EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Ayr is the nearest large town to Glasgow Prestwick airport ( ), which lies three miles north and has regular transport to Ayr and Glasgow. Ayr train station is ten minutes' walk southeast of the town centre; the bus station is in the centre at the foot of Sandgate; nearby is the tourist office , at 22 Sandgate (July & Aug Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 10am-5pm; Oct-June Mon-Sat 9am-5pm; tel 01292/290300), which can help with accommodation . Of the numerous choices on Queen's Terrace, head for Craggallan (tel 01292/264998, ; £40-50), a friendly little guest house with a dining table that converts into a billiards table, or opt for the Horizon Hotel (tel 01292/264384, ; £60-70), a purpose-built modern hotel nearby on the seafront. The best-value luxury option is the Savoy Park Hotel (tel 01292/266112, ; £70-90), a splendid red sandstone Scots Baronial building on 16 Racecourse Rd. Ayr's SYHA hostel (tel 01292/262322, ; March-Oct) also occupies a Scots Baronial mansion, at 5 Craigweil Rd off Racecourse Road. Campers should head for the Heads of Ayr caravan and campsite (tel 01292/442269; March-Nov), three miles south of town along the A719.

Arguably the town's best restaurant is Fouters , 2a Academy St, a cellar bistro off Sandgate (tel 01292/261391, ; closed Sun & Mon). For filling and inexpensive Scottish staples, try the Stables coffee house, tucked away in the Queen's Court Centre, on the corner of Sandgate and Newmarket Street. The Rupee Room , a popular, eye-catching Indian restaurant, on the eastern side of Wellington Square; the same family also run the snackier and even more designer Pakora Bar , 56-58 Sandgate. A mixed crowd packs out the West Kirk , a pub in a converted church on Sandgate, but the most historic pub in town is the thatched Tam o' Shanter , on the High Street, whose ancient walls sport quotes from Robert Burns.