Is Haymarket A Good Area To Stay In Edinburgh?

Yes, for most budget travellers Haymarket is a good area to stay in Edinburgh. It puts a mainline rail station, a tram stop and a stack of bus routes within a few minutes' walk of your hotel door, while a double room at Travelodge Edinburgh Haymarket starts from £96 per night for two adults and a dorm bed at MEININGER Hotel Edinburgh Haymarket from £13 per night. The trade-off is simple: fewer bars and restaurants than the Old Town, and a 25-minute walk to Waverley when you fancy going on foot.

Haymarket is the junction where the West End meets the arterial roads out to the west of the city. On paper it reads like a place you pass through rather than a place you sleep, but listing data says otherwise: this pocket holds one of the cheapest hybrid hostels in the city and several budget hotel options that undercut their city-centre siblings. For a visitor whose priority is a cheap room with excellent transport rather than a doorstep view of the castle, the numbers lean firmly in Haymarket's favour. This article weighs the area's price advantage against what you give up in atmosphere, Here is how Haymarket's prices and transport links compare with the centre..

How Does Haymarket Compare To The City Centre On Price?

Haymarket is the cheaper of the two in most cases. At almost every stay type, its prices sit below City Centre rates by a clear margin, making it the stronger choice for cost-conscious visitors. The main exceptions are August and Hogmanay, when the gap between the two areas narrows sharply and the savings are far less pronounced. At the budget hotel level, Travelodge Edinburgh Haymarket lists double rooms from £96 per night for two adults, against £99 at the same chain's Waterloo Place site and £83 at Central Queen Street, so the saving over the most central equivalent is modest, but Haymarket's rates climb less steeply on ordinary weekends. At the hostel level the gap widens dramatically: MEININGER Hotel Edinburgh Haymarket, a hybrid hotel with dorm beds, lists from £13 per dorm bed per night, with private room rates shown on the live listing. Market-wide, advertised city hotel rates averaged £202 per night across the year, with January the cheapest tracked month at £111 and August 2026 at £199, so any area that dampens the seasonal spike is worth a look.

The self-catering option follows the same pattern. A stylish one-bed flat in the Haymarket and West End area holds an 8.8/10 rating across 8 reviews, with no price held, so you would need to see current rates for that apartment before comparing it with a hotel. The pattern matters more than any single figure: beds west of the centre are consistently priced below their Princes Street and Royal Mile equivalents in low season, and the levy does not change that ranking, only the final bill.

Add the Edinburgh Visitor Levy, a 5% charge on the room or bed price before VAT, applied to the first five nights only for stays from 24 July 2026, and the percentage difference between areas stays identical, since the levy scales with the price. A cheaper Haymarket room also means a smaller levy line. The official scheme is explained on the Council's visitor levy page.

The table shows the shape of the saving. Against the Royal Mile's compact hub by Premier Inn at £115, the Haymarket Travelodge at £96 saves £19 a night on the room before the levy is added, and the MEININGER dorm bed undercuts every central budget hotel entirely, playing in the hostel price league instead. If your heart is set on an apartment, the Haymarket 1-Bed Flat, which sleeps 2, is the only one in the area on the roster, and it holds no price, so treat it as an option to price on the night rather than a guaranteed bargain. One of them, the George Street 2-Bed Apartment in the New Town, rates 9/10 across 30 reviews, a solid score from a small pool.

For a fuller comparison of the whole city's cheap sleeps, the master guide on cheap accommodation options across Edinburgh breaks down every stay type and area.

How Good Is Haymarket For Transport?

Excellent, and it is genuinely the single best reason to sleep here: the transport is so good that the convenience alone justifies picking this area over anywhere else in the city, letting you arrive, depart, and move around with minimal fuss while saving time, money, and effort on every journey you make during your stay. Haymarket station runs frequent trains to Waverley in about four minutes, the tram stop sits at the junction with services towards the airport and Newhaven every seven minutes through the day, and Lothian routes such as the 12, 25 and 26 stop within a short walk. The tram fare is £2.40 for an adult single in the city zone, a day return is £4.60, and the contactless day cap is £5.70, per the official Edinburgh Trams timetable page. The airport is the same line, one tram away, which is why this pocket suits early flights as well as city breaks.

Walking is the honest weak point. The 25-minute walk to Waverley is real and mostly flat, but it is a commute, not a stroll past sights, and in rain it feels longer. Anyone planning to return to the room between attractions should factor in the tram fare or the legwork. Against that, the airport tram ride takes under 35 minutes end to end, and the Airlink 100 bus runs at least every 10 minutes by day at £6.00 for an adult single from the airport.

For anyone weighing the airport question specifically, the guide on airport transfers versus a central stay works through the sums, and Haymarket sits at the exact point where both options converge on one tram line. That convergence is rare in Edinburgh: most budget areas, Leith and Southside included, need a bus change or a longer ride to reach both the centre and the airport on one vehicle.

The George Street 2-Bed Apartment above sits in the New Town, not Haymarket, and is one to price against the hotels when a group or family shares the bill.

Is Haymarket A Good Area Of Edinburgh?

