Car Hire in Aberdeen - Getting to Aberdeen

Aberdeen is served by a number of airlines, including British Airways, British Midland, EasyJet, and KLM. For information, phone the Aberdeen Airport (tel. 01224/722-331), 7 miles (11km) from the heart of town. Bus service to town costs £1.45 ($2.20) one-way; taxis cost about £10 ($15).

Aberdeen has direct rail links to the major cities of Britain. The following prices are for tickets bought on the day of departure, excluding Friday, when prices are higher. Nineteen trains per normal weekday arrive from Edinburgh; a regular one-way ticket costs £19.80 ($29.70). Trip time is about 3 1/2 hours. Some 19 trains per day arrive from Glasgow, costing £28 ($42) one-way or £44.30 ($66.45) round-trip. Some 12 trains per day arrive from London, with a one-way fare of £66.90 ($100.35) and a round-trip fare of only £90.50 ($135.75). SuperSaver fares, available by avoiding travel on Friday and Saturday, make the price difference between one-way and round-trip fares negligible. Another way of saving £10 ($15) on fares is by reserving through the booking agency Apex. For fares in Scotland, call tel. 0845/755-0033 with at least 48 hours' notice. For fares from London, call tel. 0845/722-5225 with a minimum of 1 week's notice. For schedules, call tel. 08457/484-950.

Several bus companies have express routes serving Aberdeen, and many offer special round-trip fares to passengers avoiding travel on Friday or Saturday. Frequent buses arrive from both Glasgow, costing £20 to £24.50 ($30 to $36.75) round-trip, and from Edinburgh, costing £18 to £23 ($27 to $34.50) round-trip. There are also frequent arrivals from Inverness; round-trip fare is £9.50 to £11.20 ($14.25 to $16.80). For bus schedules in Aberdeen, call tel. 01224/212-266.

If you're driving from the south, go via Edinburgh over the Forth and Tay Road Bridges and take the coastal road. From the north and west, approach the area from the much improved A9, which links Perth, Inverness, and Wick.