Group homestays in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh_Castle_Rock Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, located in Lothian on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth.

Edinburgh Castle is an historic fortress which dominates the skyline from its position on the Castle Rock. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the 12th century but from the 15th century the castle’s residential role declined, and is now the most popular paid visitor attraction in Scotland. Endinburgh Castle has many facilities including two cafés/restaurants, several shops, and numerous historical displays. An educational centre  runs events for schools and educational groups, and employs re-enactors in costume and with period weaponry.

Edinburgh has many museums and libraries, including the National Museum of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland, National War Museum, the Museum of Edinburgh, Surgeons’ Hall Museum, the Grand Lodge of Scotland Museum and Library, the Museum of Childhood, and Our Dynamic Earth. Edinburgh Zoo is the second most popular paid tourist attraction in Scotland, and currently home to two giant pandas, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, on loan from the People’s Republic of China.

Edinburgh contains five National Galleries of Art as well as numerous smaller art galleries. Contemporary collections are shown in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Queen Street focuses on portraits and photography. Edinburgh has several of Scotland’s galleries and organisations dedicated to contemporary visual art. Significant strands of this infrastructure include: The Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh College of Art, Talbot Rice Gallery and the Edinburgh Annuale.

The locale around Princes Street is the main shopping area in the city centre, with souvenir shops, chain stores such as Boots the Chemist and H&M etc. George Street is the preferred location for some upmarket shops and independent stores. Multrees Walk, adjacent to the St. James Centre, is a recent addition to the central shopping district which contains a large Harvey Nichols. Shops here include Louis Vuitton, Emporio Armani, Mulberry and Calvin Klein.

Edinburgh also has many retail parks outside the city centre. These include The Gyle Shopping Centre, Hermiston Gait, Cameron Toll Shopping Centre, Straiton Retail Park, Fort Kinnaird, and Ocean Terminal.

Transport

Rail

Edinburgh Waverley Station is the terminus for most trains arriving from London King’s Cross and the departure point for many rail services within Scotland.

Buses

Lothian Buses operate the majority of city bus services within the city and to surrounding suburbs, with the most routes running via Princes Street.

Services further afield operate from the Edinburgh Bus Station off St Andrew Square and Waterloo Place and are operated mainly by Stagecoach, Scottish Citylink, National Express Coaches, First Scotland East & Perryman’s Buses.

Rates for Edinburgh

Prices are per night. Please note the below is a guide, please contact us for the full rates and list of supplements.

High season is 1 February to 31 July and 1 September to 31 October.
Low season is 1 to 31 January, 1 to 31 August and 1 November to 31 December.

Supplements for Edinburgh

Supplement for leaders/drivers in twin room is £3.00 pppn on above prices.
Supplement for leaders in single room, subject to availability, is £6.00 pppn on above prices.
Supplement for drivers in single room is £10.00 pppn on above prices.
Extra packed lunch is £5.00 pppn.
A supplement of £2.00 per person per night will be added for 2 night stay bookings.

Booking fee

1-3 nights = £100.00
4-7 nights = £50.00
8 nights or more = £0.00

  • May include:
  • Alloa
  • Callander
  • Crieff
  • Cumbernauld
  • Denny
  • Dunblane
  • Dunfermline
  • Edinburgh
  • Falkirk
  • Glasgow
  • Kirkintilloch
  • Loch Lomond
  • Perth
  • Tullibody

 

Please note that although we do cover the above areas we may not necessarily be recruiting new hosts in all areas at all times. If you are thinking of becoming a host, but would first like to confirm if we are currently recruiting in your area prior to completing the application form, please drop us a quick message on our contact us form and let us know your postcode. We will reply as quickly as possible.

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