Rosslyn Chapel and Scottish Borders Small-Group Day Tour from Edinburgh
Recommended by 93% of travelers
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Edinburgh, Scotland
- 6 hours 45 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Experience the legend and mystery of Rosslyn Chapel and its links to the “Da Vinci Code” and the Holy Grail on this tour from Edinburgh. In a small group, travel to the charming town of Melrose and through the Scottish borderlands. Explore Melrose Abbey and Rosslyn Chapel, and hear intriguing tales of Cistercian monks, the Knights Templar, and Robert the Bruce.
- Small-group tour to Rosslyn Abbey and the Scottish Borders from Edinburgh
- Benefit from having a driver to seamlessly transport you between sites
- Travel in a top-of-the-range, 16-seat Mercedes mini-coach
- Visit locations featured in Dan Brown's novel “The Da Vinci Code”
What's Included
- Professional driver/guide
- Small group tour (16 people max)
- Transport by 16-seat Mercedes luxury mini-coach
- Entrance fee - Admission to Rosslyn Chapel included. Free entry for children escorted by an adult.
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop off
- Food and drinks, unless specified
- Entrance fees (Melrose Abbey)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Edinburgh Bus StationEdinburgh EH1 3AY, UK
Please meet your Rabbie's guide inside the Edinburgh Bus Station, Gate J and Gate K, St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH1 3DQ (Check in closes 15 minutes prior to departure)
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Start time.10:00 am
Itinerary
Your "Da Vinci Code" adventure departs in the morning from central Edinburgh. Meet your expert guide and board your top-of-the-range, 16-seat Mercedes mini-coach for a half-day tour of the Scottish Borderlands and some of the area’s most legendary locations.
Your first stop is the William Wallace Statue, followed by a visit to Melrose Abbey, the burial place of Robert the Bruce’s heart. Founded by Cistercian monks in the 12th century, the abbey offers a legendary history connecting the Cistercians to the Knights Templar.
Next, head to the epic viewpoint at Scott’s View—named for Sir Walter Scott—perched high above Tweed Valley and Eildon Hills. Snap some photos of Roman ruins and the rugged Scottish landscape, then continue to the mysterious Rosslyn Chapel, a 15th-century masterpiece that enjoyed a critical role in "The Da Vinci Code." Explore the medieval structure and study the chapel's elaborate stonework, loaded with provocative symbolism. Hear some of the many theories, myths, and legends about the chapel that attracts visitors from around the globe, then relax on the ride back to Edinburgh.
Your tour ends at Waverley Bridge. Please note, that the tour route is reversed in some months of the year (visiting Rosslyn Chapel first). However, Sunday itineraries typically stay the same.
Your first stop is the William Wallace Statue, followed by a visit to Melrose Abbey, the burial place of Robert the Bruce’s heart. Founded by Cistercian monks in the 12th century, the abbey offers a legendary history connecting the Cistercians to the Knights Templar.
Next, head to the epic viewpoint at Scott’s View—named for Sir Walter Scott—perched high above Tweed Valley and Eildon Hills. Snap some photos of Roman ruins and the rugged Scottish landscape, then continue to the mysterious Rosslyn Chapel, a 15th-century masterpiece that enjoyed a critical role in "The Da Vinci Code." Explore the medieval structure and study the chapel's elaborate stonework, loaded with provocative symbolism. Hear some of the many theories, myths, and legends about the chapel that attracts visitors from around the globe, then relax on the ride back to Edinburgh.
Your tour ends at Waverley Bridge. Please note, that the tour route is reversed in some months of the year (visiting Rosslyn Chapel first). However, Sunday itineraries typically stay the same.
1
Rosslyn Chapel
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Melrose Abbey
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
3
William Wallace Statue
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Scott's View
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Check in closes 15 minutes prior to departure
- This tour will depart from inside the Edinburgh Bus Station, Gate J and Gate K, St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, EH1 3DQ.
