Port of Leith

Cruise Forth's Leith page says ships enter the docks through lock gates and tie up alongside the Royal Yacht Britannia. Cruise vessels showing Newhaven anchor off shore and passengers tender in, and passengers at South Queensferry also go ashore by tender. Forth Ports says large cruise vessels may be unsuitable for berthing at Leith or Rosyth because of their dimensions.

Dock, Newhaven tender or Queensferry tender

Cruise Forth calls Leith the port of Edinburgh. Cruise vessels showing Newhaven (not to be confused with Newhaven in Sussex) anchor off shore and tender into the harbour, and all excursions leave from there. At South Queensferry, passengers go ashore by tender, a 10 minute journey under the spans of the Forth Bridge to Hawes Pier. The X99 bus, run by Lothian Buses, goes non-stop from the Queensferry pier to Edinburgh city centre.

The tender into Newhaven

Tenders take around 15 minutes from the ship to the harbour. Edinburgh Trams calls Newhaven harbour a popular cruise terminal. At the quayside, taxis and the local city bus are available, and Cruise Forth recommends service 11 for the city centre. The tram stop is about 500 metres from the harbour, a 5 minute walk, and Edinburgh Trams puts Newhaven to the city centre at roughly 25 minutes by tram. A hop-on hop-off service, The Regal Tour, runs around the major city attractions. On-street parking is available at Newhaven.

Alongside Britannia at Leith

Excursion coaches wait in a fenced area beside the terminal building, and taxis stand beside the terminal as well, with fares shown on the meter. Britannia sits beside the Ocean Terminal shopping centre, which has shops, restaurants and a cinema. Cruise Forth says the centre of Leith is within a 15 minute walk to the east, past old Whisky bonds. Some cruise operators run a coach shuttle into the city centre, 20 minutes. Cruise Forth says buses 10 and 16 run frequently to the city centre. There are no rail connections in Leith, and the nearest station is Edinburgh Waverley.

The Ocean Terminal tram stop

The Ocean Terminal stop is next to the Royal Yacht Britannia and the Port of Leith Distillery, and it lies in the City Zone. Trams run from every 7 minutes. Edinburgh Trams lists these adult fares (checked 2026-10-26): single in the city zone £2.40, day return £4.60, City Day £6.00. The contactless adult day cap is £5.70. It requires the same contactless card or device all day and excludes tram journeys to the Airport.

To Edinburgh Airport

Trams run to the airport every 7 minutes between 6:30am and 7pm, and every 10 minutes early in the morning and later in the evening. The first tram leaves the airport at 06:30 and the last at 22:52. The journey from the airport to the city centre takes less than 35 minutes, and about 55 minutes to Newhaven. A passenger needs an Airport ticket to travel there from anywhere on the line. Adult fares (checked 2026-10-26): Airport Single £7.90, Airport Open Return £9.50, Network Day £14.00.

Parking at Leith

Public car parking is in the adjacent multi-storey car park. Cruise Forth says on-street parking is limited to a few hours.

Money and emergencies

The currency in Scotland is pound sterling. In an emergency dial 999. The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, 51 Little France Crescent, Old Dalkeith Road, EH16 4SA, has an A&E.

Edinburgh calls at Leith and Newhaven

Ships either dock at Leith beside the Royal Yacht Britannia or anchor off Newhaven, where tenders take around 15 minutes to the harbour. The date range shown above holds 17 calls at Edinburgh in WakeRadar's AIS tracking, close to 1.3 a week. Viking Ocean Cruises led the call count. Ships get in around 7:15 am to 10:45 am. They pull out around 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm.

How this page is made

Ship calls come from WakeRadar's AIS tracking (date range shown above). Port facts come mostly from Cruise Forth, a site whose footer says it is managed by the Forth Bridges Cruise Project. Facts were checked on 2026-10-26 against the sources below. The text is reviewed by the WakeRadar editor.

Sources

• https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/leith-transit/
• https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/getting-around-leith/
• https://edinburghtrams.com/stop/ocean-terminal
• https://edinburghtrams.com/
• https://edinburghtrams.com/tickets/ticket-options
• https://edinburghtrams.com/newhaven-harbour
• https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/getting-around-newhaven/
• https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/faq-newhaven-transit/
• https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/newhaven-transit/
• https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/queensferry-transit/
• https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/local-useful/
• https://www.cruiseforth.com/content/local-emergencies/
• https://www.forthports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FPS-PMSC-F-20_06-Cruise-Liner-Tender-ProForma-1.pdf
• https://www.edinburghairport.com/transport-links/trams
• https://edinburghtrams.com/stop/edinburgh-airport-airport-fare-zone