For our guests traveling from Chicago, here are a few travel suggestions when scheduling your trip. Specifically, paying a visit to London.
Option 1
Vacation then Wedding | London to Scotland
1) Book your roundtrip. First, book your roundtrip ticket from Chicago to London. This will be the day you fly out of Chicago and the day you will return to Chicago.
2) Get to London. If you are planning on staying in London before the wedding there are train options from Heathrow into central London.
The easiest option is the Paddington line but is typically more expensive.
The Piccadilly line is more cost effective but will take longer.
Enjoy your stay in London!
3) Traveling from London to Edinburgh, Scotland.
Option a) Train. When it comes to traveling to Edinburgh there is a direct train from Kings Cross Station (Yes! The one in Harry Potter, it’s a real place). This train will take roughly 4-4.5 hours but will drop you right in the middle of Edinburgh — book your seats in advanced!
Option b) Flight. If you’re not interested in taking the train, you always have the option to book a roundtrip ticket from London to Scotland.
4) Traveling back to Chicago. Now, it’s time to leave and travel home. There is a tram that takes you from central Edinburgh to the airport that takes ~30 minutes.
If you took the train from London to Scotland, we suggest booking a one-way ticket to London Heathrow. Make sure you allow for about 4 hours between arriving in London and the second part of your initial roundtrip flight. The reason for this is, you’ll have to pick up your bags then re-check them for your flight to Chicago.
London is a BIG airport and if you have to change terminals, you’ll have to take a bus which can take up to 30 minutes along with going through security AGAIN.
Option 2
Wedding then Vacation | Scotland to London
1) Book your roundtrip. First, book your roundtrip ticket from Chicago to London. This will be the day you fly out of Chicago and the day you will return to Chicago.
2) Traveling from London to Edinburgh, Scotland
a) Flight. We suggest booking a one-way ticket from London to Edinburgh. Make sure you allow for about 4 hours between arriving in London and your flight to Scotland. The reason for this is, you’ll have to pick up your bags then re-check them for your flight to Edinburgh.
London is a BIG airport and if you have to change terminals, you’ll have to take a bus which can take up to 30 minutes along with going through security AGAIN.
b) If you don’t want to take the train from Edinburgh to London after the wedding, you can book a roundtrip from London to Edinburgh.
3) After the Wedding, traveling from Edinburgh to London. If you are planning on staying in London after the wedding there are two options.
Option a) Train. When it come to traveling to London, there is a direct train from Edinburgh to Kings Cross Station (Yes! The one in Harry Potter, it’s a real place). This train will take roughly 4-4.5 hours but will drop you right in the middle of London — book your seats in advanced!
Option b) Flight. This would be the roundtrip you booked earlier at 2b. There is a tram that takes you from central Edinburgh to the airport that takes ~30 minutes.
Enjoy your stay in London!
4) London to Airport. Now its time to leave London and get to the airport from wherever you are staying.
London has an extensive subway and train system that can take you to the train station. Google will be your friend when finding the best options. Please allow for at least 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to the airport via train.
If you have any questions, please let us know and we can try to help as best we can!