- We apologise, but we cannot accommodate children under 5 years old on our tours. Children under 18 need to be accompanied by an adult. Please note that if this policy is not followed, we will have to refuse travel without issuing a refund. Thank you for understanding.
- Luggage Allowance: You're restricted to 20kg (44lbs) of luggage per person. This should be one piece of luggage similar to an airline carry-on bag (approximately 55cm x 45cm x 25cm / 22in x 17in x 10in) plus one small bag for onboard personal items.
- Due to safety inspection and possible maintenance work, Melrose Abbey is closed until further notice.
- In order to retain the integrity of the tour and try to ensure that all our customers have the best possible experience, we do cap bookings from any one party to 8 passengers.
- Please note that if your tour departs on a Sunday, this itinerary will work in reverse.
- Admission to Rosslyn Chapel included in the tour price.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers
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Frequently Asked Questions (11)
Q:What is the departure point for the Rosslyn Chapel and Scottish Borders Small-Group Day Tour?
A:The tour departs from Edinburgh Bus Station, St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH1 3DQ
Feb 2023
The answers provided are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
This was a beautiful experience to see the lovely outskirts of Edinburgh and the borders. Our tour guide through Rabbies, Duncan, was awesome. The folks at Rosslyn chapel do a great presentation about the chapel's history. I strongly encourage people book this tour.
Reviews
4.7
based on 713 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Excellent day trip exploring the Borderland. . Relaxing and welcome break from the hills of Edinburgh. Our guide Ryhs was funny and very educational.
Great guide stephen was informative without being overbearing. Good balance between speaking and quiet time. Would have appreciated more detail within the chapel
It’s a lot of traveling thru pasture lands. While the guide was quiet entaining but he did talk constantly.
It became obvious we were wanting to see Rosslyn Chapel & could have spent more time there.
Terrific trip to see incredibly beautiful Rosslyn Chapel and gorgeous countryside. Comfortable bus, helpful staff, and great driver/guide Russel who told wonderful stories and made us laugh. Very professional but also friendly. Highly recommend!
Took this tour on our honeymoon in Scotland and David was an amazing tour guide! He was so knowledgeable not just regarding the various sites on the tour but also about Scotland history in general. (People on our tour would often ask questions on the fly and we were astonished how quickly David could provide the answer!) Rosslyn Chapel was breath taking- the history, the architecture, and medieval mysteries! We mainly took this trip for Rosslyn Chapel ( because it was rumored to be a spot with buried Templar treasures) but we were pleasantly surprised how much we loved Melrose Abbey - such an incredible stop! The ruins are so beautiful and there is so much freedom to walk around and explore, see Robert the Bruce’s heart, and even climb to the top of a bell tower! We visited in September and although Rosslyn Chapel was a bit crowded, Melrose Abbey had very few visitors when we were there. It was like going back in time and discovering the old abbey ourselves. This was one of our favorite tours on our trip to Scotland. Again, our tour guide David was funny, knowledgeable, and an all around amazing tour guide! Cannot recommend David or this trip enough!
Rabbies provided a wonderful tour guide. Cameron was very knowledgeable and had good recommendations
Three stars for a long day in the Rabbie’s van. Don’t bother taking the Rabbie’s tour. Just ride the city bus and walk to Roslyn chapel. Make sure you get there to hear the official chapel guides talk. Check the times for your visit date. The chapel is lovely. Gift shop, if course, and a nice enough cafe.
It was a wonderful excursion. We especially loved our bus driver/guide Andy who was very knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and he made the whole experience great!
If you're visiting Edinburgh and the Highlands, take a day to visit "the borders," too, and this tour, or the liner one with Hadrian's Wall added, is a great way to do it. Our guide and driver Andy was terrific, very knowledgeable and kept us entertained throughout the tour. Highly recommend!
It was a slower paced tour with time to take in the scenery while on the bus and in the quaint villages.
