Balmoral & Royal Deeside Tour
Recommended by 99% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Aberdeen, Scotland
- 7 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Discover the beauty and royal heritage of the Royal Deeside on this small-group tour from Aberdeen. Head first for Balmoral Castle where you can walk in the footsteps of the royals who have called the castle home. Afterward, head through the east Cairngorms to Ballater, a charming Victorian village of Ballater with royal connections. On the way back to Aberdeen, you'll visit the Cambus O'May suspension bridge, the Tomnavarie Stone Circle, and the Queen's View, one of Queen Victoria's favorite Aberdeenshire views.
- Explore the royal heritage of Aberdeenshire
- Small-group tour (maximum seven): A more intimate experience
- See multiple landmarks, including Balmoral Castle
- Learn about the history of Royal Deeside from your guide
What's Included
- WiFi on board
- Lunch
- Gratuities
- Balmoral Castle Tickets (General Admission)£18.50 per person
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- William Wallace StatueUnion Terrace, Aberdeen AB10 1NP, UK
Next to the William Wallace Statue in front of His Majesty's Theatre on Rosemount Viaduct. (AB10 1NP)
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.9:00 am
Itinerary
1
Balmoral Castle
2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included
2
Ballater
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
3
Cambus O' May Suspension Bridge
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Tomnaverie Stone Circle
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
B9119
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 7 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 82 reviews
Katherine_G, Apr 2026
This was a great way to see and learn about Aberdeenshire and Balmoral.
Dress for the weather so you can enjoy yourself.
Andrew_P, Apr 2026
Fabulous day trip to Balmoral with a few pleasant stops on the way thrown in too. Our guide Alex was wonderful. Mini bus was comfortable. Highly recommended
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you for joining us on tour and for your lovely review.
Linda_L, Apr 2026
Our Guide Alex was very informative and the van provided a nice ride to all the sites. Going to Balmoral seemed to transcend time and we had plenty of time to explore.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you Linda for your lovely review, it's a beautiful area with plenty to look at our the window and that does make time pass quickly.
Paige_P, Oct 2025
Alex was a phenomenal guide. He was so knowledgeable and very engaging. I recommend this tour a 100%..
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you so much for your feedback of our guide Alex. We are happy to hear you had a wonderful experience with him.
michelle_p, Sep 2025
Jamie was the BEST!!! He had sooo much knowledge of Aberdeen and Aberdeeshore and answered all our questions, even if they were personal! Showed us the most beautiful sites and took us to the best places I had truly had a great time!
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you very much for your enthusiastic review. We are thrilled Jamie made your experience a great one.
Eileen_K, Sep 2025
Beautiful scenery, interesting history, excellent service. The driver and guide, Jamie, was wonderful.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your review. We are happy to hear you enjoyed your day out with us.
Caroline_O, Sep 2025
Tour guide Alex fab great tour guide would recommend fab day out with a lovely bunch of people thanks
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you very much for booking a tour with us and for sharing your experience. We appreciate your kind review.
lhearney, Sep 2025
This was an excellent way to see the beautiful Deeside with a very knowledgeable guide! Alex, our guide was great with his story telling.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you for your review and glad Alex brought your tour to life.
Mike_J, Aug 2025
Really enjoyed this tour. Our tour guide/driver Jacqueline was great. Very knowledgeable and fun. Perfect amount of time at Balmoral and we enjoyed the drive through the beautiful landscapes.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you for your review and for joining us on tour. We are happy to hear you enjoyed your time with Jacqueline and hope you had a great stay in Aberdeen.
Catherine_C, Aug 2025
This was one of the best tours we could have asked for. Calum was the most amazing guide. He was so engaging and personable, and the whole day was like a private tour. His knowledge of different industries was very impressive. Calum grew up in Aberdeenshire, and you could tell how much he loves his home. Even though Balmoral is currently closed, Calum improvised perfectly and showed us two other castles. This tour was beyond doubt the highlight of our whole trip.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you for your wonderful review. We are happy to hear you had a great day out with Calum.
Catherine_D, Aug 2025
Very enjoyable day trip, informative & knowledgeable. Highly recommended. Plenty of free time. Thanks
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you for joining us on tour and for sharing your experience.
Karen_G, Jul 2025
This experience was absolutely AMAZING!! Our driver/guide, Alex, was incredibly knowledgeable and a great driver! The drive and sites were unspeakably outstanding and van was a quite comfortable.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thank you very much for your wonderful feedback of your experience with Alex. We appreciate the great review.
Maja_B, Jul 2025
This is an amazing trip. Balmoral castle is a place worth visiting definitely, Ballater village, brige and stone circle also. Magnificent nature. The tour was well organized and Alex was an excellent guide. Very professional and well informed about all details. Would recommend without any hesitation. Thanks for good organization
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thank you very much for your kind review. We are happy you know you were pleased with the tour and our guide Alex.
William_P, Jul 2025
You need additional castle entry to see inside the castle. Excellent guide. Very knowledgeable with good stories to back up the dry facts.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thank you for booking a tour with us and thank you for sharing your experience of the tour.
