Edinburgh Airport to Leith and The Shore: The Route Most Visitors Miss

Which way round matters

There are two ways from the airport to Leith: through the city centre, or around the north on the A902 and Ferry Road. Through the centre is shorter on the map and slower in practice, because it means Princes Street, tram works and the Queen Street corridor. The northern route is a couple of miles longer and usually ten minutes quicker, and it avoids the Old Town entirely. In the evening or on a festival day the difference can be twenty-five minutes. Allow 30 to 40 minutes door to door depending on the hour.

Where a car can actually stop on The Shore

The Shore is a cobbled waterfront street along the Water of Leith, and it is narrower than photographs suggest. Several of the best-known restaurants sit on a stretch where stopping is restricted, and a large vehicle blocking it during service is nobody's idea of an arrival. We set down at the wider end near Bernard Street, which is a short flat walk with luggage, or directly at hotel entrances where a bay exists. Tell us the exact address and we check it in advance rather than improvising.

Why people stay in Leith now

Leith has become the place visitors stay when they have seen the Old Town before, or want somewhere that feels like a neighbourhood rather than a destination. It has the highest concentration of serious restaurants in the city, the Ocean Terminal and the royal yacht at the western end, and a tram line that now runs the length of it to the centre. It is also where several cruise ships berth, which makes it both an arrival point and a departure point in the same trip.

Booking a Leith arrival

1. Give the full street address, not just 'Leith' or 'The Shore'.
2. Tell us if it is a hotel with a bay or a restaurant on the cobbles.
3. Mention if you are joining a cruise from Leith on the same trip.
4. Expect 30 to 40 minutes from the airport depending on the hour.