Parking in Edinburgh can be challenging, so we have researched some options for you.
First, the good news.
You can park on the street for free after 6:30pm each night until 8:30am, Monday to Saturday.
And the bad news….after those times it’s expensive and a hassle.

Edinburgh has been divided into zones by the council, and the on street parking prices are dependent on the zones. The council has a FAQ page here.

We are in the “Central Controlled Parking Zone”, and parking here is controlled from 08.30 to 18.30 Monday to Saturday. The cost to park is £2.20 per hour, and the maximum time you can park in any bay is 4 hours. What is interesting, however, is that if you buy a ticket after 18.30, then the time you purchase will be for the next day. So, if you park at 7pm in the evening, and pay £6.60, you will be able to stay until 11.30am the next morning. If you park at 18.30 Saturday night, you should be fine until 8.30am Monday morning, or later if you pay. The closest on street parking near us Melville Street.

Melville St - The closest place to park on the street near the hostel.

For cheaper parking, you can continue down Queensferry Rd.
If you travel about 1km away, the parking becomes cheaper, £1.40 per hour.
If you travel about 2km down the road, then the parking is free.
A bus back, should you require it, (Route 41 from Queensferry Rd) will be £1.20 each way, and it stops outside our front door.

To use the machines, you need to insert coins and press the green button, then display the ticket on your window.

Naturally, you must always check the signs wherever you want to park. Do not park on double yellow lines, resident permit bays or in disabled bays. Some information about parking rules can be found here.

We are located in the West End of the city center of Edinburgh.

Our address is 3 Queensferry St. If you ask anyone where the Caledonian Hotel is, it will get you to our corner, as we are across the road from it (but no relation). Also, most people know the bars, so ask for Ryans Bar, that’s across the road too. Although we are officially on Queensferry St, basically we are located where Princes Street becomes Shandwick Place.

Unfortunately there is a lot of road work going on at the moment, as they are installing Trams into Edinburgh, and that’s a big job, so it can be confusing to walk around. Ask the locals, they are very nice people and willing to help.

Thanks to google, you can now look at that corner to get an idea of what you looking for. Click here to see it.

From the Airport

If you are coming from the airport, the take the airport bus (its the big blue double decker-number 100). For only £3.50 they will bring you straight to us. Get off the bus at the Shandwick Place/West End stop.(Make sure you listen to the announcements) You can get more information at http://www.flybybus.com/.

Get off the bus and turn right, then take the first left, to find the hostel.

If you don’t get off at the right stop, don’t worry, it only means you have to walk a little bit. Just get off at the final stop and turn right off the bus. Turn left at the end,  onto Princes Street and walk until you reach a big four way intersection, where you should see the Abbey Bank (soon to be Santander Bank). Other things on the corner are Ryans Bar, The Rutland Hotel, a church, and a department store called House of Fraser. The 5 Star Caledonian Hotel is across the road too. We are located above the Abbey bank, and our doorway is to the right of it, just after Mathers Bar.

Edinburgh has 2 train stations, Waverley and Haymarket. Waverley is usually the last stop, but both are about the same distance from us, which is about 800m.

From Waverley Station

To find us after your train trip just follow the signs from the station to Princes Street, then turn left onto it. Walk about 800m and you will find the intersection which I tried to describe above.

From Haymarket Station

Its about the same distance to each train ststion, so its your choice which one you use. From Haymarket turn right and follow then left at the corner, which should take you onto Shandwick Place. Walk down that about 800m until you find the corner listed above with the bank, and turn left onto Queensferry St to find the hostel.

Buses coming from London or Glasgow or anywhere else will stop at the bus station in the east end, which is about 10-15 minutes walk away, but it is a pleasant walk. Get off the bus and turn right to go up the escalators, which will get you to St Andrews Street. Turn left on that, heading to Princes Street. At the end, turn right onto Princes Street and walk until you reach a big four way intersection, where you should see the Abbey Bank (soon to be Santander Bank). Other things on the corner are Ryans Bar, The Rutland Hotel, a church, and a department store called House of Fraser. The 5 Star Caledonian Hotel is across the road too. We are located above the Abbey bank, and our doorway is to the right of it, just after Mathers Bar.

Oh, no…why are you traveling to Edinburgh by car. You are going to make your life very hard you know.

If you arrive by car, then the news is all bad. Really, you should consider public transport, it’s better for the world, and a city like Edinburgh prefers it. Cars cannot get near our entrance, I’m sorry to say, too many buses run past. And parking isn’t available anywhere near us for any reasonable prices.

The best option is to park at one of the city’s ParknRide stations, and catch the bus back into the center of town, where we are. The cost is a bus ticket (£1.20) You can read about them here.

Otherwise, you will have to pay for parking usually. The streets have free parking after 7pm at night normally, until 7am, but you must never test the parking inspectors. They are a private company that will book you if you are one minute late. If you want to park in a secure undercover car park, it will cost about £20 overnight. Street parking usually costs from £1-£2 per hour.

More information about parking from The City Of Edinburgh Council here.

Park overnight at the airport and catch a bus back

Sorry we couldn’t offer better options, it’s one of the only disadvantages of being a hostel located in the city center.