Where to stay in Scarborough

Scarborough () is a seaside town and civil parish in the district and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. With a population of 61,749, Scarborough is the largest town on the Yorkshire Coast and the fourth-largest settlement in the county.

A castle was established on the headland in the Norman era, and the town first grew up along the more sheltered South Bay. There was fishing and sea trade, but it wasn't much of a harbour, and Scarborough mostly owes its existence to the strange course of the River Derwent. This arises nearby, but instead of flowing to the coast it turns inland, carving a broad valley between the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Wolds.

There are more hotels and B&Bs than you could shake a stick at. Supply usually well exceeds demand.

Getting in

All routes to Scarborough get very congested on summer weekends. The main approach is along A64, which forks off A1(M) to pass York and Malton. Expect to hit tailbacks just east of York where the dual carriageway narrows to single. Other routes are to leave A64 at York for A166 via Stamford Bridge and Bridlington; along A170 (for light vehicles only) from Thirsk and Pickering; from eastern England either via M18 then A614 or via Humber Bridge, Hull and A165; and from the north use A19 past Middlesbrough onto A171 then along the coast through Whitby.

Getting around

The town is a few miles long, but walk wherever possible. The Tramway is a funicular between St Nicholas St and the South Bay seafront, all of 248 feet / 76 m. Opened in 1881, it runs daily 10AM-5PM, adult £1.50. Open-top buses ply along the seafront between The Spa in South Bay and The Sands in North Bay. They run Apr-Oct daily every 15 min to 6:30PM or later. An adult day ticket is £5, child and concs £3. The bus south to Filey gets you to Cayton Bay, and the bus north to Whitby gets you to Robin Hood's Bay, see Get in.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.