Edinburgh To St. Andrews: The Ultimate One Day Road Trip

A one day road trip from Edinburgh to St. Andrews is the epitome of spending a day in Scotland. It has it all! From Castle ruins, stunning (sunset) views, and there’s even golf for those interested!

Driving to St. Andrews and back in a day from Edinburgh isn’t as crazy as you might think (it’s actually one of the easier drives in Scotland). There’s so much to see on the drive and even more to explore in St. Andrews Scotland.

Here’s my guide for how to drive from Edinburgh to St. Andrews and what to see along the way!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Why Visit St. Andrews Scotland?

St. Andrews today is really well known as the birthplace of golf. But there’s so many more things to do in St. Andrews than just golf (trust me! so don’t write it off just yet!).

Like did you know St. Andrews is also a University town and it’s actually where Prince William and Kate Middleton met! Because of that, it has similar vibes to Edinburgh (lively and young!). It’s also a small city with a lot of character and hidden gems to discover.

But unlike Edinburgh, St. Andrews Scotland is on the coast so it offers some incredible views of the sea. There’s even a castle to explore and some old Cathedral ruins!

Need A Place To Stay In Edinburgh?

I stayed at an Airbnb for a month in Edinburgh just across from The Meadows. For shorter stays, I found these accommodations to stay at for every type of traveller.

Best Location & Price: Just down the street from the Royal Mile Motel One Edinburgh – Royal is a short walk to all the main attractions. See room rates & availability.

Modern & New Apartment: Stay in Edinburgh’s New Town at Golden Thistle Apartment to live like a local. It’s offers a beautifully renovated modern apartment with cafes and bars at your fingertips! See room rates & availability on Plum Guide.

Luxury: The Balmoral Hotel is Edinburgh’s finest hotel but nothing compares to it. J.K. even stayed here to finish writing the Harry Potter Series. Maybe you’ll get lucky and stay in the same suite! See room rates & availability.

See other accommodations on Booking.com in Edinburgh, or more apartments on Plum Guide.

How Far Is St. Andrews From Edinburgh?

If you drive from Edinburgh to St. Andrews without stopping, it’s only an hour and 15 minutes away.

How To Get From Edinburgh To St. Andrews If You Don’t Want To Drive?

If you don’t want to drive from Edinburgh to St. Andrews, you have three other options. You can take the train, shuttle, or go on an organized tour.

Obviously, if you take the train or the bus to St. Andrews Scotland, you won’t be able to stop anywhere else along the way. The train doesn’t go directly from Edinburgh to St. Andrews either – it stops in Leuchars and then you’ll have to hop on a bus from Leuchars to St. Andrews. The whole journey still only takes about an hour and a half. Find tickets here.

There’s also a designated shuttle from Edinburgh airport to St. Andrews. You can book a spot on the shuttle here.

And finally, you can go on an organized tour from Edinburgh to St. Andrews…

Organized Tours From Edinburgh To St. Andrews

If you don’t want to drive from Edinburgh to St. Andrews, a good option is to go on an organized tour. Some tours will even stop along the route to see some other Scotland castle ruins or villages.

It’s the most stress free option to tour Scotland! See some tours from Viator that leave from Edinburgh here.

Renting A Car In Edinburgh

In Edinburgh, we rented a car at the Enterprise in Waverley Station (see rates here). It was the easiest one for us to get to and they always had reasonable prices. We also liked it because we were able to drop off the car in the parking garage after they closed.

The same location also has National, Budget, and Europcar kiosks. It’s a bit confusing to get to, so I suggest going to the train station and following the signs from there. It’s across the parking lot next to the train station in the basement of another building.

Unlike in other countries, renting a manual car wasn’t cheaper. Before you rent, I’d also double check your insurance policy if you have one with your credit card. In the UK, by law, they sign you up for the CDW (collision damage waiver). Most North American credit card companies need you to decline this, but, if you book from the UK website it will be automatically applied.

So, if you’re already in the UK booking the car, make a point to go to the Canadian or American website. If you forget, or it doesn’t work, we had them print out our contract so we can manually write that we decline it (which is what our insurance policy said to do). 

Drive From Edinburgh To St. Andrews Tips!

You can’t even imagine how much there is to do en route from Edinburgh to St. Andrews. I hope that my itinerary merely guides you into making your own Edinburgh road trip.e You can easily swap any of my stops for something else that might interest you more.

Two Routes To St. Andrews From Edinburgh

There are two routes you can take to drive from Edinburgh to St. Andrews once you cross the Firth of Forth. You can either drive on the highway (A92) or along the coast (A915). 

I recommend taking a different route each way. This gives you a change to stop some new places on your way back. We decided to take the highway route to St. Andrews so that we could drive along the coast during sunset. And I’m so happy we organized our day like this, during sunset, the coastal views were UNREAL!