Yes, Haymarket is a good area of Edinburgh, especially if you want a practical base rather than postcard charm. The district has a mixed character, with some commercial stretches and less polished corners, but it is improving, and its transport links make it genuinely convenient for getting around the city. Visitors who value location and connectivity over scenic perfection will find it a sensible, comfortable choice, while those chasing classic Edinburgh atmosphere may prefer staying closer to the Old Town. The West End around Haymarket mixes Georgian and Victorian terraces with pubs, professional offices and hotels, an affluent residential edge that borders the New Town, and the area around the station itself is a busy interchange rather than a beauty spot. On the safety question, the neighbouring wards recorded 112 and 56 crimes per 1,000 population in 2024, against 336 in the City Centre ward covering much of the Old and New Towns, on published Scottish crime statistics by ward. As everywhere, keep valuables secure in crowds.

The area is also gaining beds quickly. Trade press reported MEININGER opening its first Scottish property, a hybrid hotel converted from an office block, in August 2026, and a controversial large hostel was approved here in 2026. Budget visitor reports repeatedly describe this pocket as a quieter, cheaper base within 15 to 20 minutes of the centre by bus or tram, and the noise profile is genuinely calmer than the Cowgate and Grassmarket, where Fringe venues and clubs run until 3am in August.

The evening economy is thinner, which cuts both ways. Dinner within five minutes of Haymarket station is more likely to be a solid pub than a destination restaurant, and the festival feeling that floods the Old Town barely reaches here. For travellers who sleep early, walk all day and want a quiet room at a fair price, that absence is a feature, not a bug.

Which Area Of Edinburgh Is Best To Stay In?

There is no single winner, because the best area of Edinburgh to stay in depends on your budget and your pace, and the honest ranking shifts by stay type. A short city break calls for a different base than a longer, slower visit, and what suits a splurge rarely suits a saver. For the absolute cheapest bed, the Old Town and Cowgate hostels win, with Kick Ass Greyfriars from £10 per dorm bed per night and Kick Ass Grassmarket from £12, both rating 8.26/10 and above across large review pools. For a cheap double room, Haymarket and its western corridor compete directly with the airport belt: Travelodge Edinburgh Haymarket at £96, ibis budget Edinburgh Park at £85 and Premier Inn Edinburgh Airport M9 Jct1 at £69, each per night for a double room for two adults. For atmosphere, the Old Town and New Town are unbeatable on foot; for value per pound spent, west wins.

That £69 airport figure comes with a tram fare attached every time you want the centre, roughly 35 minutes each way, so the true cost of a far-flung cheap room includes transport. Haymarket's advantage is being the last genuinely cheap stop before the centre proper, the point where the price curve bends upward. Edinburgh Central Youth Hostel in the New Town, by comparison, lists from £21.42 per dorm bed per night, a 64 percent premium on MEININGER's Haymarket bed.

Families and drivers should also read the dedicated pieces on family hotels in Edinburgh and parking, since the Low Emission Zone boundary sits east of Haymarket and changes the car maths considerably. The zone is enforced 24/7 and non-compliant vehicles face penalties, so a hotel just outside it, like the Edinburgh Park options, can be the cheaper overall choice.

What Is The Best Area Of Edinburgh To Stay In For Your Trip?

There is no single best area of Edinburgh for every visitor, so the smart move is to match your neighbourhood to the rhythm of your trip: pick a base that suits how you plan to spend your days, whether that means proximity to the sights you most want to see, easy walks home after dinner, or a quieter street away from the busiest crowds. A two-night city break built around the Royal Mile justifies paying Old Town prices for walking-distance access, where CODE The Court lists dorm beds from £19.53 and YOTEL Edinburgh doubles from £106. A week-long stay, a work trip with rail connections, or a visit built around day trips by train from Waverley and Haymarket all favour the West End, where the money saved across several nights is real. And a trip organised around an early flight or a hire car favours the airport corridor, accepting the tram commute in exchange for the cheapest doubles on the roster.

The seasonal dimension deserves a final word. Advertised hotel rates in January 2027 average £111, the cheapest tracked month, while August sits far higher, with reported occupancy at 90.9 percent and average daily rates at £261 in the last measured August. In those spike weeks, festival-goers who book 9 to 12 months ahead, or who take a cheaper base like Haymarket and tram in, get materially more for their money. Six Nations weekends at Murrayfield also distort this specific area's prices, since the stadium is a short hop west, so check the fixture list before you book a February or March weekend here.

Common Questions About Staying In Haymarket

is haymarket a good area to stay in edinburgh?

Yes, for budget travellers who value transport over atmosphere. A Travelodge double starts from £96 per night for two adults, a MEININGER dorm bed from £13, and the tram, rail and bus links reach the centre in minutes.

is haymarket a good area of edinburgh?

It is a mixed, improving area of Georgian and Victorian terraces around a busy interchange, quieter than the Old Town, with lower recorded crime in its wards than the City Centre ward covering the Old and New Towns.

which area of edinburgh is best to stay in?

The Old Town and Cowgate for the cheapest dorm beds (from £10 per night), Haymarket and the West End for cheap rooms with rail and tram links, and the airport corridor for the cheapest doubles with parking, from £69 per night.

what is the best area of edinburgh to stay in?

There is no single best area: short breaks suit the Old Town despite higher prices, while longer stays, rail-based trips and early flights favour Haymarket or the airport corridor on pure value.

How far is Haymarket from the city centre?

Haymarket station is about 25 minutes on foot from Waverley, roughly four minutes by train, and a few minutes by tram, which runs every seven minutes through the day in each direction.

The short version: Cheap Hotels Edinburgh exists because the right neighbourhood decision routinely saves more than any loyalty scheme, and on that measure Haymarket earns its place among the city's best-value bases. Sleep west, ride the tram, and spend the difference on the city itself.