St Andrews & the Fishing Villages of Fife Small-Group Day Tour from Edinburgh
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Edinburgh, Scotland
- 8 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Why travelers loved this
·
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Travel from Edinburgh to St. Andrews and Fife on this day trip from Edinburgh. Cross the Forth Road Bridge into the Kingdom of Fife and pass by the coastal villages of East Neuk. Then pay homage to the town of St. Andrews, home to Scotland's oldest university and the Old Course, where golf is routinely played. Driving in a top-of-the-range, 16-seat Mercedes mini-coach, see Falkland and the Lomond Hills. Enjoy a small-group tour for a memorable and personalized experience.
- Plenty of time in St Andrews, home of golf and Scotland's oldest university
- A small-group tour for a more personalized experience
- Enjoy privileged, personalized attention from your driver-guide on this small group tour
- Travel in a top-of-the-range Mercedes mini-coach
What's Included
- Professional driver/guide
- Transport by top of the range Mercedes mini-coach
- Small Group (max 16 people) for a more personal experience
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop off
- Food and drinks, unless specified
- Admission fees
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Edinburgh Bus StationEdinburgh EH1 3AY, UK
Please meet your Rabbie's guide inside the Edinburgh Bus Station, Gate J and Gate K, St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH1 3DQ (Check in closes 15 minutes prior to departure)
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.9:45 am
Itinerary
This small-group day trip to St. Andrews starts in central Edinburgh, where you’re picked up in the personalized comfort of a top-of-the-range, 16-seat Mercedes mini-coach. Your guide narrates and makes plenty of stops, allowing for more intimate knowledge at each Scotland destination.
Traversing the Forth Road Bridge over the Firth of Forth, you’re treated to views of the Forth Rail Bridge, a cantilever railway bridge and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enter the peninsular Kingdom of Fife, surrounded by the Firth of Tay and the North Sea, and listen to anecdotes about the photogenic coastal villages of East Neuk.
Make a stop in the harbor-side town of Anstruther before descending upon St. Andrews, a medieval town and 1,000-year-old capital of the Scottish Church. You have free time to stroll around the University of St. Andrews—attended by Prince William and the country’s oldest university—and see where golf is played at the Old Course.
On the return drive to Edinburgh, head to Falkland, a village dominated by the imposing Falkland Palace once belonging to Scotland’s royal family. Cross the Lomond Hills and see where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned at Loch Leven.
Traversing the Forth Road Bridge over the Firth of Forth, you’re treated to views of the Forth Rail Bridge, a cantilever railway bridge and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enter the peninsular Kingdom of Fife, surrounded by the Firth of Tay and the North Sea, and listen to anecdotes about the photogenic coastal villages of East Neuk.
Make a stop in the harbor-side town of Anstruther before descending upon St. Andrews, a medieval town and 1,000-year-old capital of the Scottish Church. You have free time to stroll around the University of St. Andrews—attended by Prince William and the country’s oldest university—and see where golf is played at the Old Course.
On the return drive to Edinburgh, head to Falkland, a village dominated by the imposing Falkland Palace once belonging to Scotland’s royal family. Cross the Lomond Hills and see where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned at Loch Leven.
1
Forth Bridge
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Anstruther Harbour
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
St. Andrews
3 hours • Admission Ticket Free
4
Falkland Palace & Garden
1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- We apologise, but we cannot accommodate children under 5 years old on our tours. Children under 18 need to be accompanied by an adult. Please note that if this policy is not followed, we will have to refuse travel without issuing a refund. Thank you for understanding.
- Check in closes 15 minutes prior to departure. This tour will depart from inside Edinburgh Bus Station, Gate J and Gate K, St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH1 3DQ.
- Luggage Allowance: You're restricted to 20kg (44lbs) of luggage per person. This should be one piece of luggage similar to an airline carry-on bag (approximately 55cm x 45cm x 25cm / 22in x 17in x 10in) plus one small bag for onboard personal items.
- In order to retain the integrity of the tour and try to ensure that all our customers have the best possible experience, we do cap bookings from any one party to 8 passengers.
- Due to safety inspection and possible maintenance work, St Andrews Cathedral is closed until further notice.
