Edinburgh Airport to Leith (The Shore & Ocean Terminal)

One tram from runway to waterfront

Edinburgh's port district has its own character: whisky warehouses turned into flats, restaurants along the Water of Leith, and the Royal Yacht Britannia moored by Ocean Terminal. It has also become one of the easier parts of the city to reach from the airport. The tram line runs from the airport through the city centre and down Leith Walk to Newhaven, and the airport says the end-to-end trip takes 54 minutes.

Get on at the stop beside the plaza outside arrivals. Trams run every 7 minutes for most of the day, with the first at 06:30 and the last at 22:52. The Airport Single is £7.90, or £7.50 bought in advance online, and it covers any stop on the line, so you pay the same to Leith as to Princes Street. Buy before you board, or tap a contactless card on the platform reader and again at the end.

Picking your stop

The tram has several stops in Leith, and choosing the right one saves a walk:

• Foot of the Walk for the bottom of Leith Walk, Great Junction Street and Constitution Street.
• The Shore for the restaurants and hotels along the Water of Leith.
• Port of Leith for the area around Commercial Street.
• Ocean Terminal for the shopping centre and the Royal Yacht Britannia.
• Newhaven, the end of the line, for the harbour and the western edge of Leith.

Expect about 45–50 minutes from the airport to The Shore and slightly longer to Newhaven.

The slow, cheap road: service 17

Service 17, which used to be the Skylink 200, leaves the airport from Stop B by the plaza and heads north-east through Clermiston, Blackhall, Drylaw, Muirhouse and Newhaven to Ocean Terminal. It runs up to every 30 minutes between 04:10 and midnight, with an average journey time of about 50 minutes. Since April 2025 it has been part of the normal city network, so the standard Lothian adult single, £2.40 since February 2026, is valid from the airport.

It is not an express, and it skips the city centre entirely, but for Newhaven, Granton or Ocean Terminal it is both the cheapest option and roughly as fast as the tram. It is also the one public option that starts before the first tram, which helps if you land early.

Through the city on the Airlink

The Airlink 100 (£6.00) is the third public option: ride it to Waverley Bridge and switch to a Leith-bound bus or the tram at St Andrew Square. It only makes sense when the trams have stopped for the night, because it means paying twice.

The taxi meter to the waterfront

Capital Cars is the only taxi operator at the terminal rank, in the East Terminus across the plaza; you can book online or at the desk. Leith is about 17 km from the airport, and on the council tariff (from 25 July 2026: £3.60 initial charge on weekday daytimes, £4.80 evenings and weekends, then 30p increments) that adds up to roughly £34 on a quiet road and about £42 if traffic is slow through the city. A pre-booked private car costs more, typically upwards of £45. For a group of three or four going to the same flat in Leith, a taxi is still good value per head.

Cruise passengers and Ocean Terminal

Ocean Terminal is the tram stop for the Royal Yacht Britannia, which is entered through the shopping centre, and the nearest stop to the Port of Leith. If you are flying in to join a ship departing from Leith, the tram is a cheap way to cover the distance with luggage; check with your cruise line where the embarkation point is, as port arrangements vary from ship to ship.

Arriving after the last tram

If you land after the 22:52 tram, service 17 runs until about midnight. After that, take the Airlink 100, which runs all night, into Waverley Bridge and either pick up a night bus towards Leith or take a taxi from the city centre. For most travellers arriving very late with luggage, the taxi straight from the rank is simpler.