Cyndi_H, Jun 2025
What a wonderful tour! Alex, our tour guide knew so much HISTORY AND BACKGROUND with every stop we made! Balmoral Castle and grounds was beautiful! Stops at bridges and spawning streams, the path that the Queen would take on way to Balmoral— the whole trip was wonderful!!!
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you for booking a tour with us and for your wonderful review. It's great to see you enjoyed yourself.
Kris_R, Jun 2025
Small group tour with a super driver/guide. After the bustle of Edinburgh this was just what we needed. Stress free walking around the royal gardens on our own. Walk to the standing stones is a slight challenge but so worth the amazing view.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you very much for joining us on a tour to Balmoral and for making the hike up to the stones. It is a great view from the top!
Barb_J, May 2025
A fantastic tour, and so much more than Balmoral Castle. Jamie has so much knowledge of the area and is clearly proud of his corner of Scotland.
We really enjoyed the small group tour.
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you for leaving us a kind review, and for joining us on tour to Balmoral.
Scott_S, May 2025
Alex was a very good host and driver. He explained to us many great facts and stories about Balmoral and Aberdeenshire. Highly recommend the day trip out to explore this beautiful part of the world.
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you for booking a tour with us and for giving us a great review. We are delighted you enjoyed your day with Alex.
Arthur_M, May 2025
Comprehensive, delightful excursion. Good to explore countryside. Jaime was xcellent guide wirh extensive local knowledge
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you Arthur for joining us on tour and for sharing your experience with Jamie.
LAURA_T, May 2025
Fantastic day trip with Jamie, who was relaxed and patient. Great sense of humour and kept everyone really engaged. Ample time given to explore Balmoral on our own. Didn’t see the highland cows but maybe next time!
Response from Host, May 2025
It's a shame you missed the Highland Cows, but they can be tricky because the keep moving. Hopefully you'll get another chance to visit?
Dana_M, May 2025
Jamie is an excellent tour guide. He is knowledgeable, accommodating, interesting and so very personable. Our day with him at Balmoral Castle and Deeside Tour was simply heavenly. You have two glorious hours on your own to tour the ballroom and the extensive and beautiful grounds.
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you Dana, for your feedback on your experience on tour with Jamie. We are delighted you enjoyed Balmoral and Deeside.
Deena_C, Apr 2025
Very knowledgeable staff, well done! Great communication and information prior to trip made everything easy.
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Thank you very much for your kind feedback. We are happy to hear you had a good experience.
David_C, Apr 2025
Jamie was excellent. I learned a lot about the history and area. Perfect timing very relaxed. Loved the town where we had lunch.
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Thank you for joining us on tour recently and for your kind review of the day.
Wendy_F, Apr 2025
Outstanding tour! My husband and I are first time visitors to Scotland and found our tour guide, Alex Duncan’s stories, insight, and knowledge about the area and sites to be exceptional and told in a way that made everything very enjoyable and interesting!
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Thank you for joining us for a tour. We are glad you enjoyed your trip with Alex and thank you for giving us a glowing review.
PeteElder, Apr 2025
Jamie is an excellent guide. He gave non-stop presentations about all things Aberdeen and Balmoral Castle. We toured Balmoral Castle grounds, “Elizabeth’s view (of the Hghlands), showed us sacrificial sites of ancient civilizations. We also stopped at the suspension bridge on the way back. Outstanding tour!
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Thank you Pete for your review of the tour, we are glad to hear you enjoyed your day with us.
RDouglas_T, Oct 2024
The small group nature of the tour and the flexibility of the agenda. Jacqueline’s knowledge and warm personality made the day memorable.
Response from Host, Oct 2024
Thank you for spending the day with me, and for making your way up from Edinburgh. I'm glad you had a wonderful day and thank you for the kind review.
Karen_A, Sep 2024
Knowledgeable guide respectful to the interests of all on the tour.
Learned much about the area of Aberdeenshire in all aspects of culture, society, and industry and historical Scotland.
Response from Host, Sep 2024
Thank you for joining us on tour and your kind review. We are happy to hear you enjoyed your day with us and the experience.
Rodney_H, Sep 2024
This was the best of our trips! We had a Great driver/tour guide (Mr. Alex D.) The historical component was even better than reading in a book.
Answered every question and engaged the small group.
I liked the small size. The lunch was great place.
I do believe I would rebook this one! and tell all. Perfect length.
Response from Host, Sep 2024
Thank you for the wonderful review of your tour and your endorsement. Delighted you had such a good experience.
Martina_N, Aug 2024
I can’t say anything but how excellent Jamie was delivering us with both such interesting information and to drive us where we needed to be. Weather was a little unkind at the beginning and Balmoral was closed but Jamie had it all covered. We went to another castle and stopped at points of interest when the weather cleared. We highly recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Thank you for booking a tour with us and for leaving us a good review. Happy to hear you enjoyed your day with Jamie and that the weather eventually cleared.
Michael_W, Aug 2024
It was closed so we only saw the gate. The family was in residence so it couldn't be helped. I think we should've been rerouted to a different experience. Our guide was very informative. We really enjoyed her.
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Thank you for your review, and it is unfortunate that we couldn't access Balmoral. We hope you enjoyed your trip to Crathes Castle & Gardens as well? Thank you for booking with us.
From $142.25
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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