Although! This was also a risky move… if you’re nervous about driving in the dark on the way back I’d recommend switching routes – you’ll want to take the highway (A92) route on the way back. There are no lights on the road along the coast and the roads are narrow and curvy.

Why We Chose The Stops We Did

The stops we chose weren’t haphazard on the drive from Edinburgh to St. Andrews, there were specific reasons for why we chose the ones we did.

Most of the castles we stopped at were included in the Scotland Explorer Pass (which I recommend buying), so we were more inclined to stop at those than at others.

We also had a draw to some of the stops because they were Outlander filming locations (a popular TV show). But lastly, it all came down to if they were open or not. We were travelling in the fall which meant some places were already closed for the winter (like Incholm Abbey and the ferry to the Isle of May, which we really wanted to do).

Plan Your Timing To Not Drive In The Dark

Driving in Scotland at night is far from fun – you’re usually on small country roads without any lights. You’ll definitely wan to keep an eye on the setting sun for this reason and make sure you leave St. Andrews with more than enough time to drive back in the daylight.

Our road trip to St. Andrews was a lot shorter than yours might be because we visited Scotland in the fall. That meant the sunset was also A LOT earlier which meant our day was a lot shorter. The sun would start to set as early as 3:30!

But, if you’re travelling in the summer your day will be longer so you’ll probably be able to fit in some extra activities. 

Pack Food For Your Edinburgh Road Trip

Make sure to pack enough food and water for the day. Some of the places you’ll be visiting will be in the middle of nowhere. Even if there’s a town nearby, you don’t know what will be open (if anything will even be open at all!).

Packing lunch also gives you the most flexibility and just saves you precious time. We’ve learned that on these day trips relying on eating out waists a lot more time than it’s worth.

You always think it’s going to be fast if you stop at a small cafe, but it always takes longer than expected (especially if you include all the time it takes to find the perfect place). 

Edinburgh To St. Andrews Road Trip

There are three parts to this Edinburgh road trip to St. Andrews. First, the morning drive has you stopping at different castle ruins in Scotland. The next part is exploring St. Andrews, until finally you start your way back to Edinburgh. Your way back isn’t without some stops in some seaside villages for some sunset views!

The Morning Is All About Outlander

Our morning itinerary is all about Outlander! If you didn’t know, this popular TV show is based and filmed in Scotland.

Don’t worry if you haven’t seen it or simply don’t like the show, you can still enjoy these stops. The only one I recommend totally skipping is our first stop at Midhope Castle. That one is a quick pit stop that really only fans will appreciate.

Visit Midhope Castle

The first stop on our Edinburgh to St. Andrews road trip is Midhope Castle.

Like I said before, this is a quick stop and only go if you’re a fan of Outlander. Midhope Castle is the filming location for Lallybroch (you know, Jamie’s home). Out of all the filming locations, this one really looks like it did in the show. 

You can park in the lot for free, and see the house perfectly from there. If you want to get a bit closer, you can pay but I don’t think it’s necessary. It doesn’t give you access to the inside, and besides, it was only the outside that was used as a set.

Visiting Blackness Castle

Blackness Castle was a very cool because it looks like a giant stationary ship on the outside! It also has some ties to Outlander (filming location for Fort Williams), but here’s it’s more like a bonus.

The castle dates back to the 15th century but was possibly built on top of one from the 1400s. Also, because it’s located on the Firth of Forth, it was a docking spot for ships.

Blackness Castle is an example of a castle we included because it was included in our Scotland Explorer Pass. But we’re so happy we did, it was very interesting to learn about the history that happened there, and see the views of the Firth of Forth along the coast. 

There’s a tiny free lot you can park in at the entrance. If that’s full I imagine you can park along the road or there are a few parking spots in the adjacent town.

Crossing The Firth of Forth To The Kingdom Of Fife

After exploring Blackness Castle, it’s time to cross over the Firth of Forth to the Kingdom of Fife!

I had no idea what a firth was before visiting Scotland, but it’s an estuary. Still unsure what that is? Me too! It’s essentially a narrow inlet of water that comes from the sea.

The Kingdom of Fife is actually sandwiched between two firths (the Firth of Forth, and the Firth of Tay). It’s also where all our stops will be for the rest of the day.

Stop At Aberdour Castle

Welcome to your first stop in the Kingdom of Fife: Aberdour Castle! This was (in my mind) one of the coolest castles we visited in Scotland. It’s not the largest castle in Scotland, but it might just be the oldest, dating back to the 1100s!

The icing on the cake is that there are three stages to this castle. The left side is the oldest part and it’s in complete ruins. But the right side is good as new, well as good as something could look from the 1600s. 

It also has drawings on the ceiling from the 15th century and a sundial! If you’re following my itinerary, this is also a good time to stop for lunch if you brought your own. They have picnic tables in the gardens where you can sit while enjoying your view.

