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Edinburgh Travel Guide
Buy British PoundsEdinburgh at a glance
Edinburgh, Scotland's capital, is compact, walkable and full of free sights: the Royal Mile running down from the castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the view over the Old Town from Calton Hill, and Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano 251 metres high that you can climb in under an hour for nothing. Two to three days covers it. The fastest trains from London King's Cross take about four hours ten minutes, and Manchester is just over three hours away.
There are no direct flights from India, so most Indian visitors arrive by train from London or fly in through a European or Gulf hub. From Edinburgh Airport, the tram reaches the city centre in about 30 minutes for £7.90 (£7.50 if bought online in advance), and the 24-hour Airlink 100 bus costs £6. In town, tap a contactless card on Lothian buses and trams and TapTapCap stops charging at £5.70 a day and £26.50 a week; airport journeys sit outside the day cap but inside the weekly one. Indian passport holders need a UK Standard Visitor visa (£135), which covers Scotland too.
Edinburgh Castle costs £23.50 online and £26 at the gate, but the Esplanade outside is free and the view is half the point. The Palace of Holyroodhouse, the King's official residence in Scotland, is £22 booked in advance, and the Royal Yacht Britannia, in Leith, £23 online. The Royal Mile, Calton Hill and Arthur's Seat cost nothing.
Since 24 July 2026 Edinburgh has charged a visitor levy of 5% on the cost of accommodation, for the first five nights of a stay, on bookings made since 1 October 2025. August is Fringe month (6 to 30 August in 2027), when hotel prices jump and the Royal Mile is hard to walk; book early, or come in May, June or September.
Where to stay
The Old and New Towns are a few minutes apart on foot, and the tram links both to Leith.
Old Town
Closest to the castle and the Royal Mile, with cobbled closes and the Grassmarket. Walkable to almost everything, noisier at night and pricier for the space.
New Town
Georgian streets around Princes Street and George Street, calmer at night and 10 to 15 minutes on foot from the Royal Mile.
Leith
The old harbour district, a tram ride from the centre, with better-value hotels and restaurants and the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Paying in Edinburgh
For the pound itself, the visa, cash limits and the TCS threshold, see the United Kingdom travel guide, and before you fly, our forex guide for UK trips from India.
Contactless works almost everywhere, from pubs to buses. Scottish banks print their own notes: they are legal currency but not legal tender, so shops in England can refuse them. Spend them before you leave Scotland, and bring Bank of England notes, which are accepted throughout Scotland. A float of £30 to £40 is plenty. The UK stopped refunding VAT to overseas visitors in 2021, so the shelf price is the price.
What Edinburgh actually costs
Set the length and style of your trip to see what to budget, in pounds and Indian rupees.
Indicative, excluding international flights and accommodation, per person per day. Converted at the verified mid-market rate on 7 October 2026, £1 ≈ ₹127.84, not a Matrix board rate.
Budget roughly ₹5,750 to ₹19,180 per person per day on the ground, excluding flights and accommodation.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Coffee | £3-3.50 |
| Pub lunch | £12-18 |
| Tram, airport to the city centre | £7.90 |
| Bus and tram day cap (TapTapCap) | £5.70 |
| Edinburgh Castle, online / at the gate | £23.50 / £26 |
| Palace of Holyroodhouse, in advance | £22 |
Getting around
The Old and New Towns are walkable, and most sights sit within 20 minutes of each other on foot. Lothian buses and the single tram line share one contactless system with daily and weekly caps; bus drivers give no change if you pay in cash.
Common mistakes in Edinburgh
Skipping the castle Esplanade
It is free, needs no ticket and has one of the best views in the city.
Taking Scottish notes to England
Scottish banknotes are not legal tender and shops in England can refuse them. Spend them before you head south.
Booking August late
Fringe month sends hotel prices up and fills the Royal Mile. Book months ahead, or come in May, June or September.
Paying in rupees at the card machine
When a terminal or ATM offers to charge you in rupees, choose pounds. The rupee option lets the operator set its own rate.
Edinburgh FAQs
Yes. Indian passport holders need a UK Standard Visitor visa, £135 for up to six months, applied for online with biometrics at a VFS Global centre; decisions usually take about three weeks. One visa covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK ETA is only for visa-exempt nationalities, not Indians.
By train from London King's Cross: about four hours ten minutes on the fastest services.
£23.50 online and £26 at the gate for adults. The Esplanade outside is free.
Yes. It is an extinct volcano 251 metres high in Holyrood Park, about 45 minutes to an hour to the top on the direct path, with no ticket or gate.
Often, but shops can refuse them because they are not legal tender. Spend them in Scotland and carry Bank of England notes, which work everywhere in the UK.
On 7 October 2026 one pound was ₹127.84 at the mid-market rate, so £10 is about ₹1,280.
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