Getting to Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire by Car

By Car

The main road into Aberdeen from the south (via Perth and Dundee) is the A90. The Bridge of Dee carries the A90 road into the city.

The main road into Aberdeen from the north west (Inverness, via Inverurie) is the A96.

The main road into Aberdeen from the north (Fraserburgh and Peterhead) is the A90

The main road into Aberdeen from the west (Royal Deeside, Cairngorms) is the A93

Aberdeen is indicated on direction signs on all these roads, and when you reach the boundary of the city, signs also direct you to the city centre. The speed limit on the roads is either 60mph (100km/h) if there is a single-carriageway or country road, or 70mph (110km/h) if a dual-carriageway. However, there are lower limits in places along certain parts of the route. Other smaller routes also lead into the city but are usually slower, less direct, or require driving through suburban streets to reach the city-centre. If you have a satellite navigation system, all routes will be included as part of the UK.

Travel Times:

Aberdeen lies halfway along the A90 dual-carriageway road between Edinburgh, Dundee and Peterhead. Allow approximately three hours from Edinburgh (130 miles/210km) and perhaps 3 and a half hours from Glasgow (150 miles/240km), assuming no traffic.

If coming from the north-west (e.g. Inverness, Moray, etc.) the A96 leads in via the airport at Dyce. Allow approximately three or four hours from Inverness. Much of the route is single-carriageway and there can be heavy traffic coming into the city at rush hour, as this is a key commuter route.

If coming from the south-west (e.g. Royal Deeside, the Cairngorm mountains, etc.), the A93 leads in. Bear in mind that in winter parts of this route are often closed due to snow. If coming from the west (e.g. western parts of Aberdeenshire such as Alford, Huntly and other towns and villages, the A944 provides the best route.

If you don’t have a sat nav system, you can either use our ergional map shown on the back page of the guide (go back to the homepage and click on the relevant guide to download the guidefree of charge). We also find the routefinder at www.theaa.com to be one of the best available online.