- Please note that tours stops and timings are flexible and for reference purposes only.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers
Supplied by
Frequently Asked Questions (11)
Q:What is the departure point for the St Andrews & the Fishing Villages of Fife Small-Group Day Tour?
A:The tour departs from Edinburgh Bus Station, St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH1 3DQ
Feb 2023
The answers provided are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Dennis_Q
This tour was absolutely fabulous! The scenery was stunning—from the charming fishing villages of Fife to the historic beauty of St. Andrews. Our guide, Dave, was amazing! He was knowledgeable, funny, and made the day so enjoyable with great stories and local insights. Everything ran smoothly and felt perfectly paced. I’d highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Scotland—ask for Dave if you can!
Reviews
4.7
based on 2,127 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Claudia_S, Jul 2026
It was a beautiful trip, but one passenger monopolized our tour guide while we were traveling. She insisted on sitting in the front seat beside the driver. He had difficulty sharing information with the other passengers.
Nancy_K, Jul 2026
Great day! Brian’s wit, knowledge and entertaining Fife playlist created a fun experience. Stops allowed glimpse of fishing village culture. St Andrew’s was AMAZING.
Roger_W, Jul 2026
Loved St Andrews, the Old Course. St Andrews University. I would have liked to spend more time in St Andrews. Loved it.
Kandis_P, Jul 2026
It was a great day. Of course, it was made even better by the amazing weather. The amount of time that in St. Andrews was perfect for lunch, shopping, and strolling on the beach.
Carol_C, Jul 2026
This trip was a dream realized for my husband, an avid golfer. Rachel our driver was funny, warm and welcoming.
Taylor_G, Jul 2026
Great day trip with some historical information as well as personalization from our fantastic driver Andrew F. Would recommend!
Margo_T, Jul 2026
The tour was fantastic, Alex was an amazing guide.
Informative, knowledgeable, safe driver, fun.
We had a wonderful time.
Highly recommended
Nancy_H, Jul 2026
The guide basically transported us to St Andres and dropped us off. We also stopped at a small quaint town on the way back to Edinburgh. Again dropped off. We might as well have found transportation without a guide. I think the bus would have cost less and accomplished the same thing.
Stacey_C, Jul 2026
Great trip. Perfect timing for everything. Graham was knowledgeable and friendly. Informative. The day trip I was looking for.
Ghislain_M, Jul 2026
The drive through the little villages was so nice and St Andrews is a beautiful town!!
Our guide Alex was knowledgeable and funny 😁
Barbara_L, Jul 2026
Stephen was a master history teller. He weaved facts through the geography as we travelled about the tour.
Mary_C, Jun 2026
You only have 2 hours and 45 minutes in St. Andrews. You also stop at a fishing town and a town from Outlander(which we have never seen).We would have preferred another hour in St. Andrews and skip the fishing town. Otherwise a very good trip. You are on your own in St. Andrews. We visited the remains of the cathedral and the rest of the time at the Old Course. It was a Sunday, so we were able to walk the course and take lots of pictures. The beach there also was quite pretty.
Abigail_C, Jun 2026
Easy. Scenic. Relaxing. Interesting description by Billy M. Very nice considerate driver and guide. Worth every pound.
Melinda_N, Jun 2026
If possible, take this tour on a Sunday as the public can walk on the Old Course that one day. It was such a treat.
Julie_K, Jun 2026
Excellent tour, our guide was knowledgeable about the area and the stops along the way were perfectly timed.
Karin_H, Jun 2026
Our guide Alex D. was great! He was very knowledgeable about the region as well as Scottish history. The day was fabulous and I highly recommend this day trip.
Diane_W, Jun 2026
Really enjoyed our trip to St. Andrews and walking the Old Course and wandering the beach and the village. David H our driver had many greay stories to tell us and provided so much information. Really enjoyed his recommendations for fish n chips and donuts! A superb day trip.
Paula_M, Jun 2026
The locations we visited were lovely however the fishing villages and the Falklands were not allocated to have enough time. 3 hours in Saint Andrews was way too much. We got to the Falklands which were just charming too late and only got to spend 45 minutes instead of the promised hour and when we got there the majority of the stores were closed —a major major disappointment. All the stops with the exception of Saint Andrews were rush, rush, rush.
