Getting to Scotland

Scotland has excellent road, rail, ferry and air routes to the rest of the UK, Europe and beyond.

Travelling by air

You can fly direct from North America, the Middle East and Europe to Scotland. From all other destinations Scotland is a short transfer from main European hubs such as Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam.  London Heathrow is approximately one hour from Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Many of the major airlines operate from Scotland including Emirates, KLM, Continental and British Airways.

In additional, several budget airlines including Ryanair and Easyjet offer flights to and from Scotland across Europe and further from as little as £10.

For more information on international flights to Scotland visit each airports website below. Scotland has five international airports:

• Aberdeen International Airport
• Edinburgh International Airport
• Glasgow International Airport
• Glasgow Prestwick Airport
• Inverness Airport

Travelling by road

Scotland has excellent motorway links to England and the rest of the UK.

The M74 motorway leads from the west coast of Scotland to England and you can drive from Glasgow to Manchester in around three hours.

Driving from Edinburgh to Newcastle on the east coast takes around two hours.

There is an extensive bus network across the UK and throughout Scotland.

Tickets can be very cheap, from as little as £11 to travel from Inverness to London.

Travelling by boat

Scotland has six main ferry ports connecting the country with Northern Ireland, Orkney & Shetland, and Europe.

Ferries to Ireland sail from Troon and Cairnryan.

Getting to Northern Ireland by boat with P&O

Getting to Northern Ireland by boat with Stenaline

Travelling by rail

Scotland is easily accessible by train and the rail network links Scotland to all major cities in England and Wales.

There are regular trains from Scotland to London, including sleeper trains, with a travel time of four hours to Edinburgh and five hours to Glasgow.

Another option is the Eurostar train, which runs between Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais and London.

Once you’ve reached London, there are a number of rail, road and air options to reach Scotland.

Visit Scotrail for more information on trains to and around Scotland