Rosslyn Chapel is an absolute “must see” on your trip to Scotland. It’s simply breathtaking. Our guide, Mina, was very knowledgeable and provided just the right amount of history, music and quiet time.
Great day and got to see lots of places we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Guide was interesting personable and knowledgeable.
Russell was a great driver and we'll informed about Scottish history. He made the trip very interesting!!!
Nick is a great guide/driver, very knowledgeable about everything on the tour and shared plenty of great stories. He was able to give details that only come from having personal experience/knowledge on the background of the towns along the way.
The chapel is tiny ! It should be included with a couple of other things. Scott statue wasn't that interesting.
Our driver, Russell, was knowledgeable and entertaining. The visit to Rosslyn Chapel filled a wish list item and the rest of the tour was the cherry on the sundae. Melrose is a quaint village and the ruins of the Abbey are most impressive. We absolutely enjoyed this tour!
If you get Alisdair as a driver you will be treated to a substantive narrative about Scotland, Britain, and England. Rosslyn Chapel and Melrose Abbey are stunning. Other side visits add to the Scotland narrative nicely.
Great tour of Rosslyn Chapel.
Melrose and Melrose Abbey was excellent.
Might want to skip the walk out to the William Wallace monument.
Photo stop at Scott’s View was beautiful, as was our weather.
Being a fan of both the Da Vinci Code book and movie I was definitely doing this tour. It is a beautiful building with quite a history. Don't miss this this one.
Because there were major events on the day of the tour our driver needed to change the itinerary and it was absolutely brilliant. We spent some time at Roslyn chapel and then took back roads to Melrose through the pretty countryside and spent a good amount of time there to have a relaxing lunch and explore the Abbey, gardens and village. Then we travelled along the river and it was so enjoyable.
Andrew was an amazing tour guide pointing out all kinds of things on our journey to Roslyn and the other stops we made.
David was a great guide full of ton of historical information. Roslyn chapel and Melrose Abby were absolutely beautiful I would recommend it to anyone and I had a great experience.
I went with the Rabbie Tour Stevie and Andrew guides! I had a very good feeling stress free at the ROSSYLN and I prayed lit 2 candles and received my blessings for my sick family member getting a fast recovery after surgery! SCOTTISH borders was very pretty my eyes wanted to fall to the ground! I really enjoyed told all my family and friends my fantastic experience!
I will be back saving to book my vacation again really soon!
I enjoyed the animals sights on the rolling hills!
Thank you guides and Rabbie owner !
Lorna
This was a very intimate small group tour that allowed us to experience the Scottish borderlands. It is well worth the time and money
We loved this tour.
Ally made the tour really special, with an extra detour at a kirk/graveyard that was built by the templars.
We loved you Ally.
Big hug from Holland.
Kind Regards,
Mariëtte & Oscar
The van was very comfortable, however the roads are extremely rough and with a stiff suspension you feel every cranny! So take ur Dramamine! Our driver Russell was Stellar! So kind, so knowledgeable, and sparked some great conversation with the whole group!
Pretty drive and Rosslyn Chapel is fabulous. Melrose was just okay. The whole experience could have been better with a better guide. She wasn't that knowledgeable about Scottish history. She talked fairly constantly on the drive about nothing of importance.
What a fun day! Beautiful scenery, amazing sites all commentated by our wonderfully knowledgeable, witty and funny guide, David along with Russell. Highly recommend!!
I thought that I had booked a different tour and was a bit disappointed to hear we were going to Rosslyn Chapel. Upon arriving we were pleasantly surprised to see this hidden treasure. Rich in history and beauty it’s a must to see.
Very well done and our driver Declan was great. Well worth the price. The coach was comfortable and the stops were really rememberable.
Worth the time and money, Steve the driver and David the tour guide are insightful, knowledgeable and easy to understand. David provides information about area while sitting comfortably seeing the outskirts of Edinburgh. Highly recommend.
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