Take the direct train. Trains from Perth to Pitlochry, run by ScotRail and LNER, take half an hour with two stops on the way, and the quickest run did it in 29 minutes. Driving the 27 miles up the A9 takes about 45 minutes, so from Perth the train beats the car outright.
Departures from Perth come at irregular intervals, with gaps between Pitlochry trains ranging from 33 minutes to almost two hours. On the weekday we checked they left at 08:11, 10:02, 11:16, 11:53, 13:11, 14:50, 16:19, 17:53, 19:03, 20:27 and 21:00, and the 08:11 was the earliest we found. Late morning gives you the most choice, with three trains between 11:16 and 13:11.
The longest waits on that list are in the morning, between the 08:11 and the 10:02, and in the afternoon, when about an hour and a half separates the 13:11 from the 14:50, the 14:50 from the 16:19 and the 16:19 from the 17:53. If you are reaching Perth by train from somewhere else, plan the onward connection to Pitlochry around these times.
Perth is also where the rail routes from Dundee and Aberdeen change for Pitlochry, so these same half-hour trains form the second leg of those journeys.
Once the 21:00 has gone, buses take over. One ran all the way from Perth to Pitlochry at 21:19 and another at 22:55, each taking about 40 minutes, and a 21:10 bus with a change at Perth Broxden Park and Ride took around 50. That keeps a late evening in Perth workable if you are staying in Pitlochry.
From Pitlochry station it is a five-minute walk to Atholl Road, a distance of 357 metres, so a half-hour train from Perth and that short stroll are the whole journey.
Journey times and changes below come from the rail and bus timetables for Tuesday 1 December 2026. Weekend and holiday timetables differ, so check the day you travel.
From Perth on the weekday we checked: every 75 to 90 minutes or so between 08:11 and 21:00.
By road it is about 27 miles from Perth to Pitlochry, mostly via the A9 — roughly 45 min with clear roads. Car parks in Pitlochry are listed on the Getting Here page.