Have you considered staying in Arbroath itself? It has a lot of B&Bs and the town itself has a lot of places to eat if you're looking for an evening meal. If you go to the Visit Scotland website and search for accommodation in Dundee and Angus
http://guide.visitscotland.com/vs/scout/accs/5,en,SCH1,1459/r,RGN618vs,season,at1,topNav,1/result.html;jsessionid=0a0202915bcd21e4b51d31f24e0b8b60d3354d1c9941.e38Mc30Oc3qRa40Lb3mOb3qLc3uKe0?ref=1&curr=GBP&idx=0&s=0&stsp=-1&season=at1&sortAllTop=rgnasc&SortListTop.x=8&SortListTop.y=2&SortListTop=SortListTop&sortAllBottom=random
it lists B&Bs and guest houses.

Hi Merseygull,

This is my part of the world and in these circumstances I'd look for something nearer than Dundee to base yourselves in and you'll get better value by staying in one of the small family run hotels in the area than a big chain hotel. For instance, the Colliston Inn is just up the road from RM Condor (and only a short taxi ride from Arbroath train station) and only has 2 letting rooms but it has an excellent reputation - I frequently take visitors to the restaurant. Get in quick before another family does and they'll probably do you a good weekend deal for both rooms.

Or Carnoustie would be another good option - halfway between Dundee and Arbroath and on the main east coast line too. The Aboukir Hotel and the Kinloch Arms both are within walking distance of the station and both have a small number of letting rooms and good reputations for their food. The Aboukir aims at a 'boutique' hotel styling with a more adventurous restaurant menu whereas the Kinloch is much more traditional with an emphasis on Scottish homecooking but you'll need to book a table in advance at weekends if you want one of their High Teas. The Station Hotel isd also very popular but as it's name suggests, it is right next to the railway and potentially noisier as a result but that doesn't seem to deter golfers coming to play the course but not wanting to pay the what the Oxford golf Hotel charges.

I could go on but centring your search for accommodation on the villages that surround Arbroath really is your best bet to my mind and if you decide to go down that route I can make further suggestions or let you know what us locals think of any other possible options you find.

As for travel - it's probably a bit early to get the best deals re the trains - the best deals seem to be made available about 6 weeks before trave. But return flights Exter/Edinburgh for 3 with FlyBe are coming up at just under £360 in total at the moment. Return flights Exeter/Aberdeen with them are coming up cheaper at around £320 and as you can get the train straight from the station at Dyce, that is potentially the quicker and cheaper option all round.

SM

We've had this problem of train fares from the West Country to Scotland before - and oddly enough it was for travel this weekend! Basically, Arriva Cross Country don't do cheap tickets for complicated journeys anymore. The date they go on sale is actualy 12 weeks in advance (less for Sat and Sundays) but looking ahead from now, the restricted condition, buy in advance fare is actually dearer than the buy on the day for a return trip!!! I'm not sure whether this is a deliberate commercial policy or whether all the good staff stayed with Virgin when they were split up.

There are cheaper ways but they come with risk. If you travel via Birmingham try breaking the ticket up into portions at Birmingham and either York or Edinburgh. They may add up cheaper. BUT, if you do this you lose the rights of through ticket so if anything goes wrong you may find yourself stuck without assistance.

The very cheapest route also comes with that problem and needs to be booked as soon as the Advance tickets go on sale. From Bristol, FGW will get you to London from £25 return each. Then East Coast will get you from London to Dundee from £30 RETURN. But they don't have many seats at those prices so you have to be quick. And you need a taxi from Paddington to Kings Cross.

But then we come to your biggest problem! You used a word that makes the hearts of seasoned rail travellers sink. SUNDAY. Personally I wouldn't consider planning a rail journey of that length on a Sunday. It might be OK but if there's any engineering work not only will it mean buses but it could stop them issuing Advance tickets - as we found out in the earlier enquiry. Have you considered National Express??

Have you considered National Express??

