Transportation in Scotland and London

I am not sure I am following well your question. When in Edinburgh, we just bought tickets as we needed them. There is a TI at the airport that was very helpful and organized some things for us. Are you looking for a multi-day city bus pass? Inverness and St Andrews would be a separate train ticket. I would consider taking the train to London -- easier and probably just as quick. Again we just bought the local ticket as we needed them.

For Edinburgh, no i don't believe the tram and bus services are integrated like other cities. Trains are strictly coming into/out of the city. Nor is it's transport network affiliated with London's in any way.

Other than getting to/from the airport or going out to sights like the Brittania, you may not need public transport. We spent 3 days there and other than the train arriving from London we never took or needed public transport. The main tourist part of the city is very old, has narrow often cobbled streets and congested traffic. It's pretty compact and easy to see most sights on foot.

Yes London has a Oyster (smartcard) that can be used on pretty much everything within London. I believe the kind that let's you load up money on the card then use and reload as needed rather than a flat fee card with unlimited service. There is a Travelcard with unlimited use but it may not be the most economical for you.

Outside the city? Depends what you mean. What airport are you flying in on, what sights outside the city do you plan to see, etc.

You might do well to buy the RS great Britain, London or London Pocket guide (pocket guide 2019 out in June). His guides provide a lot of useful info on transport options.

I agree with Frank that the best way to get between Edinburgh and London is the train. 4 1/2 hours with minimal stops, no security lines, no baggage fees and first class on the weekends is pretty cheap. Probably too late for this poster though.

Everything you are asking about is a separate system, and they all take their own tickets, which are not cross-honored. Some details:

The light rail in Edinburgh, for tourists, is only useful for getting to and from the airport (it's VERY useful for this, but doesn't go anywhere else a typical tourist will).

Buses cover the entire city. I used them a lot for short hops, because the city is so hilly. A day pass is sold on the bus for £4 (cash only, no change given). Or, you can buy single tickets for £1.70 (so, 3 or more trips in a day makes a day pass a good deal).

As said above, the central city area is small; depending on where your hotel is and where you are going, you find that you walk everywhere and rarely or ever get a bus. You will need a bus to get to the Royal Yacht Brittannia, which I highly recommend seeing.

Most services in Edinburgh are run by Lothian: https://www.lothianbuses.com/

For trains outside of Edinburgh, these would be bought separately, and would not include local transit in the cities.

For London, you will want an Oyster Card. That is, unless you are part of a travel party with an even number, in which case you will probably want a different kind of transit ticket to get Two For One offers at many attractions. These are 2-4-1 and not half off, so if you are a solo traveler or an odd number of travelers, you can't use them. If you are an even number of travelers, let us know, so we can post that information (needlessly confusing if you can't use it).

The Oyster only seems complicated. I think Rick has the best advice for it: if you're staying 5 days or less, just put on £30, then top it up (add value) as needed. This is called Pay As You Go or PAYG. If you're staying 6 or 7 days, get a 2 zone, 7 day Travelcard on your Oyster, which saves a bit of money.

With the Oyster, you just tap the sensor when getting into the Tube, and tap it again to get out; for buses, you just tap once on entry.

If you are using PAYG, the Oyster computer keeps track, and when you've reached the value of a day ticket for the zones you've used, it stops charging you any more (this is called "daily capping"). So, you will always pay the day ticket price or less - you can't lose. This way, you don't have to worry about peak vs off peak, zones, etc - just tap and go.

If you have a 7 day 2 zone Travelcard, you are covered for unlimited travel in zones 1 and 2 (and unlimited buses anywhere in London). If you want to go outside zones 1 and 2 but still in Greater London (say to Kew Gardens, Hampton Court, or Heathrow Airport), you have to buy the extension BEFORE you get on. When I went from Heathrow to central London, off peak, the supplement cost £1.50 (it's a bit higher during peak times).

Transport for London: https://tfl.gov.uk/

As an aside, have you already bought your flight from Edinburgh to London? If not, the train is faster and easier, end to end (getting to and from the airports, particularly on the London end, adds substantial time and hassle to the flight).

I am a solo traveler
This will be my first trip by myself, so I’m a bit nervous.

I have purchased my ticket to London. It was recommended, obviously I should have emailed you all first!

While in London I do plan to do the typical touristy things, but I want to see much more. Have my eyes on Brighton, maybe Cambridge, and York if time permits it. I’ll be in London for 5 days then I move to my next destination.

Breathe and read the RS GUIDEBOOKS for London and Scotland.

Honestly, the information provided in them are very helpful in planning a trip. Will help ease any trepidation.

Please do follow Claudia's excellent advice! Not only will the RS books have answers to your questions, they will have answers to questions you didn't think to ask. And by bringing them with you, you'll be able to look at them when you have questions that arise while you're there.

As for day trips, you said you have 5 days in London. First, is that a real 5 days, which means 6 nights, or is it less? Five nights means less than five full days.

Second, if you take day trips to York, Brighton, and Cambridge, you now have 2 days in London, not 5. That may be OK with you. It's logistically easy to return to London, so you may want to focus on other things this time. On the other hand, if you really want to see more than smidgen of London, you'll want all the days you can spare.

Not to rub it in, but if you had asked here before booking your flight, we would have explained that on the train between Edinburgh and London, York is about the midpoint. So, it works very well to take the train from Edinburgh to York, stay over 1-2 nights, then head to London (I just did the exact reverse in September 2018). But, since it's 2 hours each way, York isn't the most efficient use of a day trip from London, unless there's something specific you must see there. In addition, if you don't use an Advance ticket, which must be bought in advance AND is not exchangeable or refundable (so, you have to plan before leaving the US), train tickets from London to York can be very expensive.

So, I've just given you back a day for London! Seriously, on a first short visit (and 5 days for London is short), you will probably only want to take 1 day trip, tops, unless you have very special interests and know that you're coming back to see London itself on another trip. Conversely, you can't see all of London no matter how many days you have, so if you really have your heart set on a specific day trip, do it.

Take a deep breath! You can do this. I have visited both these places using public transport and it is fairly easy.

You tube can be your friend at this point. When you have a question, such as “how do I get into (insert name of town) from the airport?”, put it in the search engine in you tube. Someone will have made a video about that . Videos can give you a visual sense of the airport layout, how to buy a ticket,etc.
If you look on the hotel website, it will usually give transportation suggestions or directions.

I would like to suggest that if choosing/paying for public transport is stressful to you, consider taking an organized day tour. In Edinburgh, Rabbies tours are well regarded.

For London, watch how to videos on how to ride the underground and how to buy an Oyster card. You will find these helpful.

Thank you all very much for your help. Kindly appreciate it. Here's to a great trip!