Edinburgh: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Edinburgh is a city of 514,990 people in United Kingdom (Scotland), 66 m (217 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Edinburgh Airport (EDI), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre. It has 1 railway station on record, including Dalmeny railway station. Our booking partner lists 2,102+ places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Edinburgh runs from about 7 h 3 min a day in late December to 17 h 42 min in late June (computed for 55.95° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Edinburgh is served by 4 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Edinburgh Airport (EDI), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre, with a longest runway of 8,392 ft, which limits it to short and medium-haul aircraft. The alternatives are Glasgow Airport (GLA, 78 km), Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK, 100 km), Dundee Airport (DND, 57 km).
Flights to Edinburgh: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Dalmeny railway station. Trains to Edinburgh
Buses to Edinburgh · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 2,102+ places to stay in Edinburgh (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 816 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (370), and 46 are five-star. Across 706 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.7 out of 10. Guests have left 858,596 reviews in total.
Hotels in Edinburgh: the full picture, and book
Our booking partner lists 31 hostels in Edinburgh, out of 2,102 places to stay of every kind — 1.5% of everywhere it lists in the city, around the middle of the range for the cities we hold figures for. Across 27 hostels with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 7.7 out of 10, 1.0 below the 8.7 its hotels average. Guests have left 48,299 reviews across them.
Hostels in Edinburgh: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Birmingham, 395 km — flights · trains · buses
- Dublin, 351 km (Ireland) — flights
- Glasgow, 67 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Manchester, 282 km — tours
- Sheffield, 307 km
- Leeds, 262 km — trains · tours
- Liverpool, 283 km — tours
- Leicester, 392 km
- Bradford, 257 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Belfast, 229 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
Twin towns and sister cities: Munich, Nice, Florence, Dunedin, Vancouver, San Diego, Xi'an, Kyiv, Aalborg, Kyoto, Kraków, Vilnius, Segovia, Saint Petersburg.
Common questions
Which airport serves Edinburgh?
Edinburgh Airport (EDI), 11 km (7 mi) from the centre, plus 3 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Edinburgh?
About 514,990 people live in Edinburgh, across 259 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Edinburgh in?
Europe/London, currently UTC+1.
What currency is used in Edinburgh?
The Pound (GBP). Traffic drives on the left.
Are there hostels in Edinburgh?
31 of them, bookable on this site. Hostels in Edinburgh.
How many hotels are there in Edinburgh?
Our booking partner lists 2,102 or more places to stay in Edinburgh, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Edinburgh?
Birmingham (395 km), Dublin (351 km), Glasgow (67 km), Manchester (282 km), Sheffield (307 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.