Southampton to Edinburgh bus with National Express

Buses from Southampton to Edinburgh

Southampton is a major port city located in Hampshire in the South East of England, along Great Britain’s southern coast. Buses to Edinburgh from Southampton are very frequent, with journeys departing daily on a regular daily basis. There is one coach available every day from Southampton to Edinburgh, departing every day of the week. It’s an evening coach with an average travel time of 12h 15min to 12h 25min, with a single change in London. Journey time depends on the day of the week, and the length of duration spent in the changeover station.

Southampton to Edinburgh Bus Time: Daily Departures

Buses from Southampton to Edinburgh depart daily, with an average of one bus per day. This service departs in the evening, Monday to Sunday, at around 7:25 p.m. and is an overnight journey. The coach departs from Southampton Coach Station to Edinburgh Bus Station, with a single change in London Heathrow Airport.

How long is the journey by bus from Southampton to Edinburgh?

Bus journeys to Edinburgh from Southampton take an average duration of around 12h 15min to 12h 25min. Journeys during the week are closer to 12h 15min, whereas travel on the weekends is around 12h 25min. Your travel time depends on the time spent at the changeover station, London Heathrow Airport.

Edinburgh Family Trip Castle. Source: Shutterstock

What is/are the departure and arrival stations for buses from Southampton to Edinburgh?

Departure bus station: Southampton Coach Station is centrally located, 0.4 miles (0.6 km) from the heart of Southampton. It can be easily accessed by intercity bus lines 32 and 810, as well as National Express lines 35, 160, 204, and W24. It’s also 0.3 miles (0.4 km) from the train station, Southampton Central Station, which services regular trips to various locations around England. The station has facilities such as ticket machines, a waiting area, a car park, toilets, a cafe, payphones, charging points, and an onsite cash point.

Arrival bus station: Edinburgh bus station is a terminal station located centrally, 0.5 miles (0.94 km) from the city centre. It can be locally accessed by intercity bus lines 1, 3, 11, 16, 25, 31, 44, 108, 183, 909, X52, X55, X56, X59A, X61 and National Express line 182, 591, and 594. Nearby the station are tram stops York Place, and St Andrew Square. It’s also 0.3 miles (0.4 km) from the railway station, Edinburgh Waverley train station. The bus station services facilities such as toilets, baby changing facilities, luggage lockers, a news agency, a cafe, bicycle racks, phone chargers, vending machines, and a cash point.

Which bus companies travel from Southampton to Edinburgh?

There is one bus company that provides coaches to Edinburgh from Southampton, National Express. Journeys with National Express depart daily from Southampton Coach Station to Edinburgh Bus Station, with a single change in London Heathrow Airport. Buses along this route depart once a day in the evening, with an average duration of 12h 15min to 12h 25min. For more information on coach travel to Edinburgh from Southampton, visit the Omio Magazine.

National Express buses from Southampton to Edinburgh

National Express is a British bus business based in Birmingham that operates long-distance coach services across the United Kingdom. It runs daily direct buses from Southampton to Edinburgh, with an average journey length of 12h 15min to 12h 25min and one bus every day. The journey consists of one bus in the evening, departing every day of the week at the same time, around 7:25 p.m.

Journeys during the week have an average duration of around 12h 15min, with a single stop in London Heathrow Airport. On the weekend, the journey has a slightly longer duration at the change, with an average journey time of 12h 25min, also with a change in London Heathrow Airport. All buses from Southampton to Edinburgh depart from Southampton Coach Station and arrive at Edinburgh Bus Station.

Bus Southampton to Edinburgh: Services on Board

National Express offers a standard ticket for buses from Southampton to Edinburgh that is a limited fare, non-refundable, and non-exchangeable. National Express offers one piece of soft-clothed hand luggage weighing 22 lbs (10 kg) and either two pieces of hold luggage weighing 50 lbs (20 kg) apiece or one large case weighing lbs (20 kg), as well as wheelchair accessibility.

You may bring a trained assistance dog for accessibility reasons, trained by the organisation of Assistance Dogs UK. Folded bicycles may be accepted on the coach, however non folded bicycles are not. For more information on this bus company's services, please visit the Omio webpage on National Express.

How to find cheap bus tickets from Southampton to Edinburgh?

There are a few ways to find cheap bus tickets from Southampton to Edinburgh. In general, if you book ahead of time, you can get a good deal. Make your reservations at least two weeks to one month ahead of time. A flexible schedule is another approach to obtaining inexpensive tickets. This entails either selecting a bus company that offers lower-cost routes or selecting a departure time that is early in the morning or late in the evening.

Being flexible with your booking dates is another good approach to locating cheaper tickets. Tickets for weekday trips are often less expensive than those for weekend departures. You can also get cheaper tickets by browsing for bus journeys with connecting buses or by seeking slower journeys. These are a few ways to find economical solutions to big-priced coach fares.

Edinburgh Trip Village Mountain. Source: Shutterstock

To Edinburgh by bus—travel tips

Edinburgh is Scotland's capital city, and is well known for its numerous monuments, one-of-a-kind castles as Edinburgh Castle is built on the crater of an extinct volcano, its parks, and its many annual festivities. Edinburgh is surrounded by lush greenery, with many opportunities for walks and hikes in the surrounding suburbs.

The city has a total of 112 parks, making it the city in the United Kingdom with the most trees per capita. This UNESCO City of Literature is Scotland's cultural and artistic hub, with year-round events that draw visitors from all over the world. The world's largest monument to a writer, Sir Walter Scott, is located in the Princes Street Gardens.

Edinburgh, known as the world's festival city, is always bustling with things to see. Its festivals feature a diverse range of arts, each specializing in a different field, with something to see all year round. There's an art festival, a literature festival, a science festival, a comedy festival, a performance festival, a film festival, a tattoo festival, an international festival, a storytelling festival, a jazz music festival, and more—all in close proximity to the New Town.

You can easily imagine medieval times while strolling the historic cobblestone streets and investigating the maze of alleyways interlocking and surrounding the Royal Mile in the Old Town. You can go to Holyrood Palace to see Mary, Queen of Scots' royal residence, tour local distilleries, and learn about the history of the hidden city beneath Edinburgh's streets.

For fans of the Harry Potter series, you can visit cafes where the author J.K. Rowling wrote parts of the story, and join tours that include day trips to nearby filming locations. For additional travel advice to Edinburgh visit the Omio Edinburgh travel page.