Michelle_B, Jun 2026
We had a wonderful time on this tour! David is an exceptional guide who is full of knowledge and has a great personality. Definitely recommend!
Andrew_L, Jun 2026
We had a fabulous trip to St Andrews with our great driver Cameron, the Kingdom of Fife and St Andrews, the home of golf is a must do, with beautiful villages and stunning quaint St Andrews with glorious old buildings
Gordy_S, Jun 2026
Lots of time in St Andrew's... and there is more than just the golf course!
The small village of Anthruster is quaint and people are very friendly.
Gary_F, Jun 2026
Well designed tour that was well worth the cost. We are not golfers, but St Andrews can be enjoyed by anyone. Shawn Gordon was our driver and a great host. We had authentic Scottish music and his command of history and architecture while we were driving made the experience a really special one. Tom was training and will be a another fantastic addition soon!
Rebecca_W, Jun 2026
Ewan did a fantastic job in personalizing the tour with his experiences growing up in the area. It was a fantastic day … especially with the shared strawberries at the end.
Richard_O, Jun 2026
Ewan the tour guide was full of stories and history. Great experience. Wish it was longer at each stop - the day flew by!
Marie_B, Jun 2026
Rabbie’s provided very comfortable bus, and extremely knowledgeable guide, Sean Gordon was a true historian with a knack for making it all fascinating!
Cathy_C, Jun 2026
We saw quite a few spots in a short period of time in comfortable conditions. St. Andrew’s was rainy but certainly worth the trip if you like golf. Our tour guide, Ewan, was amazing. He was extremely knowledgeable and spectacularly funny with a refreshingly positive outlook on life. I would wholeheartedly recommend him. The whole group loved him!!!!
Jim_M, Jun 2026
The tour provider was Rabbie's Tours. Our guide/driver was Kylie. She had a lovely Scottish accent, was easy to understand and had a great sense of humor. She provided lots of history and narrative but also welcomed questions and interaction with the passengers.
The small group bus held 16 passengers, and the rows are set up in a 1-2 format. We were among the last on the bus so didn't get to sit together.
Unfortunately, the rain put a damper on our stop in Anstruther and for a while in St Andrews. We were prepared with slickers and umbrellas and made the best of it. After a quick drive-by orientation we had about 2 hours in St Andrews. We were able to get some great photos of the golf course and university. Kylie made sure we knew where the best fish and chips could be found.
The last stop was Falkland where many of us chose to tour the palace which had been a royal hunting lodge centuries ago. The palace has several restored rooms and some beautiful gardens.
Jacob_S, Jun 2026
Tour was excellent and we were able to see the old course in action that day. Even with an active round they let us into 18 for pics on the famous bridge. We loved our. Tour guide Brian and would recommend this to others.
Megan_K, Jun 2026
Billy was a great guide. He had a perfectly curated playlist to go along with the history and information he shared during the bus ride. Two hours in St Andrews seems like a lot of time to fill but we could have used more time to explore the city. We never made it past the golf course!
Jeffrey_M, Jun 2026
Billy N was a great tour driver and guide! He kept us entertained as we drove to St Andrews and back and told us loads of fascinating facts and detailed.
From $84.34
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
St Andrews & the Fishing Villages of Fife Small-Group Day Tour from Edinburgh
2,126
8 hours 30 minutes
Free Cancellation
From
$84.34
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Attractions in Edinburgh, Scotland
- The Canongate Tours & Tickets
- Blackness Castle Tours & Tickets
- Rosslyn Chapel Tours & Tickets
- Edinburgh Castle Tours & Tickets
- Royal Yacht Britannia (HMY Britannia) Tours & Tickets
- Real Mary King's Close Tours & Tickets
- Alnwick Castle Tours & Tickets
- Scotch Whisky Experience Tours & Tickets
- Arthur's Seat Tours & Tickets
- Rosslyn Castle (Roslin Castle) Tours & Tickets
- Edinburgh Zoo Tours & Tickets
- Gladstone’s Land Tours & Tickets
- Greyfriars Kirk Tours & Tickets
- Falkland Palace and Garden Tours & Tickets
- Hopetoun House Tours & Tickets
- Melrose Abbey Tours & Tickets
- Museum of Edinburgh (Huntly House) Tours & Tickets
- Nelson Monument Tours & Tickets