Edinburgh Castle Guided Walking Tour & Holyrood Palace Ticket

Recommended by 99% of travelers

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Edinburgh, Scotland

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Booked 5+ times last week!

3 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Explore Scotland's royal history with this experience that offers a mix of guided tour and independent exploration. Meet up with your guide and head together to Edinburgh Castle, where you can explore highlights including the Great Hall and St. Margaret’s Chapel at your own pace. Afterward, rejoin your guide for the walk to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where an audio guide reveals stories about Mary, Queen of Scots and the palace’s role in modern royal visits.

Check off two Edinburgh landmarks in just one booking
Enjoy the freedom to explore the castle and palace independently
Go beyond the guidebooks with facts and insight from your guide
Prebooking your tour guarantees your entry to these popular attractions

What's Included

Edinburgh Castle entrance ticket
Holyrood Palace ticket
Guided walking tour of Edinburgh Castle

Gratitudes

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Advocate's Close
Edinburgh EH1 1ND, UK
For both activities, we will meet at the same meeting point. You will first join the guided tour of Edinburgh, and afterwards, visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

End point

Edinburgh Castle
Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NG, UK

Operating hours
.10:00 am

Itinerary

Edinburgh Castle

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Palace of Holyroodhouse

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.9

based on 70 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

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Highly Recommend

John_A, Mar 2026

Jen was our guide for Edinburgh castle and she was awesome! Very personable and knowledgeable. She gave great detail to the history of the castle and even threw in the occasional dad joke, which we appreciated.

Very informative and...

Kim_W, Jan 2026

Very informative and interesting facts and folklore. Very organized and promot with time and moving the crowd

Worth It!

Ebony_A, Oct 2025

Our guide Ignes was amazing! A bit of walking and rain (bring an umbrella to prepare FYI) but definitely worth it!

Skip this guide tour and do it on your own

Martina_V, Sep 2025

Buy tickets to the castle and use audio recordings. Our guide was very passionate about his job and talk a lot. I forgot his name Yean ? Unfortunately we could hardly hear or understand. We had a big group of people plus so many tours walking around. He was always facing to just one direction and his voice would not carry to the other side. Very cold and windy ( definitely bring jacket, because all the talking is outside) When we were finally inside of the castle we were left alone. When we were done here we had to walk back to the original meeting place to wait for another guide to Holyrood palace. Well, we were just given our tickets and had to walk alone ( pretty far, I was expecting somebody will talk about the history of the street, nope) Holyrood was a different story, we got head phones with audio and really learn a lot at our time and pace. Gorgeous palace with long history. I really enjoyed this part of our “tour”. You can also purchase tickets here on your own.

Response from Host, Nov 2025

Thank you for joining our Edinburgh Castle Guided Walking Tour and for taking the time to share your feedback. We truly appreciate every review, as it helps us continue improving our services. We were very concerned to learn about your experience and, first and foremost, I would like to apologize for the issues you encountered during the tour. We understand that it was difficult to hear the guide, especially with the large number of people in your group. While we aim to ensure clear communication, at times external factors, like group size and environmental noise, can make this challenging. Regarding the group size, we agree that 50 people would be large for a tour, but on this particular occasion, the group size was 30, which is in line with our usual limits for the Castle tour. We always strive to keep groups at a size that ensures the best experience for all guests. Regarding the walk to Holyrood Palace, we typically ensure that our guests are accompanied for the walk between locations. If there was any confusion or miscommunication on the day, we sincerely apologize. Our goal is always to provide a smooth and informative journey from one site to the next. We are, however, pleased to hear that you enjoyed the audio-guided visit at Holyrood Palace. It’s a stunning location with so much history, and we’re glad that you had the opportunity to explore it at your own pace. Thank you again for taking the time to review us. We hope to have the chance to welcome you back on another tour in the future, where we can show you the high standards of service we aim to deliver.

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