Greenock To Edinburgh On A Cruise Day — Honest Advice

When It Works And When It Does Not

The drive from Greenock to Edinburgh is about 90 minutes on the M8 in normal conditions, longer at rush hour or when the Kingston Bridge is slow. So a return trip costs three hours of the day before any sightseeing. With a 08:00 to 18:00 call you have ten hours, which leaves six or seven hours in the city and that is a real Edinburgh day. With an 08:00 to 16:30 call you have eight and a half hours, leaving five hours in the city minus a safety cushion, which is tight but workable if you accept two sights rather than four. Below eight hours ashore we advise Glasgow or Stirling instead and we will say so rather than take the booking quietly.

The Edinburgh Half Day That Actually Works

If the timing is right, the shape we use: park close to the Royal Mile, walk down from Edinburgh Castle rather than up, so the day starts with the view and ends at Holyrood on flat ground. Castle tickets booked in advance for a timed slot in the morning. Lunch on Victoria Street or in the Grassmarket. A short stop at Princes Street or the National Museum depending on whether the group wants shopping or shelter from rain. Then a firm departure time that we do not move. Calton Hill can be added as a ten minute photo stop on the way out because the car can drop you at the top of the path. We monitor traffic on the return and leave the buffer intact.