Edinburgh Half Day Guided Private Tour in a Premium Minivan
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Edinburgh, Scotland
- 4 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
See more of Edinburgh without navigating crowded public transportation or following a fixed group itinerary. This private half-day tour in a premium minivan offers a more flexible and personalized way to explore the city, with direct access to your guide throughout the experience. Customize the route around your interests and visit highlights such as the Royal Mile, Old Town, Grassmarket, and Edinburgh Castle.
- Travel through Edinburgh in comfort aboard a premium minivan
- Customize the day with a private itinerary tailored to your interests
- See more of Edinburgh’s top sights in just half a day
- Skip the transport planning with convenient hotel and traveler pickup included
What's Included
- Professional local guide
- Live commentary on board
- Transport by private air-conditioned minivan
- Bottled water for each guest
- Bottled water
- All sales are final and incur 100% cancellation penalties.
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
We can collect you from any Edinburgh Hotel, port or train station.
Itinerary
1
Edinburgh Old Town
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Royal Mile
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Edinburgh Castle (Pass By)
3
Grassmarket
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Calton Hill
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Arthur's Seat
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
Greyfriars Bobby
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7
Greyfriars
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Palace of Holyroodhouse (Pass By)
The Scottish Parliament (Pass By)
8
Royal Yacht Britannia
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
9
Leith
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- Stroller accessible
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 63 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Arrived on time and gave a great tour of the city including history and highlights. Was a wealth of information and very personable. Would definitely recommend.
I highly recommend taking this tour with Laura McKenzie as your guide. Yes, you can tour the city by yourself walking, but with this tour you have a local person driving (which can be confusing if you come from a country where you drive on the right side), explaining the local customs, bits of history that you will later verify at the museums and also architectural landmarks. Laura was polite, professional, cheerful and made us feel like we knew her for a long time, she even took our photos. It rained that day on and off, but Laura was prepared, so every minute of our tour was used for our experience, we like bathroom breaks, so she was on top of everything. Definitely worth every penny. I recommend taking this tour at the beginning of your stay in Edinburgh so that you get an idea of where the historic and shopping landmarks are and also the bathrooms :). We had two open days so she gave us suggestions of which experiences were fun according to our preferences, it was a wonderful experience. thanks Laura.
Hazel was an outstanding tour guide! She picked us up right at the cruise port in a luxurious Mercedes-Benz minivan and provided an informative, personalized tour of Edinburgh, Scotland. Navigating the city during the Edinburgh International Festival and the Royal Military Tattoo is no small feat, but she handled the busy traffic and crowds seamlessly. Hazel went completely above and beyond—assisting with our souvenir shopping needs and even booking dinner reservations for us! Having this personalized attention in a comfortable vehicle made our port day perfect and far exceeded any standard cruise bus excursion. We highly recommend Hazel and Experienced Tours!
Its an effcient and relaxed way of seeing the most places of interest in Edinboro in a short time and at the same learning about the long history of the beautiful city. The traditionally dressed driver with a non stop running commentary for four hours added the local colour.
Great private tour of Edinburgh with Sandy and Debbie. It felt like we were with knowledgeable friends. Van was very comfortable. Very relaxed and entertaining tour. Offered to drop us off in town or cruise port. If I was visiting Edinburgh again Sandy would be my first call.
We had a wonderful experience with Sandy as our tour guide. He was incredibly knowledgeable and full of fun facts. We got a great overview of Edinburgh. He was patient with those of us who had some mobility impairments and was able to modify his route to help us avoid too much walking. Excellent and informative tour. We would highly recommend this tour and especially Sandy to anyone who wants to visit Edinburgh!
We thoroughly enjoyed this tour experience with Laura. It was a great way to get an historical, as well as current, overview of Edinburgh, and Laura did a fantastic job of keeping the tour interesting throughout our time together. I would highly recommend this tour for anyone wanting to learn more about Edinburgh. Thank you, Laura!!
Hazel was amazing throughout the half-day trip around the city. She was a gracious host and a top notch guide and the comfort of a private chauffeured tour in a mini van is hard to beat.
Debbie was an excellent tour guide. She was a fun hang for 4 hours, was helpful with my elderly mother, was very informative about the historic and current localesand knew all the great hotspots for photo ops. A++++!!!
While I understand there is a no cancelation policy, however when the customer is unable to participate in the tour due to something that is 100% beyond the control of the customer I think this company can at least give a partial refund. My cruise ship was unable to dock due to weather conditions. I was in no way was responsible for this so I don’t think it is right for the company to profit and keep 100% my money off of this circumstance that I could not control. I can understand not getting a full refund, but half would certainly have been fair given the unique circumstances. Any reputable company would have taken this into account. This one didn’t…so beware with who you are dealing with.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Hello
As you say, the ship cancellation was not your fault and we were sorry to learn that you were unable to dock because of a storm.
However it is unfair to blame us for this circumstance.
If you had booked directly with us you would have got a full refund. Unfortunately you are bound by Viator’s terms of business.
I’m sorry you felt the need to leave a 1 star review on our own small business was for two events entirely outside our control.
Calais was an incredible host and guide. He had almost genius level insight and understanding about the history of the city. I learned a ridiculous amount in such a short period of time and was amazed by the experience. The Van was almost new. And the communication pre-tour was flawless. I also note how organic the experience was, I felt a level of care and pride - not the focus on the dollar like other operators I have experienced. So, well done team!
I would thoroughly recommend and I will definitely be using them again when I return with the family in the future.
Calais is the perfect tour guide. He is knowledgeable and shares this in a fun and engaging way. We saw everything we’d asked to see and then some hidden gems. A bracing walk up Carlton Hill was worth it for the stunning views; the storm the day before and the sleet meant we had it almost to ourselves.
I highly recommend this as a great way to get an overview of the city, also, Calais is a very safe driver
I travelled with my 80year old mom and her friend. Calais made Edinburgh come to life and my family had a great time!
Robert was amazing, incredibly knowledgeable of every little detail, funny and very patient. Robert went above and beyond to make this private tour of Edinburgh a memorable life experience.
Amazing!!!! Our tour guide was Calais, he was so personable and friendly. He tailored the tour to our needs and wishes. He even dropped us off anywhere we liked in the city afterwards. He was fantastic!
Our 1/2 day tour of Edinburgh was most enjoyable, we were able to see much more than expected, particularly given some mobility issues. Our driver, Michael, was so personable and well-spoken; we very much enjoyed talking with him and learning as he catered the tour to our interests and offered suggestions for alternate sites that very well received. We had a wonderful time and look forward to a visiting again soon and expanding further on our tour...hopefully with Michael at the wheel!
What a great day! Alexander was superb. A passionate Scotsman with an amazing knowledge of everything Scotland and beyond.
Response from Host, Jan 2022
Hi Ellie thank you so much for your review. It was my pleasure to show you around our great wee city! A
Sandy is great guide wonderful knowledge. Nice warm friendly personality . I was with my mum and Dad who have some mobility issues and Sandy adapted the tour especially for them. Love all the bits of history he shared well worth it for us really recommend it. We want to come back again and would definitely do some more tours with Sandy as in great hands he really knows his stuff.
Response from Host, Nov 2021
Hello Michelle!
Thanks for your amazing review! It was great to meet you and your folks earlier in the week, you were all great company on our tour around Edinburgh!
Next time you're up in Scotland give me a shout and we can continue on our journey together.
Slainte, Sandy
Tour excelente. A guia Hazel e otima! Tinhamos pouco tempo mas conseguimos ver muita coisa. Recomendo
From $275.04
per person-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
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