8 places you can go from Edinburgh for a day trip without a car

Edinburgh is a very beautiful city with a lot to offer in itself. But sometimes you will want to have a change of scene and explore more of Scotland. Luckily, Edinburgh is so well-connected by extensive transportation systems that there are so many fantastic places a student like you can go without a car! And, yes, you can go there and come back comfortably at night before your week starts!

1. North Berwick

This quiet resort town is East Lothian’s staple, with a lovely little beach that overlooks the Bass Rock. You can also climb up the Berwick Law (which means hill in Scotland) for a fantastic view over this seaside town.

The Berwick Law

I also recommend a lunch at Steampunk, a coffee roastery. Here, you will have one of the best coffees and grilled cheeses you will ever taste!

You can experience all of this in a day or even half a day with a 30-minute train or one-hour bus ride from Edinburgh!

2. Dunbar

Dunbar is my favourite place to have a day trip from Edinburgh. It’s a very well kept secret. The images of the town rarely do it justice.

I recommend following this route on Walkhighlands .

This route, which you can complete easily in less than half a day, takes you on one of the most diverse routes you will ever experience on a day trip. After an one-hour ride from Edinburgh, you get off at the last stop where you start your journey in the colourful streets of the village.

Then you reach the coast, seeing the dock with all the boats. Then you continue onto the red beach and red cliff (yes, without having to go to Santorini!). And finally you end in Belhaven Bay, where you can have a beach view with Bass Rock and Berwick Law in the background. You finish the route by catching a nearby bus back to Edinburgh.

3. Aberlady Bay & Gullane

My other favourite photographic spot in East Lothian is the Aberlady Bay! You can get there with within a one-hour bus journey from Waterloo Place in Central Edinburgh. You start off the route into the grassy land to the beach and walk along the coastline with panoramic views.

After you get the most amazing landscape shots, you end your route in the village of Gullane where you catch your bus back to Edinburgh. In fact, you can stop by the Old Club House, a pub with a history of over hundred years in this quaint little Scottish town.

4. St. Andrews

St. Andrews has more to offer than the University (where Kate and William went to) and the oldest golf course. It’s a far quieter and smaller town compared to the bustling Edinburgh, but that is what makes it a nice change of pace from the city.

Once you’re in St Andrews, visiting the Abbey is a must. After that, you can check out the coastline and see the sea rolling into the horizon.

 

5. Cramond Island

This island is like a pilgrim to the most hidden place to the world. You can only visit when the tide is low enough that there is a natural land bridge so you can walk from Cramond beach to this abandoned island with relics from the second World War. The former barracks now covered with street art are a sight to behold. The island is also so small that you can explore the entire place within an hour.

6. Roslin

Are you a fan of the Da Vinci Code? Do you know that the climatic final scene is filmed just next to Edinburgh at the Roslin Chapel!

Around the chapel there is also an interesting walk that takes you through the woods to a castle debris and the old gunpowder factory

7. Berwick-upon-Tweed

 

In just less than half an hour you can visit this little town sitting on the Scotland-England border. You can explore Elizabethan Walls and other ruins in the city and the magnificent bridges. I recommend this walking route.