Southern Scotland and its capital, Dumfries & Galloway, stretches from the border with England, along the Solway Coast to the Irish Sea. The area is rather easy to reach by car, plane, train or bus. Follow this useful guide to reach Dumfries & Galloway, often within a matter of mere hours, from anywhere! Why wait to make a visit to this beautiful countryside?

Glasgow's Prestwick Airport (PIK) and Edinburgh Airport (EDI) are the nearest to Southern Scotland; each is roughly an hour and half drive from Dumfries & Galloway. We highly recommend a rental car for vacations in Southern Scotland and Dumfries & Galloway for their convenience and the flexibility they provide for exploration! Flights arrive to either airport with relative frequency from across the UK and from international destinations.

There are trains available from Prestwick Airport train station to Dumfries & Galloway.

A rental car is extremely useful for traveling at your own pace or for visiting areas (such as Southern Scotland) with limited public transport. To reach Dumfries & Galloway from Prestwick Airport or Edinburgh it is pertinent to follow signposts for the M74 connection. Once on the M74, follow the A701 if coming from Glasgow or the A702 if coming from Edinburgh.

As in the rest of the UK drivers use the left lane. Cars produced in or for use in Europe have their steering wheel on the right-hand side. It may not seem like much, but be cautious. It is a bigger adjustment than most realize. Speed limits vary, but usually remain between 30 mph (48 km/h) and 40 mph (64 km/h). Seatbelts are required and drivers or passengers not wearing them will be ticketed.

The M74 also connects with the rest of the Scottish Motorway network if you are planning to take more scenic routes or make day trips.

ScotRail offers services which travel direct to Dumfries & Galloway. In addition, there are ScotRail trains to Carlisle and Lockerbie, where you can change to a local train or bus to continue your journey. The train services in this part of Scotland are generally more expensive, and run much less frequently, due to the limited stations in these more 'remote' areas.

If you wish to travel by bus, National Express runs services from various locations across Scotland to Dumfries & Galloway. There are also Stagecoach buses from Glasgow and Edinburgh. Buses are slower and less expensive than trains, however they do operate a wider range of services in more remote regions that aren't serviced as heavily by trains.

Dumfries & Galloway is an ideal destination for a long distance cycle tour as national routes link the region to Cumbria as well as the rest of Scotland. There are hundreds of miles of routes in the area, including accessible off-road forest trails, long distance routes on quiet roads and mountain biking adventures.