Quick Pit Stop In Falkland

Falkland is a town in the Kingdom of Fife that’s known for it’s palace and gardens. But that’s not why we stopped here. For us, it was a quick stop because it was also used as the set for ‘old’ Inverness in Outlander (and this one also really looks like it too!).

So, depending on your interests, you can skip it altogether, or plan a bit more time and visit the palace and gardens.

Parking might be a bit challenging here, you’ll have to rely on-street parking in the town.

Part Two: Arriving In St. Andrews

It’s finally time to explore the wonderful St. Andrews! Obviously, you can drive straight from Edinburgh to St. Andrews, but where’s the fun in that!? You can spend anywhere from a few hours to a few days in St. Andrews Scotland. 

There’s a lot of street parking here but you’ll most likely have to pay to park. There are a few free spots around the city, but they’re hard to come by. P.S. There also isn’t any specific parking for St. Andrews Castle or St. Andrews Cathedral (at least none that we could find anyway).

Top Things To Do In St. Andrews

If you have some time, I always recommend going on a walking tour of every city. This is a good way for you to get your bearings, learn about the history of the city, and even get some local recommendations if possible!

St. Andrews Golf Connection

St. Andrews Scotland is a pretty famous town known as the birthplace of golf. So, if you’re interested in (or with someone who is) you should stay for a bit longer than a few hours to play a round on the first golf course ever!

They actually have two courses you can play on while you’re there: the Old Course, and the “New One” (which I don’t think is even all that new). The Old Gold Course (yes, it’s actually called that) is apparently quite difficult to play on because the course is set up differently than it is today. But, it could make for an interesting game at least!

If you don’t have time for a round of golf you could also opt to visit the R&A World of Golf Museum. It takes you from St. Andrews Scotland to around the world exploring the history and origins of golf. Find out more information here.  

See St. Andrews Cathedral

I guess I didn’t do my fair amount of research but I was expecting an actual Cathedral! Let’s just say, the St. Andrews Cathedral is no longer in existence.

You’ll mainly be seeing the Cathedral ruins. It’s more like an intact cemetery with part of walls and towers left from the cathedral that used to stand there. I won’t lie, it’s kind of creepy walking over all these graves and ruins.

If you manage to come here during golden hour, it’s beautiful the way the sun hits the ruins though. Entry is actually free to the “Cathedral”, you can pay (or use your Explorer Pass) to go into the museum and up the tower. The tower in my mind looked absolutely terrifying so we opted against it.

Find out more information here.

Visit The St. Andrews Castle

There isn’t too much left of St. Andrews Castle either, but back in its hay day, it had everything. Over 450 years of history, it was a bishop palace, a fortress, and a state prison.

But, I think the coolest part about this castle is that it gives you a glimpse of war sieges. There’s a mine and a countermine dug underneath, and you can actually walk (well crouch) through it.

We didn’t make it too far underground before turning around, it became quite claustrophobic.

Find out more information here.

The Royal Connection Coffee Spot

We always like a good coffee spot, and one with good prices and royal links are even better! This was a random hidden gem we stumbled upon and it was a highlight of the day.

The NorthPoint café not only has delicious food options and coffee, but was bustling with locals from students to families. As it turns out, this is where Prince William and Kate Middleton went on their first date. 

The Days Not Over Yet! Drive Back To Edinburgh

Depending on what time of year it is, you can spend more or less time exploring different places on your drive back from Edinburgh to St. Andrews Scotland.

On top of the stunning views, we were also able to link two of our day trips together. From this side of the coast, we were able to see the North Berwick Law in North Berwick (which we had gone to a few days before).

We also drove by the Isle of May, home of the puffins in Scotland! That’s all we heard about during our day trip to North Berwick, so it was nice to finally see it in person (read more about it here).

You can simply drive this way for a change and the nice views, but you can also make some stops on the way in the different fishing villages!

Stop At Elie & Earlsferry: Elie Ness Lighthouse

There are several fishing villages you can stop in on the drive back like Crail and Ansruther. We were running out of daylight so opted to just drive through them and only stop in Ellie and Earlsferry. There’s a lighthouse there that we thought would be the perfect spot to watch the sunset… and it was!

There’s a beach and a small path you can walk along up to the lighthouse and even explore the surrounding area.

Shop My Scotland Day Trip Amazon Must-Haves

Heading To Scotland? Read My Other Guides

• How to Spend a Day in North Berwick [From Edinburgh]
• How To Drive Through The Scottish Borders in a Day [From Edinburgh]
• The Best Castles To Visit Near Edinburgh
• What I Wish I’d Known Before Driving in Scotland
• Top 50 Long Distance Road Trip Tips For A Safe & Easy Drive

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Last update on 2024-05-12 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API