Bus and Coach Travel in Scotland

​Coach travel in Scotland allows you more time to appreciate the passing scenery. Buses and coaches cover all of the major towns and cities and the majority of villages.
In the central belt buses are frequent and regular, further up north and in more rural areas buses become less regular and sometimes only operate on demand.
There are four main operators of long distance coaches in Scotland. These are –

Scottish Citylink
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City link cover all 7 cities and a good majority of the towns and villages.
With an extremely good website you can use the journey planner to plan, research the destinations and book and pay for your tickets. Your tickets can be emailed or texted to you or you can pick them up from bus depots across Scotland.
Some examples of prices – A single ticket from Edinburgh to Glasgow on a weekday will cost you £7.50. A single ticket from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye, changing in Inverness on a weekday will cost you £55.50. Citylink

Stagecoach​

Stagecoach do all the usual routes between the cities, towns and villages. They run the buses that you will most often see buzzing about towns and they do brilliant day rider tickets. These allow you a days’ unlimited travel on stagecoach buses. The areas included vary so you can buy the one that suits you best. Tickets can be bought on the bus.
These tickets are perfect if you are spending the day exploring a city and will be hopping on and off. You can also buy a 7 day megarider if you are spending a week in one area. I’ve also discover you can buy them to cover the Isle of Skye, Arran and Cumbrae. If you plan on travelling up the east or west coast and stopping off on route day tickets and megariders can be bought for this too.
Examples of prices – 1 day east coast day rider for 1 adult – £14.50
1 day Edinburgh day rider for 1 adult – £3.70 Stagecoach
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Fancy travelling by train?

Megabus​
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For cheap and quick journeys around Scotland, the rest of the U.K. and Europe this is where to look. It doesn’t cover a lot of stops in Scotland – all of the cities and also a few other places such as Aviemore, Pitlochry and Dunfermline but for long distance journeys are prices are excellent.
Example of prices – Edinburgh to Glasgow £3.00
Edinburgh – London £35.00 Megabus

​National Express
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Like megabus this covers all the main cities but a lot more of the towns around the UK. Not every town though and hardly any of the villages so better for a long distance journey.
Example of price – Edinburgh to Glasgow £5.00
Edinburgh to York – £41.10 National Express

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Want to save money while visiting Scotland's castles?

​If you’ve not decided which mode of transport you fancy using you can have a read of my train travel blog and i’ll be adding more hints and tips soon. Have you travelled by coach or bus in Scotland before? How did you enjoy it?

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