Edinburgh Castle: Guided Walking Tour with Entry Ticket
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Edinburgh, Scotland
+8
- 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
A trip to the capital of Scotland isn't complete without a tour of Edinburgh Castle. Follow your guide through the grounds and hear tales of the castle's royal residents—including Mary Queen of Scots—and learn more about the rich history of the building. After your tour ends, there's plenty of free time explore the castle's interior and the rest of the grounds, which includes three museums, two prisons, a canine cemetery, the Chapel of Saint Margaret, the National Monument to the fallen of Scotland, the Great Hall, and a Royal Palace.
- Plenty of time for photo ops of Edinburgh Castle and the surrounding city
- Hear unique stories of Scottish history and ask questions along the way
- Don't be disappointed: Pre-booking tickets guarantees entry
- An activity the whole family can enjoy
What's Included
- Admission ticket to Edinburgh Castle
- Guided tour of Edinburgh Castle
- Pet Not allowed. Only guide dog.
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- WRX5+WF, 361 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1PW, UK
Meet in front of the entrance to Advocates Close, opposite (St. Giles’ Cathedral) . Look for the black umbrella with the tour provider's yellow logo.
End point
- Edinburgh CastleCastlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NG, UK
Tour end inside Edinburgh Castle
Itinerary
1
Edinburgh Castle
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Please note in poor weather conditions the tour will remain outdoors as access to the castle buildings is not available for tour groups
- Tour will be inside the castle walls, but outdoors, with free time after the tour to to explore the castle an to go inside every building (Museums, Royal Palace, prisons, and much more). We can not access those buildings during the tour, but the tour will still be carried out within the castle grounds.
- The castle is a complex of buildings, not a single building.
- On this tour you will be guided around Edinburgh castle, with specific stops assigned by the castle authorities.
- Bags over 30L in volume are not allawed inside the castle.
- 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
Reviews
4.8
based on 6,972 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
This was a fantastic tour, our tour guide, Catherine, was outstanding! I told her that if I went on her tour before I went to college, I would not be an accountant today!! Haha! I cannot praise her enough! She made this tour our favorite excursion during our cruise! Ten Stars!!!
very informative
despite rain
be prepared to walk a bit may not be ideal for those who have limited ambulation
Raj was a wonderful articulate guide who was thoughtful and a proper historian. Enjoyed the presentation very much.
It was extremely interesting and informative. Would definitely recommend to others. Great guide and very organized.
G was an amazing guide - lots of historical information presented in a fun and engaging manner, and he walked at a pace that was manageable for all ages and abilities.
The tour guide made the tour of the Edinburgh Castle educational and full of humor. Mel was so good we booked another tour immediately her that night.
We booked this tour to fully explore the castle and get the full historical background. Our guide, Glen fully achieved that goal.
Graeme was our driver and tour guide. Absolutely delightful man with a great sense of humor and a lot of knowledge about the area. The tours at the locations were great. I would recommend this trip to everyone that visits Scotland. There are several things he said that will stick with me for a long time when I think about Scotland. All 4 stars are for Graeme entirely. He did not pay me to say that!
The loss of the star was because our bus was not in good order. The air conditioning wasn’t working so it got very hot. One of the other guests started getting sick because of the heat and the curvy Scottish roads. A little air flow could have prevented that. There was also a malfunction with the horn which had it stuck on full blast. He had to pull over twice to try and fix it himself. He was very quick to offer alternative itineraries so we could maximize our time at the stops. Everything ran smoothly despite the delay and he kept in good spirits in front of us. Also his microphone kept cutting out randomly. I think that was a lot of vehicle malfunctions for him to handle on an 8 hour tour. Despite the inconveniences that were beyond his control, it was a beautiful day in a beautiful country.
Joe was a wonderful guide for Edinburgh Castle - funny and knowledgeable. His tour and being able to explore on our own made for a great day!
One of the best tour i've been on. Highly recommend. Sonia was so insightful, passionate and funny. You will have a feeling like listening a delightful story from a friend.
This was a great tour with G. He was very informative with history and his fun stories. I would recommend him.
