Edinburgh to St Andrews by private car
St Andrews has no railway station: the branch line from Leuchars closed in 1969. So whether you are coming for the Old Course, a graduation or a weekend by the sea, getting from Edinburgh to St Andrews means a drive, a bus or a train and a bus. By private car it is 83 km and about 1 hour 15 minutes from Edinburgh Airport, across the Firth of Forth and through the Fife countryside.
Your driver meets you in arrivals, loads the clubs and cases, and takes you to the door of your hotel, guest house or the clubhouse. We collect from Edinburgh city hotels too, so the same transfer works if you spend a few nights in the capital first.
For golfers the car is the practical choice: buses and trains have limited space for golf bags, and the ride home after a round is easier when someone else is driving. Flying into London first? See our Gatwick to London transfer for the start of your trip.
| Pickup | Edinburgh Airport (EDI) |
|---|---|
| Drop-off | Any hotel, villa or address in St Andrews |
| Distance | About 83 km by road |
| Journey time | 1h 5min – 1h 30min, depending on traffic |
| Best for | Golf & luxury |
| Busiest season | April–October |
| Availability | 24/7, including late-night and early-morning flights |
The drive from EDI to St Andrews
From the airport, your driver joins the M9 and turns north onto the Queensferry Crossing, the cable-stayed bridge over the Firth of Forth that opened in 2017, with the red Victorian Forth Bridge and the older Forth Road Bridge alongside. There are no tolls on any of the Forth bridges.
On the Fife side, the M90 runs north to the A92 past Glenrothes. From there, the quickest line crosses the farmland of north-east Fife by Ceres into St Andrews; the other main route stays on the M90 to junction 8 and takes the A91 through Cupar, approaching the town past the Old Course. Hotels on the Crail road, including the Fairmont and Kingsbarns, are reached on the A917 south of the town.
In normal traffic the drive takes 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes. Allow up to 1 hour 30 minutes on Friday evenings, when traffic out of Edinburgh builds up towards the bridge, and during big golf weeks.
Schematic, not to scale. Route line © OpenStreetMap contributors
Pickup · 0 min
Edinburgh Airport (EDI)
Your driver meets you in arrivals and loads the luggage.
About 15 min · 15 km
Queensferry Crossing
The bridge over the Firth of Forth, with the three Forth bridges side by side.
About 35 min · 49 km
Glenrothes
Leave the motorway for the A92 and the open farmland of Fife.
About 50 min · 70 km
Ceres
A small village on the back road into St Andrews, about 15 minutes from the town.
Arrival · 1h 5min – 1h 30min · 83 km
St Andrews
Drop-off at your hotel, the Old Course or the clubhouse of your choice.
EDI to St Andrews: one fixed price for the whole car
Free quote, nothing to pay now. Cancel free up to 48 hours before pickup.
Meeting your driver at Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport has one terminal. After baggage reclaim, go into the arrivals hall, where your driver waits holding a sign with your name. Private hire cars collect passengers from the airport's pick-up car park rather than the forecourt, so the driver walks you a few minutes to the car.
Edinburgh Airport has one terminal. Your driver meets you in the arrivals hall with a sign showing your name and walks you to the car in the airport's pick-up car park, where private hire cars collect passengers. We track your flight, move the pickup with any delay at no extra cost, and give you 60 minutes of free waiting from the time you actually land.
Starting from an Edinburgh hotel or leaving St Andrews for the airport? Your driver collects you at the agreed time and waits up to 15 minutes. For golfers, tell us how many bags and trolleys you have so we send a vehicle with room for all of them.
Arriving here for somewhere else? See every Edinburgh Airport transfer we run.
Where we drop off in St Andrews and the East Neuk
Every address is door to door, from the hotels by the Old Course to the coast road villages of the East Neuk. For a tee time, tell us the course and the time, and we will drop you at the clubhouse with time to warm up.
The Old Course and the Links
The hotels, clubhouses and the R&A on the edge of the town, beside the 18th green and West Sands.
St Andrews town centre
Hotels, guest houses and university buildings on North Street, Market Street and South Street.
Fairmont St Andrews
The clifftop resort about two miles from town on the A917 towards Crail.
