Welcome to #TravelTuesday, a new series on Caroline Made This about anything travel related – from adventures to advice to all out awesome stories about traveling.
Last year, we traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland for a quick mini-moon after our wedding in Somerset, England. We spent 4 days exploring old castles, climbing rolling hills and of course, sharing some Scottish whiskey with friends. I want to keep each part of these Trip Reports as short and sweet (and maybe picture-filled) as I can, so you can easily pick out the major details.
This Part 2 in a series about our trip to Scotland. Stay tuned for more.
Edinburgh, Scotland – Trip Report Index
Part 1 – Planning & Introduction
Part 2 – Flight & Accommodation
Part 3 – Edinburgh Castle & The Whiskey Tour
Part 4 – Arthur’s Seat & The Ghost Tour
Part 5 – St. Andrews, Castle Course
Flight
We got married in Somerset, England which is about 2 hours southwest of London.
Quick! Cute wedding break:
Instead of going back to London, Heathrow, we took a one-way flight from Exeter, England to Edinburgh, Scotland. It’s a quick 1 hour 30 minute flight from there. London would have been more expensive and added another 2 hours (driving) to our trip. We chose the ultra-cheap carrier, Flybe, at the recommendation of a seasoned-traveler friend of mine who was actually going with us too. Ever heard of Flybe? Neither had I! I usually just flew Ryan Air while trying to save money flying in Europe.
Anyway, had I known then what I know now, I probably would have tried to use points, but that said, you can’t pass up $125 (including luggage) for tickets to fly to Scotland with your friends. It was well worth it!
The Exeter Airport is adorable. I mean that in the nicest way possible. The security line was quick.
And we were on our way to Scotland in no time.
Did I mention I was really sick? All the stress and travel related to a wedding overseas hit me in one snot-filled swoop and I had the nastiest cold known to (wo)man-kind. Super, right? So the plane ride wasn’t anything spectacular to me. I basically was just trying to not be that annoying person blowing her nose a lot.
But I was. Sorry ’bout it.
We landed a bit late and shared a cab with our pals to our separate, respective accommodations. It would have been cheaper to take the £4 Airlink bus that goes from the airport to the center of town. Check it out. But, again, I was feeling like shit and blowing snot out of each nostril like it would earn me money, so I just wanted to get to our place.
Which ended up being spectacular.
Accommodation
I found our flat through Airbnb. I really enjoy saying, “flat.” Our flat. Ha! Anyway, I didn’t have enough points for a free hotel stay yet (now I do *dusts off shoulder*) and I wanted to get a unique experience, not just a buffet breakfast in the morning.
Airbnb is great for an authentic, local experience. If you haven’t heard of it before, the basic gist is that people rent out their apartments, houses or rooms in a house for a pre-determined amount of time. Airbnb has a great satisfaction policy if you aren’t happy with your stay. In my opinion, the owner takes on more of the liability. That said, be smart. Only rent from people who have good reviews and you should be fine. If someone doesn’t have many reviews or has a bad response rate, even if the place looks fan-fucking-tastic…NEXT! We’ll definitely being doing this again after such a great experience.
After narrowing down our Airbnb options in the city and generally knowing we wanted to be close to the “Old Town” area, we decided on this gem. We were greeted promptly (even after our flight delay) by the owner’s friend who helped us up 4 flights of stairs with all our luggage. No lift. That’s elevator in British, mates.
Hey, so, have I mentioned yet that I was really sick? No? I could barely breath as it was. 4 fucking floors with luggage, a backpack and my purse, which was essentially another piece of LUGGAGE…?! No way! I stopped on the 3rd floor, waving my white flag, gasping for air through my mouth, desperately looking for a snot rag. He probably thought I was just some out of shape American.
Wait a second…
Anyway, the trek was worth it. I mean…come. on.
The flat is right next to Edinburgh Castle, with stunning views of the entire city, as well as a fully equipped kitchen, double bedroom, TV and free wireless internet. Oh and a washer and dryer, which any long-term traveler knows is brilliant. (Trying to sound as British as I can.)
After explaining we could call with any questions, giving us some great pub recommendations (duh) and telling us to enjoy our mini-moon, we were left to enjoy some bubbly.
How sweet, right?
Next up, Edinburgh Castle and The Whiskey Tour. Mmmmm.
Until next time, travel buds!
Have you ever done Airbnb? Have you ever thought about renting a place instead of a hotel? Any questions about our fab flat?
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