Budget Travel Guide to Edinburgh

I came to the UK with friends for the New Year, and felt that London was too international and lacked a British feel, so we specifically arranged a trip to Edinburgh. Here's our main itinerary for your reference: We left London's King's Cross Station for Edinburgh by train on the morning of February 8th, and returned to London's Euston Station on February 10th. We booked our international train tickets directly on Ctrip, and the prices vary depending on the date and time. The cheapest one-way ticket is over 200, and the most expensive is over 1000. Different times and stations also offer different prices. Due to unfamiliarity with foreign train stations, to avoid unnecessary trouble, I always choose direct trains. We had one transfer on the return journey, but it was just a seat change, not a train change. Train tickets in the UK are expensive, but there are various promotions, so prices can vary. If you're price-sensitive, you can check multiple times at different hours. Our round trip cost around 700. The journey takes 5 hours. If you don't have luggage to check in, it's better to buy a plane ticket. Low-cost airlines are not expensive, and the key is to save time. You can stay one less night, but if you have luggage to check in, the plane ticket is not cheap either. However, be aware of the different airports departing from London. London has too many train stations and airports, so be careful. Edinburgh is not big. The same IHG hotel costs over 1400 in the city centre and over 800 by the sea, so we chose the one by the sea. It only takes 20-30 minutes to get to the main attractions by tram. Each time, I swipe my card at the automatic ticket machine at the station to buy a ticket. I pay 2 pounds each time, and I always buy single tickets, which saves a lot more money compared to the room rate. I've uploaded photos of the castle. The tickets were also directly purchased on Ctrip. You just need to scan the code at the entrance. However, the guy at the entrance couldn't scan it properly, so he just let us in. I suggest renting an electronic guide to listen to the stories. It's just a few pounds, otherwise all you see are stones. When we were visiting, it was raining and windy, and our umbrellas couldn't stand it. Later, we learned from the locals and stopped using umbrellas. Fortunately, our clothes were waterproof. You can also buy disposable raincoats. We had lunch at a local English restaurant, which claims to be the best. It opens at 12 noon, and they won't let you in if you arrive early. Online email reservations are for the dining room downstairs, and those without reservations are upstairs. I've uploaded pictures of their menu and the dishes we ordered, which were lamb chops, steak, and salad. You can also choose mashed potatoes with the meat. The average cost per person is 200, and the taste is good. If you don't have a reservation, you can wait at the door a few minutes in advance, because it's quite famous and many people come to try it. You can visit the art gallery. We only know Monet and Da Vinci, and we don't understand the rest, so we just went to pretend to be cultured. We had Chinese food for dinner, at Shu Xiang Men Di, which costs about 20 pounds per person. The portions are not small, and there's a 10% discount for cash or WeChat payments. Edinburgh's museums are suitable for family trips, with lots of science-related exhibits. The most famous is Dolly the cloned sheep, but I personally find the rest uninteresting, as they're more for young children. The buildings here are quite classical, much more so than London. Because of the bad weather, we didn't go hiking. If the weather is good and you're interested, you can also go for a walk. We actually only spent one full day here, and the rest of the time was spent on the journey to and from London. As for souvenirs, there are wool scarves, Walker's biscuits, and Hotel's chocolates. However, the latter two are available all over the UK, and the prices vary.