How to get from Edinburgh Airport to city centre by tram

The Edinburgh Airport to City Centre Tram runs every 7 to 10 minutes and gets you to St Andrew Square or Princes Street in 30 to 35 minutes. A single ticket costs £7.90 and an open return costs £9.50. Buy your ticket before boarding, either from a platform machine or the Bus & Tram app, since there is no on-board ticket sales.

Where to Find the Tram at the Airport

The tram stop sits right outside the main terminal, next to the plaza and the Edinburgh Airport sign. You will not need to cross a car park or hunt for a shuttle. Walk out of arrivals, follow the covered walkway, and the platform is directly ahead. There is a Tram Information Lounge in the plaza if you want to double-check ticket options before boarding.

Buying Your Ticket the Right Way

Tickets must be purchased before you board, not on the tram. You have three options: platform vending machines (cash and most cards accepted), the Bus & Tram app for a mobile ticket, or the Edinburgh Trams website if you want to pre-book and display it on your phone. Contactless tap-on, tap-off is also available, but a pre-bought return still works out cheaper than two single taps if you know you are heading back to the airport later.

Practitioner note: the platform machines occasionally run low on change during peak arrival banks, especially after a wave of evening flights lands together. If you are paying cash, have close to exact fare ready, or use the app instead to skip the queue entirely.

Tram vs Bus: Which One Actually Fits Your Trip

Both the tram and the Airlink 100 bus reach the city centre in a similar window, so the right choice depends on where you are staying and how much luggage you are hauling.

• Choose the tram if your accommodation is near St Andrew Square, George Street, Haymarket, or you need a rail connection at Edinburgh Gateway or Edinburgh Park Station.
• Choose the Airlink 100 bus if you are staying near Waverley Bridge or the Royal Mile, since the bus terminates closer to Old Town and runs 24 hours a day, unlike the tram which stops around 22:52.
• Choose a taxi if you land after the last tram, are travelling with more bags than the tram’s onboard racks comfortably fit, or you are in a group of four where a shared taxi fare beats four separate tram tickets.

The tram edges ahead on comfort. It is smoother than the bus in city traffic and has dedicated luggage racks in every carriage, so you are not balancing a suitcase on your lap for half an hour.

Real-World Warnings Worth Knowing Before You Travel

A few things trip up first-time riders that the official pages gloss over.

First, the tram does not run 24 hours. If your flight lands after 23:00, plan on a taxi or the night bus instead, since the last tram leaves the airport at 22:52.

Second, an inspector checks tickets somewhere along the route, and boarding without one gets you an on-the-spot fare plus penalty. Hold onto your ticket for the whole journey, not just while boarding.

Third, Edinburgh occasionally reroutes services in the city centre during major events or street works. Trams ran a reduced Airport-to-West-End-only route for several weeks in mid-2026 following a Princes Street building closure, with full service through to Newhaven restored on 29 August 2026. It is worth a 30-second check of the Edinburgh Trams service status page before you travel if your trip lands during a festival period, since central Edinburgh sees more disruptions than most UK cities during August.

If you are heading somewhere else in the UK after Edinburgh and want to keep transport costs down, our guide on how to travel the UK on a budget covers ticket-saving strategies that apply beyond just this airport run. And if Dublin is next on your itinerary, the Dublin Airport to city centre express bus guide walks through a comparable route.

FAQs on Edinburgh Airport to City Centre Tram