Breakfast on board Caledonian Sleeper
© Lucy Knott Photography
By train
Glasgow and Edinburgh are both served by frequent direct train services from London, and are easily reached from other main English towns and cities, though you may have to change trains en route.
LNER depart from London King's Cross and run up the east coast via Peterborough, York and Newcastle to Edinburgh, with some continuing on to Glasgow, Aberdeen or Inverness.
Avanti West Coast run up the west coast from London Euston via Crewe, Preston and Carlisle to Glasgow.
Overnight sleeper services from London Euston also operate to a number of Scottish cities via the west coast route.
Services from other areas
There are a number of long-distance direct services to Scotland that begin from outside London:
Avanti West Coast runs services from Birmingham to Edinburgh or Glasgow.
CrossCountry services link Cardiff, Paignton, Penzance, Bournemouth and Brighton with Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, via Birmingham.
TransPennine Express operate direct services to Edinburgh and Glasgow from Manchester Airport via Manchester, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme Lake District and Carlisle.
Timetables and UK fare information
For all train times to Scotland and fares across the UK network, visit National Rail Enquiries.
For any other rail travel information including rail operators serving Scotland, visit Traveline Scotland.
Edinburgh airport
© VisitScotland / Paul Tomkins
By plane
You can fly to Scotland with regular carriers such as British Airways and Loganair, or the budget airlines operating from airports around London and from other area hubs on routes to Scotland's major city and regional airports.
To find flights and fares to Scotland's major airports, search on comparison sites such as:
Highland cows on the coastal road between Applecross and Shieldaig
© VisitScotland / Kenny Lam
By car
The two main driving routes to Scotland from the south are via the east of England on the A1, or via the west using the M6, A74 (M) and M74.
The A1, which passes by Peterborough, Doncaster, Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed, gives you the option of branching off onto the A68, which takes the hilly but scenic route over the border at Carter Bar and adds an hour or so to the journey time.
The M6 route, which goes around Birmingham, between Manchester and Liverpool and on to Carlisle, offers at least dual-carriageway driving the whole way.
As you travel into Scotland look out for scenic driving routes that include plenty of great attractions to stop off at.
Find more about driving in Scotland
Travel information
Plan ahead - think about your route planning and get live traffic updates.
Bus passing Marischal College in Aberdeen
© VisitScotland / Kenny Lam
By coach
You can easily get to Scotland by road from the rest of Britain. Coach services duplicate many train routes, often with much cheaper ticket prices. The frequency of service is often similar to that of the train, although longer distance journey times are usually much longer by coach.
Coach services to Scotland are operated by National Express, which runs routes to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.
FlixBus operate daily services from London to Edinburgh and Glasgow. They also run domestic routes across Glasgow, Perth, Stirling and Aberdeen.
Megabus cover some routes including Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Perth. On some overnight services, passengers have their own berth as well as a standard seat for greater comfort during their journey.
CityLink have also introduced their first cross-border routes, linking Scotland with the Rest of the UK. These routes run Glasgow – Cardiff and an overnight service from Glasgow – Southampton, via Oxford, Newbury, Birmingham and Winchester.