Travelling to Scotland from the rest of UK and Europe is easier and more affordable than ever. Indeed our direct connections to the rest of the world have never been better, with several routes from major cities in the USA and Canada, as well as the useful daily flight from Dubai to Glasgow with Emirates, offering connections from the rest of the world.

By air

The fastest method is by air - with direct flights from many parts of the UK as well as key European capitals, you can arrive in Scotland in under two hours. We are happy to assist with arranging your flights from within the UK. If you live overseas best to contact the airlines direct - there are links below.

Main scheduled air routes to Scotland (information as of December 2009)

British Airways

To Edinburgh From Heathrow, Gatwick, London City.

To Glasgow From Heathrow, Gatwick, London City.

To Aberdeen From Heathrow.

bmi (British Midland)

To Edinburgh From Heathrow, Manchester, Leeds, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Zurich

To Glasgow From Heathrow, Manchester, Leeds, Copenhagen

To Aberdeen From Heathrow, Manchester, Norwich, Groningen, Espjerg, Amsterdam, Brussels

bmibaby

To Edinburgh From Birmingham, East Midlands, Cardiff 

To Glasgow From East Midlands, Cardiff, Birmingham

To Aberdeen From Birmingham

easyJet

To Edinburgh From Stansted, Gatwick, Luton, Bristol, Belfast, Alicante, Amsterdam, Munich, Geneva, Krakow, Lyon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Nice, Palma, Paris

To Glasgow From Stansted, Gatwick, Luton, Bristol, Belfast, Berlin, Geneva, Paris, Malaga, Faro, Ibiza, Majorca

To Inverness From Gatwick, Luton, Bristol

To Aberdeen From Luton

flybe. - the low fares airline on your doorstep -

To Edinburgh From Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, Southampton, Jersey, Belfast City, Exeter, Newquay, Norwich, Rennes

To Glasgow From Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton, Jersey, Belfast City, Paris.

To Aberdeen From London Gatwick, Birmingham, Southampton, Exeter, Leeds, Belfast City, Jersey

To Inverness From London Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast City

To Kirkwall (Orkney) From Bergen

Ryanair

To Edinburgh From Bournemouth, Dublin, Shannon, Berlin, Frankfurt, Rome, Dusseldoorf (Weeze)

To Prestwick (45 minutes from Glasgow) From Stansted, Bournemouth, Belfast City, L'Derry, Dublin, Shannon, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Dusseldorf Weeze, Grenoble

To Aberdeen From Dublin

Eastern Airways

To Aberdeen From Bristol, Durham, East Midlands, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Newcastle, Southampton, Norwich, Bergen, Oslo and Stavanger.

Aer Lingus

To Edinburgh and Glasgow From Dublin

KLM

To Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen From Amsterdam

Air France UK

To Edinburgh and Aberdeen From Paris

Aer Arran

To Edinburgh From Cork & Galway

To Prestwick From Donegal

GermanWings

To Edinburgh From Cologne

Lufthansa

To Edinburgh From Frankfurt

Icelandair

To Glasgow From Rejkavik (and connections from many US cities, as well as Toronto.)

Continental Airlines

To Glasgow and Edinburgh From New York

US Airways

To Glasgow From Philadelphia (summer only)

Delta Airways

To Edinburgh From New York

Virgin Atlantic

To Glasgow from Orlando (summer only)

Fly Emirates

To Glasgow From Dubai, with connections from further afield, eg Australia, New Zealand

The above is only a guide.

For up to date timetables and fares check directly with the airlines.

By rail

Frequent services are operated on both East and West coast mainline services, both serving Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Rail services continue north, from Edinburgh to Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness and then on to Wick on the far north coast.

From Glasgow you can connect to all these services, as well as taking the famous and spectacular West Highland line to Oban or through Fort William and on to Mallaig, and the ferry to Skye.

Check out the trainline website for more information.

By sea

Scotland has always had traditionally close links to all its neighbours by sea - as this was often the fastest route to take.

From Ireland there are fast summer services from Larne to Troon on the Ayrshire coast, and to Cairnryan in Galloway, as well as from Belfast to Stranraer. We can book all of these as part of your Scottish holiday arrangements.

From continental Europe you can travel from Zeebrugge  direct to Rosyth (near Edinburgh) on a ferry service operated by Norfolk Line.

By road

The two main routes are via the M6, then M74, on the west side of England, and the A1 on the eastern side.

It is well worth taking detours from both of these routes instead of "zooming" past the borders. Why not stop in Jedburgh or take a detour into Dumfries and Galloway on your way north?

We know some great alternative roads and worthwhile places to see in these areas.