The biggest game of the season takes place in Edinburgh on Saturday and Leicester Tigers will be there – but their fans could be forced to stay up to an hour away.

A hotel room shortage is leaving the Welford Road faithful having to seek accommodation some distance from the Scottish capital.

The away supporters club described the situation as the worst they have known.

After Saturday's Heineken Cup Final against Leinster, a large proportion of the estimated 12,000 travelling Tigers fans will have to travel to hotels in other Scottish towns and cities.

Bookings have been made in Motherwell, Perth, Dundee, Dunfermline and Glasgow, because no-one can find a room in the host city.

John Griffiths, chairman of the away supporters' club said: "I've been to Edinburgh for international games – I was up there a few years ago for the Heineken Cup Final – and there was no problem getting a hotel.

"This year, though, has been ridiculous. I have never seen anything like it.

"Leicester fans are really showing their loyalty, especially with us having the credit crunch to contend with."

Visit Scotland, the Scottish tourist board, admitted demand for hotels in the city and surrounding areas had reached unprecedented levels.

Fans are being told that Edinburgh and Glasgow city centre are both fully booked.

A Visit Scotland adviser told the Mercury yesterday that the wave of cancellations it was expecting after Irish team Munster failed to make the final had not materialised.

The closest hotel it could offer was at Glasgow Airport, in Paisley – 46 miles away.

To get to the stadium, fans would have to take a 15-minute taxi ride to Glasgow train station followed by a 45-minute train journey to Edinburgh.

Some fans have reported that the few hotels in Edinburgh which had vacancies for Saturday night were raising prices up by as much as three times the normal rates.

Visit Scotland spokesman James Lakie said the tourist board had tried to talk hotels out of exploiting fans.

He said: "There will be more than 50,000 people from outside Scotland coming to Murrayfield for the rugby, which has put a significant burden on accommodation providers in Edinburgh.

"But it is a fantastic opportunity from a Scottish tourism perspective so it is vital we provide value for money. We want to entice visitors back."

Tigers have chartered coaches for 400 fans, half of whom will be leaving Leicester at 6am on Saturday and coming back after the game – arriving back at about 3am on Sunday. The other half have been found accommodation in East Kilbride and Larhall, on the outskirts of Glasgow, and Biggar, near the border.

All of the packages have now sold out.

The away supporters' club has organised coach travel and two nights' accommodation for its 140 members going to the game

Because of the shortage of hotel rooms in the city, they will be staying in Perth, 32 miles north of Scotland's capital.

Independent travel agent Barton Knott Travel has chartered a train and a plane for 350 fans, with accommodation overnight in Glasgow.

The Anstey firm said it still had a "limited number" of places left.

A number of returned match tickets were released on general sale on Monday morning. Leicester Tigers box office said yesterday that it still had a few available. A number of tickets were also being sold on eBay yesterday, priced at face value.