Edinburgh by coach from se England?

[Boxingshibes]

Dd wants to visit some museums in Edinburgh this summer.
I've looked at the train from Brighton to Edinburgh and we're looking at ££.
This would need to be a cheap trip.
Am I mad to think we could get an overnight bus from London Victoria to Edinburgh and back?
I've found a central premier inn for about £195 for 1 night.
So we'd leave
Mon- Brighton to London by train then overnight coach to Edinburgh.
Tue- arrive about 8 spend day wandering around then stay in premier inn.
Wed- wandering around then overnight coach back to London
Thu- get train back home.
Am I mad to think this could work?

Another vote for flying and try the Edinburgh Park premier inn which is a short tram ride from the airport and easy tram or train ride into town for sightseeing and pub crawl.

Oh give over. I’m nearly 60 and do it every couple of weeks. Actually slightly shorter, a motorway service station before 7am 😳
@Boxingshibes I’m sure you can find a cheaper hotel and I’d advise finding somewhere you can check in early- otherwise you’ll be bushed by mid afternoon and struggle to enjoy the evening. Flying is also much much cheaper than the train and the it’s a short cheap transfer.

I’ve done that bus journey several times as a student, it is very very difficult to get a decent sleep.

The sleeper train is extortionate and booked up in advance.

I’d look into getting a Friends & Family railcard as it’ll probably pay for itself. I’m doing a return journey from the east to Edinburgh for me and DS soon and it’ll cost about £125 return with a railcard.

If DD is old enough for a pub crawl, then she's too old for a Friends & Family railcard. But a Two Together railcard is specifically for adults travelling together.

However the journey time from Brighton to London, then on to Edinburgh would take most of the day.

Why only staying one night in Edinburgh? Cost of hotel? Find somewhere cheaper and stay two nights.

Which museums, out of interest?

Top tip - Get a hotel near the airport, it will be cheaper and there are regular buses into the centre of Edinburgh that run 24 hours.

The surgeon's museum in particular. She's doing Forensics at college and wants to do bio medicine at uni.

I'll look at hotels further out.
Unfortunately the only time I can get off work is end of July.

That's a very long and expensive way to go to do something she can easily do at home...

Flying is hardly slumming it, easyJet or not, but you do make a good point. Op you won't be exhausted when you arrive if you do this and you will probably have more time. Also Gatwick is very close to you

LIZS · Today 18:21

Could you fly? It is often cheaper than train. Or get a railcard or go via Lumo train.

I second the railcard, Newcastle to Peterborough return at half term was £78, me and daughter, 2 weeks in advance. Less than 3 hours, London to Edinburg is around 5 hours. You could get a hotel in London and get a very early train.

Absolutely this.

Train to Gatwick from Brighton and then the flight will be loads quicker and probably not much more than the train to London and the coach.

have you thought about staying in a hostel? they're much cheaper than the hotel you quote (£20-30 each per night in a shared dorm - slightly more in a private two-person room - although it'll be hard to find many of these at the end of July.

Festival time is by far the worst and most expensive time of the entire year to stay in Edinburgh)!

another, possibly cheaper, option would be to stay in Glasgow - and visit the https://www.gla.ac.uk/hunterian/, https://heritage.rcpsg.ac.uk/visit-us, and https://friendsofgri.org/ while you're here

if you book your train tickets well in advance -they usually go on sale around 3 months beforehand- and are prepared to travel Tues-Thurs you can usually get from London to either Glasgow or Edinburgh for £36-45 each way (potentially less with a railcard - eg a 'Two Together' railcard costs £35 for a year but gives you a third off, so would easily pay for itself).

the overnight coach is notorious and might leave you too exhausted to get the most out of your time up here; the Caledonian sleeper train seats might be slightly better and cost £54 each way (cabins with proper beds cost much more than this)

It takes 4/5 hours toget to Edinburgh from kings cross you really don't need to take. The sleeper or overnight bus, advance booking is your friend.

Sorry when I said sleeper train I meant one of the reclining seats. Usually under £50 and much more roomy and comfortable than a coach

You could do it as a day trip. Early flght is 6/8 am return around 10.

Then you both need to stay here @Boxingshibes …nevermind the cost, all for a good cause. 😉
( it is a great hotel)

Ten Hill Place Hotel is owned by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and was opened in November 2006. All profits from the Hotel go back into training surgeons worldwide.

https://www.surgeonsquarter.com/accommodation/

I've been on Lumo, and for a budget train it's not bad.

I'm not going Edinburgh, but Inverness, this summer and I found flying so much cheaper than the train. I feel awful for flying for obvious reasons, but it was half the price.

Until the Government get a grip on how the trains are run, flying to Scotland will always be cheaper.

DH and I got the train from London to Edinburgh and bought the 2 together rail card. Its not a means tested card, its simply for anyone travelling with someone else. You don't need to be in the same household, married, family etc. You could use is from Brighton to London too, as long as you travel within specified times.

The cost of the card, we made back on the 30% reduction on our tickets getting to Edinburgh. We then had the card to use for the reminding 12mths and did some lively train trips together!

www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/

One of my DDs had to go to London to sort out a visa for a student year abroad in Europe. We live near the West Coast Mainline so she got the train to London but got the overnight Megabus back to Glasgow to save money. The overnight bus was horrific and she will never use it again.

Look at the University summer stays, only 1.5 miles out of the centre

I did London to Newcastle after travelling a round the world trip, and it was the worst bus out of many many in countries with worst infrastructure, and which were far cheaper and more comfortable. I also did the night bus reasoning I can sleep anywhere, issues were the seats barely recline and those buses are always packed and many people snore, but with the right preparation it could be doable. Wax earplugs and a really good neck pillow I imagine would help, but it won't be a solid 8 hours for sure.

If you can endure a night of broken sleep then it can be worth it, what can also make a train journey cheaper is splitting the journey, for example I once went London to Newcastle way cheaper by going London to York then catching another train York to Newcastle 40 mins later. Not sure why, if some routes are cheaper for commuting etc but was way cheaper.

I live near Edinburgh now and when I've been back to London we flew as a one off as it was cheaper than the train! There's a handy bus that drops you off smack bang in the centre if Edinburgh.

Shop around for air bnb or cheaper hotel as others have said.

I live in Brighton and work in Edinburgh, flying is quick and cheaper then the train ge the one at 8 and you can be eating breakfast at 10am. Fly back on the last one, no need for a hotel. I do it in a day 3 x a week. Bus is £8pp return to the castle stop

You can book a seat for around £40 on the Caledonian Sleeper rather than an expensive cabin or EasyJet flights are also pretty reasonable and the tram runs from the airport into the city centre. And avoid summer (esp August) if you can as accommodation prices will be ££££ :)

Have you considered the ‘Two Tigether’ railcard. Uph’d get 30% (I think) of ticket prices, so it would pay for itself in its first trip.

I'd be flying