Travel guide
Edinburgh Airport to the city centre: every option, honestly compared.
Ten miles separate Edinburgh Airport from Princes Street, and there are three sensible ways to cover them: the tram, the Airlink 100 bus, or a car. This guide gives the real fares and times so you can pick on facts rather than on whoever shouts loudest in the arrivals hall.
The short version: if you are travelling light between 06:30 and 22:52 and staying near the tram line, public transport is much cheaper and about as fast. The Airlink bus is the cheapest option at £6.00 and runs 24 hours. A car is worth its price when your flight is outside tram hours, when there are three or four of you, when you have a child who needs a proper seat, or when your address is up a set of Old Town steps.
We run airport transfers for a living, so treat the section on when a car makes sense as what it is — our own case, stated plainly, next to the cheaper alternatives.
Prices, admissions and timetables in this guide were checked on 1 September 2026 and are the operator's or attraction's own published figures. They change — confirm before you travel.
Every way to make this journey
How to get from Edinburgh Airport to the city centre
Be straight about this one: if you are travelling light, between 06:30 and 22:52, and staying near Princes Street, the tram or the Airlink bus will cost you a fraction of a car and get you there in a similar time. The bus is the cheapest option at £6.00 and it runs all night. A private car earns its price when the tram is not running, when there is luggage or a child seat involved, or when your address is up a set of Old Town steps.
Airport – York Place / Newhaven line
Tram · Edinburgh Trams
- Fare
- £7.90 adult Airport Single, £9.50 Airport Open Return
- Time
- 30 minutes airport to city centre (54 minutes end to end to Newhaven)
Every 7 minutes for most of the day
First tram from the airport 06:30, last 22:52 — nothing before or after that
Own stop outside the terminal, then Ingliston, Gyle, Murrayfield, Haymarket, Princes Street, St Andrew Square and York Place.
Level boarding makes it the easiest option with a case, and it is immune to road traffic — but it stops running before 06:30 and after 22:52, and it leaves you at a tram stop rather than your door. Old Town, Grassmarket and Stockbridge addresses mean a walk over setts at the end.
Operator infoAirlink 100
Bus · Lothian Buses
- Fare
- £6.00 adult single, £8.50 adult return (child £3.00 single, £4.25 return; family return £22.00)
- Time
- About 30 minutes to Waverley Bridge
Up to every 10 minutes (04:12–01:00), up to every 20 minutes overnight
Runs 24 hours a day, every day
Departs the airport terminal forecourt and runs via Haymarket to Waverley Bridge, beside Waverley station.
The cheapest way into town by a wide margin, and it runs all night — but it is a bus with a luggage rack, it only serves its fixed stops, and you finish your journey on foot.
Operator infoPrivate car, door to door
Private car · CabsLink
- Fare
- Fixed price per car, quoted before you book — see the fare table above
- Time
- About 33 minutes for the 10 miles via the A8, longer in festival traffic
Booked for your flight, 24 hours a day
Any time, including flights landing after midnight
Terminal to your actual address, with the bags in the boot.
The most expensive option per person if you are travelling alone — the honest case for it is a group, an early or late flight, or an address the tram and bus do not reach.
Operator info
When a private car is the right answer
- Flights landing after 22:52 or departing before the first 06:30 tram
- Three or four people, where the per-person cost lands close to four tram tickets
- Families needing a fitted child seat rather than a lap on a bus
- Old Town, Grassmarket, Stockbridge or Dean Village addresses, where the walk from the nearest stop is over setts and up steps
- Anyone with more than one large case per person
Fares and frequencies above are the operators' own published figures, last checked on 1 September 2026. Operator prices and timetables change — check the operator's site before you travel.
Where each option actually leaves you
Fares get quoted endlessly online; end points rarely do, and the end point is what decides whether the journey feels easy. The tram has its own stop at the terminal and runs to Princes Street, St Andrew Square and York Place, continuing to Newhaven. That is excellent for a New Town hotel and poor for the Grassmarket, where you finish with a case over setted streets.
The Airlink 100 leaves the terminal forecourt and terminates at Waverley Bridge, directly above Waverley station — the shortest walk to a train platform of any option. It also runs all night, which the tram does not.
A car goes to the door you booked. In August that is not always the door you expected: large parts of the Old Town are closed to traffic during the festival, so we confirm an open street with you rather than driving into a barrier.
- New Town, Haymarket, Murrayfield or Leith Walk: the tram is hard to beat.
- Onward train from Waverley: the Airlink bus stops closest.
- Old Town, Grassmarket, Stockbridge, Dean Village: expect a walk over setts from any public stop.
- Flights landing after 22:52 or leaving before 06:30: the tram is not running.
The awkward hours
Edinburgh's tram service is not a 24-hour operation. The first tram from the airport is 06:30 and the last is 22:52. A lot of budget-airline schedules sit outside that window, which is where the Airlink bus and a pre-booked car divide the traffic: the bus runs 24 hours a day at up to every 20 minutes overnight, and a car runs whenever your flight lands.
If you are on a 06:00 departure you need to be at the terminal around 04:30, and no tram will do that. The Airlink will, for £6.00, if you can get to Waverley Bridge or one of its stops with your luggage at that hour.
When the maths flips in favour of a car
For one person the tram or bus wins on price every time and we will not pretend otherwise. The comparison changes with headcount: four adults on Airlink returns is £34.00, and four Airport Open Returns on the tram is £38.00. At that point a single fixed car fare for the group is competitive, and it is door to door with the bags in the boot.
It also changes with what you are carrying. Two large cases per person, a set of golf clubs or a bike box are not a bus problem you want at 06:00.
FAQs
Common questions
How much is the tram from Edinburgh Airport to the city centre?
An Airport Single is £7.90 and an Airport Open Return is £9.50. The journey takes about 30 minutes to the city centre, with trams every 7 minutes. The first tram from the airport is 06:30 and the last is 22:52.
How much is the Airlink bus?
The Airlink 100 is £6.00 for an adult single and £8.50 return, with child fares of £3.00 single and £4.25 return, and a family return at £22.00. It takes about 30 minutes to Waverley Bridge and runs 24 hours a day.
Is the tram or the bus better?
The bus is cheaper and runs all night, and it stops closer to Waverley station. The tram has level boarding, is unaffected by road traffic and serves the New Town and Leith directly. For a Waverley train, take the bus; for a New Town hotel in daylight hours, take the tram.
How much is a taxi from Edinburgh Airport to the city centre?
CabsLink quotes a fixed price per vehicle before you book, shown on our Edinburgh Airport route page. It is more than a £6.00 bus fare for a solo traveller — the case for it is groups, early or late flights, child seats and addresses the tram and bus do not reach.
How long does it take to get from Edinburgh Airport to the city centre?
About 30 minutes by tram, about 30 minutes by Airlink bus, and around 33 minutes by car off-peak for the 10-mile drive. Expect 45 to 60 minutes by road at rush hour or during the August festival.