We had a wonderful time on the tour and afterwards exploring the castle. The extra info shared during the tour was super helpful info to plan the rest of our time there. 10/10
Great tour through the castle. Ingas was a great guide, and I learned a lot. He shared stories and pictures which brought the history to life. It's easy to walk past the buildings without a full understanding, so it is definitely recommended to have a tour to understand the history from a local.
The guide waited for everyone and kept the group together. There were some interesting historical facts. We were pleased to get the guided tour tickets given that entrance tickets were sold out online.
Great experience. Very knowledgeable guide - James. Steps and slopes are not for the faint hearted. 1 o'clock gun is a must!
Glen was informative, witty, and had lots of interesting stories. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour!!!
Meeting place a bit far from castle and lots of walking and only saw outside but you could go inside on your own and a nice spot for tea afterwards.
Our guide Ross was very knowledgeable friendly and great sense of humor. Loads of history tidbits. Had great recommendations for restaurants and other points of interest
Insightful and fun experience. Forgot Guide's name - short and unfamiliar name to me, think it started with I.... He was well informed and helped us get our bearings to see all we would want to see after he left. Interesting information.
It’s a great way to learn history and see the castle. Our guide INGAS was very knowledgeable and friendly.
Wonderful and informational! Ross was a fantastic local source of information and anecdotes. Highly recommend!
Very informative, knew history well and answered questions. I appreciated that david nicely suggested taller people stand back so all could see.
Our guide Jen was phenomenal. She brought the history of the castle to life with her knowledge and stories. Made us appreciate life in the castle through the centuries.
Jess our guide was spot on and very knowledgeable in lovely manner and fun banter! I would recommend this tour.
Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly, the only issue was that he speaks too fast and could shorten his explanations and not so broad.
Response from Host, Oct 2026
Hello Jose, thank you for taking the time to share your experience at Edinburgh.
We're very sorry to hear that you had some trouble understanding the tour guide and hope that you still were able to enjoy visiting the Castle.
Thank you once again for your feedback, as it helps us continue improving.
Raj was superb! Clearly knew the history but most importantly, had the ability to make it memorable! He was attentive to all and paced the tour for the group. Truly one of the best tours we had this trip.
Great tour with Harvey yesterday. Was very entertaining, knew his history and just a likable person.
Get there a little early and make sure to check in with the guide. You will need a physical ticket to get into the castle. We also lost our tour guy maybe there was a miscommunication? We still enjoyed ourselves.
Response from Host, Oct 2026
Hello Melanie! Thank you for taking the time to write about your experience at Edinburgh Castle.
We're glad to hear that you still enjoyed the tour even though you had trouble finding the meeting point, we are working to make our instructions clearer. Thank you for the feedback as it helps us be better!
Great tour, very informative,. Great guide. Easy place to meet, not difficult in terms of distance of walking, very informative.
We had missed the tour and no one from Viator/ partner had informed us about the 10k marathon/ road closures which was the same day and no uber or taxis were working to bring us to the meeting locations due to which we were late and missed the tour. We had already paid for the tour and requested if we could be accommodated in the later tour the same day but the tour operator clearly said NO which is very disappointing. We travel a lot and many other tour operators do accommodate guest in circumstances like this but not happy with your reputed company. We as a foreigner and don’t know about the local events. Third party operators you are contacting with they are suppose to inform all the parties to inform. 3 different groups missed the tour.
Response from Host, Oct 2026
Hello, we’re very sorry to hear about your experience and completely understand how frustrating it must have been to miss the tour due to the marathon, road closures, and difficulties getting to the meeting point.
We understand that, as visitors to the city, you may not have been aware of the local event and its impact on transportation. We’re also sorry that we were unable to accommodate you on a later tour, as availability cannot always be guaranteed once a tour has been missed.
We take your feedback seriously and will review how information about major local events and potential disruptions is communicated to our guests, with the aim of making the experience as clear and smooth as possible in the future.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback.
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$52.93
per personWas $55.72(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Edinburgh Castle: Guided Walking Tour with Entry Ticket
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