Question for anyone who has been to both Edinburgh and London.

yeh I find Edinburgh's public transport system a bit lacking, but for what it lacks in transport in makes up in fun and excitment! the busses are good and I like the flat-fare...but compared to Glasgow's public transport (where I lived without a car for 2 years and got around fine by subway/bus/train) it's not very good, but the tram should help!! the rail network from Edinburgh to the rest of Scotland is good, but I don't know how the train to get around Edinburgh itself is...have fun though!

Gyladene,

The traffic wardens in Edinburgh seem to be omnipresent.  Edinburgh is supposed to be getting its own trams like Manchester and Sheffield, but is a case of watch this space.  The trams are not scheduled to be travelling along the Scottish capital's streets until 2011.

The buses are reliable.  There's an excellent regular, punctual, Airlink double decker bus service to and from Edinburgh Airport that departs from Waverley Steps.

The best way to explore Edinburgh is on foot.  You can discover Edinburgh's history with a Walk Talk Tour audio downloadble guide that you can listen to via your iPod, MP3/MP4 player or cell phone.  There are two tours of Edinburgh.  One concentrates solely on the Old Town.  The Old and New Towns tour begins outside the Castle and wends its way to Charlotte Square in the New Town.

http://www.walktalktour.com/ [nofollow]

The trams in Edinburgh are definitely happening.  The streets are being torn up as we speak.

I lived in Edinburgh for 4 years and had no trouble with public transport.  Most buses run very frequently.

Edinburgh is supposed to be getting its own trams like Manchester and Sheffield, but is a case of watch this space.  The trams are not scheduled to be travelling along the Scottish capital's streets until 2011.

it's not a case of 'watch this space'... we have a tram station being built across from my office, and have been told the trams arrive in 2010.  I suppose the date is subject to change, but as hatsumomo and I both said: 

The roads are all torn up at the moment, though, because they're building a tram network...

It's happening.

Just want to echo what a few people have said, and also point out more clearly that Edinburgh is a _lot_ smaller than London. A bicycle is a _great_ way to get around town (if you have waterproofs!). If you're in the City Centre, most places you'll want to go are within 1 or at most 2 miles.

If you'll be relying on public transport, it's worth a quick study of the bus routes. Look at where you'll be staying and where you'll be traveling to, and make a choice that'll make sense for you. My experience is that transport is _great_ for getting from outside the city to inside, not so great for getting across town.

So long as you don't have to have bus changes at a time of day when buses run infrequently, buses work just fine. If you can find a place where there's more than one service in the general direction of where you'll be travelling, even better.

Bicycle, walking shoes, well-planned bus trips -- lots of ways to explore this lovely, lovely small city.

:-)