South Ayrshire Council

Travel Information

Travel By Air

You can fly into the heart of South Ayrshire through Glasgow Prestwick International Airport with regular flights to and from London and Europe.

From Glasgow Airport, Ayr is about 50 minutes drive, with the drive time from Edinburgh around 35 minutes longer.

Travel By Road

From the north and all other areas, the M77/A77 between Glasgow and Stanraer is the principal route into and through the region.

From the south, the M6 is the main route into Scotland. This joins the M74 at the Scottish border north of Carlisle. From this point, depending on your itinerary, there are a number of options:

• Continue on the M74 until a suitable exit road West for your destination point (e.g. A70, A71)
• Alternatively take the scenic coastal route on the A75, running from Gretna to Stranraer (110 miles). From Stranraer you can continue north to South Ayrshire following the A77-A719, a delightful coastal drive.
• Also available is the Galloway Tourist Route connecting through Dumfries west to New Galloway (A75-A712) then north to Ayr through the Galloway Forest Park.

Click here for location maps to South Ayrshire Facilities.

Useful links for Road Travel Information

• RAC
• AA
• Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
• Traveline Journey planner

Travel By Rail

From Glasgow and the north, ScotRail operates a frequent service from Glasgow Central Station to Barrassie, Troon, Prestwick Airport, Prestwick, Ayr, Maybole, Girvan and Stranraer.

From the south, the main West Coast Line serves Carlisle, Lockerbie and Glasgow with connections to most principal South Ayrshire towns.

The National Railways Enquiry Service offers advice on a variety of tickets to reach Scotland from the south and for travelling around Scotland. Sleeper tickets can be booked through First ScotRail Telesales on (Tel: 08457 550033) or via First Scotrail

For timetable information and fares contact National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950 or via Railtrack

Travel By Ferry

Caledonian MacBrayne operates ferries to West of Scotland islands including Arran.

P&O operates a high-speed catamaran from Larne to Troon in Ayrshire between March and October. The service takes 109 minutes For fares and booking information contact P&O Irish Sea: Tel 0870 24 24 777.

Stena Line operate sailings between Belfast Port and Stranraer harbour taking one hour and 50 minutes on the high-speed HSS Stena Voyager. For fares and booking information contact Stena Line: 08705 70 70 70.

Port of Ayr offers considerable experience in handling a wide range of cargoes, including dry bulks, forest products and scrap metal, and is also recognised as a major supply base for the offshore industry. Ayr is becoming an increasingly popular port-of-call for cruise liners, with its close proximity to some of Scotland’s best known attractions.