Just follow signs for gate 335, and eventually you'll see the signs for 336 (Edinburgh) and 337 (Glasgow).

In both Heathrow and Dublin, on arrival you will go through passport control before proceeding to your connecting flight to Scotland. This can take time, particularly in Heathrow (an hour is typical). Customs is just a matter of walking through the "Nothing to Declare" line; unless you're "randomly selected for additional screening" (possible but rare), you're done.

EDIT: Although we in the US often use the word "customs" to mean customs and immigration, in Europe they use the terms correctly. I remember someone asking in Dublin airport if he would have to go through "customs," being told no, then being puzzled when he had to go through immigration. Which steps you have to go through where depends on your exact itinerary, but don't worry - you won't be allowed to skip necessary steps.

If you fly back home through Heathrow, or nonstop from Scotland, you'll go through immigration and customs on arrival in Philadelphia. If you fly back through Dublin, you'll go through US customs and immigration in Dublin, so be sure you have a few hours for this connection. On the other hand, your arrival in Philadelphia is like a domestic arrival - you just get your checked bags (if any) and leave the airport, with all "formalities" already done.

Since you're new to flights to Europe, be aware that many of them have tighter restrictions on the size and weight of carry-ons than domestic flights do. And, some tickets don't include food or checked bags or seat selection in the fare. Read all fine print carefully.

And yes, almost all flights from the US to Europe are overnight. There are some day flights to London from a few places, but not from Philadelphia.

I've done the overnight flight from Philadelphia to Glasgow with American Airlines. It was easy and got us there nice and early in the morning so we could start off our trip with a full day of sightseeing. (Be aware of jet lag though if you haven't traveled much before, your results may vary. I'm a night shift worker so jet lag doesn't affect me. I'm used to it.)

As previously mentioned, you can then take a train to Edinburgh if you want to start your trip there. Personally, I prefer as few flight connections as possible, so if you can get to Scotland in only one flight, why wouldn't you? I live on the west coast and I wish that was an option for me. Someone else mentioned researching flight connection info at Heathrow and if you decide to go that route I would also recommend that. I've connected through Heathrow a few times and although it can be done it's a larger and therefore much more complex airport to navigate than either Glasgow or Edinburgh, especially if you are dealing with jet lag.