Kingsbarns and Crail
Kingsbarns Golf Links, seven miles down the coast, and the fishing villages of the East Neuk beyond.
When to book your St Andrews transfer
The golf season runs from spring to autumn, and summer evenings in Fife stay light until after 10pm. The next Open Championship at St Andrews is in July 2027, with the championship itself from 15 to 18 July. During Open week roads around the Links close, public parking near the course is expected to give way to park-and-ride as it did in 2022, and accommodation for miles around is taken: book your transfer when you book your stay.
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is played over the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns each autumn, around the start of October. University of St Andrews graduation weeks, in late June to early July and again in early December, fill the town with families.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August makes Edinburgh Airport and the city's hotels exceptionally busy, which matters if you plan a few nights in Edinburgh first. In 2027 it runs from 6 to 30 August.
Private transfer vs other ways to reach St Andrews
| Option | Door to door | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Private transfer | 1h 5min – 1h 30min | Straight to your door, fixed price per vehicle, driver waiting in arrivals. |
| Direct airport bus | About 1½ hours | The Stagecoach JET787 runs from the airport to St Andrews via Kinross and Cupar, about every two hours. Luggage space is limited, especially for golf bags. |
| Tram + train + bus | 2–2½ hours | Tram into Edinburgh, a train from Waverley to Leuchars of about an hour, then the bus to St Andrews, about 10 minutes. Two changes. |
| Bus from Edinburgh city | About 2 hours | The X59 from Edinburgh Bus Station via Glenrothes and Cupar. Cheap, but slow, and a long ride after a flight. |
| Rental car | 1–1½ hours | Easy roads, but you drive on the left, and after a round with a few drinks at the clubhouse, someone has to drive home. |
Skip the changes: door to door to St Andrews
Free quote, nothing to pay now. Cancel free up to 48 hours before pickup.
Vehicles, prices and what's included
You pay one fixed price for the vehicle, not per seat, quoted for your date and group before you book. Tolls, fuel and parking are in the price, and so is waiting time: 60 minutes from your actual landing, or 15 minutes at a hotel or address pickup.
| Vehicle | Passengers | Luggage | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard sedan | Up to 3 passengers | 2–3 suitcases | Couples and solo travellers |
| Executive sedan | Up to 3 passengers | 2–3 suitcases | Mercedes E-Class or similar |
| Minivan | Up to 7 passengers | 6–7 suitcases | Families and golf or ski bags |
| Minibus | 8–16 passengers | One suitcase each | Groups, weddings, events |
Exact models vary by local partner. Tell us about oversized luggage, golf bags, skis or strollers and we will size the vehicle to fit.
Not included: waiting beyond the free time, and stops or detours added on the day. Planned stops are fine: ask for them with your quote and they are priced in. Tipping is up to you.
Who the St Andrews transfer suits
Golfers
Clubs travel in the back, not on your lap. A minivan usually suits a four-ball with bags and luggage, and we can add stops at Kingsbarns or Carnoustie.
Graduation families
Parents, grandparents and luggage in one car, timed to the ceremony. Book early: graduation weeks fill every car and hotel in Fife.
Visitors during the Open
Pre-booked transfers avoid the park-and-ride queues of Open week. Book as soon as your accommodation is confirmed.
Weekend visitors from Edinburgh
Spend a few nights in the capital, then have a driver collect you from your hotel for the coast.
Plan the rest of your St Andrews stay
- Hoping to play the Old Course without a booked tee time? Enter the daily ballot, drawn 48 hours before play, for groups of two to four. There is no Sunday play, when the course becomes a public park.
- Kingsbarns, Carnoustie and the Castle Course are all within easy reach. Tell us your tee times and we can plan a golf week of transfers.
- Walk West Sands at low tide. It is the beach from the opening of Chariots of Fire, a few minutes from the 18th green.
- Dinner in St Andrews books up on graduation and golf weeks. Reserve your first night before you travel.
- For your flight home from Edinburgh, leave St Andrews about three hours before departure, and allow more on Friday and Sunday evenings.
- Coming from or going on to England? See our UK airport transfers, including Heathrow to central London and the Southampton cruise terminals.