Please don't unless there really is absolutely no alternative! The quickest journey time between Exeter and Dundee is 13 hrs long and for that you'll need to be ready for an early start. Most journey times on this route are closer to 20hrs! And remember on top of this you'll need to add in the time for getting to Exeter and then on from Dundee to wherever you stay (the long distance coaches don't usually stop in Arbroath). A good friend came up overnight from Exeter for a weekend with me just the once and found it exhausting. As far as I know there are no direct routes - you'll have to change in Glasgow - and as my parents discovered on one trip up from Liverpool, they won't hold the coach from Glasgow for you if your connecting service is delayed. After that nightmare journey they vowed never again.

Also, quick basic check on fares for your dates on the quickest journey came out at just over £300 in total for the 3 of you. I didn't search around to see if there were cheaper routes and fares but in your shoes, I'd try and find the extra to fly Exeter to Aberdeen!

SM

Hi folks and thanks for your advice....had basically ruled out the train at present due to cost... as you say, coach looks to be a bit of a nightmare experience.... was almost committed to driving it but got a email from Easyjet.... 30% off all flights and stuff 'till march next year.........

Result - 3 return tickets Bristol/Edinburgh, with baggage, insurance = £180

Have also taken SMa's advice and booked us into the Colliston, have confirmed that with Grant this evening....

Many thanks for your help, will let you know how we get on!!

ATB,J.

Glad you got such a good result and I hope that you enjoy the weekend. I'm not sure whether you are planning to hire a car from Edinburgh but if you are planning on training it to Arbroath then it is really easy. The airport shuttle bus will drop you right across the road from Haymarket station or take you right up into town to Waverley and at £5 return it will be cheaper than a taxi even with 3 of you.

I'll leave it to Steve8482 to chase out the best deals for you on the trains but Scotrail frequently does very good deals on the Edinburgh route north.

SM

Add £5pp return on the 100 - Express Airport Bus.
Going North, get the trains from Haymarket and not Waverley. All Northbound and some other trains go through Edinburgh Haymarket. Platform two is Northbound Departing.
Train will take approx 1.5 hrs.
Return without restrictions ie anytime return is £36.40

Thanks for the big build up but you're not going to like this.

the bus from the airport to Haymarket is simple enough (but £6 return). see http://www.flybybus.com/ but bear in mind there are major road works at various locations so the timetable may be a bit optimistic.

Scotrails cheapest Advance fare from Haymarket to Arbroath at the moment is £7.70 single but this is subject to basically the same sort of restrictions as the easyjet ticket and needs to be booked very quickly after the date is released (I reckon another week or two) - that price is not fixed and rises with demand like easyjet. Cross Country or East Coast may also have an advance price on their odd services north. But there's a catch -if the flight is delayed and you miss the booked train an Advance ticket isn't valid on any others and you'd have to buy Anytime singles which are currently £23.90 but will be dearer by then. The any train (except weekday morning peak)-any operator Off Peak return is £36.40 (if bought before the price goes up in January - this is legal as long as it's dated for outward travel on your date).

As the dearest return would be £36.40 and Advance prices can rise just watch the return total isn't getting close to £36.40 and therefore not worth the hassle of the restrictions. use http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/en/s/planjourney/query to keep an eye on things and make sure you click the little gold + to add the return leg before you ask for details. You can check fares from the timetable results, if you go to buy tickets it will show who will sell it you and whether they charge a fee.

And now the bad news. I can only check up to the last Sunday in January but as I warned the track menders are out between Arbroath and Dundee on Sundays and it's buses! There is no viable service if you've booked on EZ426 at 11:20 (other than taxi to Dundee for a 07:25 train). If you've booked EZ428 at 18:00 there are no Scotrail services, CrossCountry will get you there in time but their Advance price is from £14.50.

Thanks for all your advice/help, everyone...It's the first time that I've needed to ask for help and WOW BRILLIANT!!

Will keep you informed.....

ATB,J.

If you decide that driving from Edinburgh Airport might be a better option for you, then it may be worth taking a look at Arnold Clark Car Rental.

Prices start at £22 per day, inclusive of insurance and VAT.

David

Great idea, David... have done that as well!!

ATB,J.

I don't run a car but if I have visitors who have come up by train or plane I have hired one in the past from Arnold Clark so that we can get around easily and never had any problems with them. They even happily accept my card in payment when we pick it up even though I won't be doing the driving which many hire firms won't agree to - they insist on having payment made in driver's name.

Looks like you're all set now!

SM