The Open Championship
The oldest major in golf, on the most famous course on earth.
When The Open comes to St Andrews, the town's population multiplies overnight. Around 290,000 spectators flood the Old Course over the week, alongside the world's best players, the world's golf press, and corporate hospitality on a vast scale. It is the single biggest week in the St Andrews calendar — and the single hardest week to arrive into unprepared.
Roads into town are heavily managed, park-and-ride is enforced, and ordinary drop-offs are pushed far from the course. Accommodation books out within a 30-mile radius. Pre-arranged transfers with the right access knowledge are not a luxury this week — they're the difference between making your tee-time grandstand seat and missing it.
The things that define the week.
A full week of championship play plus practice days. The town runs at several times its normal capacity.
Temporary traffic orders, spectator park-and-ride and restricted drop-off zones change how every journey works.
Hospitality, media and player teams compete for every vehicle in Fife. Book transport early or go without.
How to arrive without the stress.
- Book accommodation and transfers 6–12 months ahead — Open years sell out first.
- Fly into Edinburgh (EDI); it's the most reliable approach during the managed road period.
- Let your driver handle the drop-off logistics — access points move during the championship.
- Allow extra time on finals weekend; crowds peak Saturday and Sunday.
Questions.
The Open rotates among a small group of links courses. It returns to St Andrews roughly every five years; the next St Andrews staging is expected around 2030. We run transfers to every Open venue across Scotland in the years between.
Drop-off points are controlled during the championship and change year to year. We hold the current access information and get you as close as the traffic management allows — usually far closer than you'd manage independently.
Travelling for The Open? Book early.
We know the access, the timings and the local logistics this week demands. Tell us your dates and we'll take care of the journey.
Tour pros and famous faces, across three of Scotland's great links.
The proudest days in the St Andrews academic year.
The start of the academic year — and the great migration into town.