Travel to Scotland

Flying to Scotland

British Airways is the national carrier. Other airlines that fly to Scotland include Aer Lingus, Air France, easyJet, KLM, Lufthansa, Ryanair, and SAS.

Hebridean Air Service operates services between Oban and several Scottish Isles, including the Isle of Coll, Isle of Colonsay, Isle of Islay and Isle of Tiree.

Flight times

To Glasgow: from London – 1 hour 25 minutes; New York – 9 hours 20 minutes (including stopovers).

Departure tax

None.

Travelling to Scotland by Rail

There are many train services from England (and Wales) to Scotland, including:
• The east coast service from London King Cross (via Peterborough, York and Newcastle) to Edinburgh.
• The west coast service from London Euston (via Crewe, Preston and Carlisle) to Glasgow.
• The overnight sleeper service from London Euston to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Fort William, Glasgow and Inverness via the west coast route.
• The CrossCountry services that link Cardiff, Paignton, Penzance, Bournemouth and Brighton with Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, via Birmingham.
• The First TransPennine Express that servers Edinburgh and Glasgow from Manchester (including Manchester Airport), Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme Lake District and Carlisle.

Driving to Scotland

You can drive to Scotland from England and Wales. The two main driving routes are A1 (linking London and Edinburgh) and M6 (linking the Midlands and the Scottish border).

Getting to Scotland by boat

There are ferry services from Belfast and Larne (Northern Ireland) to Cairnryan (Scotland). In addition, there are seasonal ferries from Ballycastle (Northern Ireland) to Port Ellen and Campbeltown (Scotland).

Cruise ships

Cruise lines that run services to the British Isles may stop at Edinburgh, Inverness or Glasgow.

Ferry operators

There are three ferry operators offering services to Scotland. They are:
• Kintyre Express (www.kintyreexpress.com)
• P&O Ferries (www.poferries.com)
• Stena Line (www.stenaline.co.uk)