Inside the Walls: Edinburgh Castle Guided Walking Tour
Edinburgh, Scotland
Inside the Walls: Edinburgh Castle Guided Walking Tour
Recommended by 94% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Edinburgh, Scotland
- 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Discover Edinburgh's top landmarks, its namesake castle, on this guided walking tour. Avoid missing out on valuable information with your guide's commentary about the Scottish landmark's history as you walk through one of Scotland's most famous landmarks. Before exploring the interior, enjoy a short walk through Edinburgh's Old Town.
- Discover a UNESCO World Heritage Site—Edinburgh Castle
- Learn the history and the secrets of the castle
- See the National War Museum and the National Monument
- Continue to explore the castle independently after the tour
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Skip-the-line entrance means more time inside and you can stay as long as you like after the tour ends.
What's Included
Meeting and Pickup
Itinerary
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 1,283 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Matt_M, Feb 2025
Wonderful 90 minute guided tour of the castle and immediate area. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable.
Sandy_G, Dec 2024
Tour of the castle was very informative and our guide, Alisdair, was the best! Being a native Edinburgher, he knew his history!
Gene_S, Nov 2024
An extremely detailed and educational tour. Our guide had an iPad and family relatives that were helpful and fun.
Would certainly recommend this to anyone going to Edinburgh.
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Hi Gene,
Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the detailed and educational tour 🌟
We truly appreciate your recommendation and hope to welcome you back soon for more amazing experiences in Edinburgh!
Best regards,
Margarita | SANDEMANs Edinburgh
Corinne_W, Oct 2024
Alisdair was great and shared so many fun anecdotes! Very knowledgeable and informative about the castle and surrounding area.
Dennis_D, Oct 2024
Alisdair was delightful! Very friendly, patient, and full of great stories! Glad to have him guide us through the grounds of the castle describing and explaining all the details! Save time for the War Museum, the Crown Jewels. Would recommend him 100%!
8zw5d4rhvd, Oct 2024
Thanks Alisdair with the proper D! Nice tour of the castle with lots of stories and a healthy dose of humor thrown in.
Gaynor_F, Oct 2024
Communication prior to our tour was outstanding with clear instructions regarding meeting place etc. Alisdair was a fabulous guide who gave us great information and kept the tour moving at a good pace.Highly recommend to give context to the castle and all there is to see and then time after to stay and explore further.
hunter12, Oct 2024
This was not what we expected at all. The meeting point was a long way from the castle. Once we got to the Castle, it was a lot of standing in one location listening to stories and some history. This guide did not take us into the castle just a few places outside and around the castle. We thought we would at least been given a guided tour inside some parts of the castle.
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Dear Hunter,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. I’m sorry to hear that the tour didn’t meet your expectations. We aim to provide clear descriptions of what each tour includes, and I regret that this wasn’t what you had anticipated.
While our Castle tours focus on the rich history and stories surrounding the area, we understand how important it is to align our guests' expectations with the experience. Your feedback helps us improve our communication and ensure clarity for future guests.
If there’s anything further you’d like to share or if you have any suggestions on how we can improve, please feel free to reach out. We hope to have the opportunity to provide you with a better experience in the future.
Warm regards,
Margarita I SANDEMANs
Ashleigh_J, Oct 2024
Alasdair was our tour guide for the day. He was extremely knowledgeable and even had some funny jokes. He is a great guy. Edinburgh castle was very interesting and a very nice place. If in Edinburgh you should make a point to see the castle.
Ruby_M, Oct 2024
Our guide, Alisdair, was wonderful! Very knowledgeable and hit all the highlights, and painted an excellent story for the castle. However, it should be mentioned in the listing that this tour does NOT include any inside portions of the castle - only outside.
Susan_M, Sep 2024
Enjoyed the entire tour( except the rain). Tour guide was great- interesting history and local knowledge.
melissa_m, Sep 2024
Alasdair was awesome! Not only knowledgeable but funny! Very courteous to make sure everyone could hear, answer questions and make sure we were going too fast for older people on the hills.
Edward_O, Sep 2024
Charles was very informative on the history of the castle and Scotland itself. Great job Charles. The tour was held on the grounds of the castle but we did not enter anything inside as part of the tour.
Lisa_G, Sep 2024
Not sure I would call this an outlander tour but overall was a nice tour. Guide was knowledgeable. Tour went longer than originally scheduled which was fine but didn’t feel like we really saw much of the sites as it was mostly a drive by.
Lynne_S, Sep 2024
We tried to contact them for our driver from the Hotel was running late
Sandemans Tours was the Company
I messaged and called them about 20 times
I tried calling even before the appointed time
All l got back was don’t worry if your running late
Just Text or Call
I did no response
So No Tour
Finally got onto them to at least get a entry into the Castle
But not happy at all
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Dear Lynee,
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I am very sorry to hear about the difficulties you encountered in reaching us, especially when dealing with such a time-sensitive situation. We understand how frustrating it must have been to receive no response after multiple attempts, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this caused.
We strive to provide excellent customer service, and your feedback indicates an area where we can certainly improve. I’ve escalated this matter to our team to ensure we address the communication issues you faced.
I’m glad we were able to assist you with access to the Castle, though I understand this does not make up for the overall experience. If there’s anything else we can do for you or if you’d like to discuss this further, please feel free to reach out. We value your input and would appreciate another opportunity to provide a better experience.
Warm regards,
Margarita I SANDEMANs
Deenah_B, Sep 2024
Our guide Alasdair was excellent. He’s been to the castle over 500 times. He had so much knowledge of just the castle and Scottish history. Can’t go to Edinburgh without seeing the castle.
Morgan_J, Sep 2024
The views from this castle were definitely a must see. Very informative & friendly guide! Lots of historical information & interesting stories/facts.
Nicole_M, Aug 2024
Alasdair was a wonderful tour guide! Super informative and entertaining. We enjoyed the tour thoroughly would highly recommend him and it!
Jonathan_F, Aug 2024
The guide showed up late, was not wearing anything red (as stated), or had an umbrella extended or up in the air. I would not book this again, just book tickets online at official castle website. The tour guides should be more responsible to be on time and chat should give you the tour guides contact or reach out to them in real time response instead of just saying sorry tour leaves at 2 pm.
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Dear Jonathan,
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you experienced with the tour. It’s disappointing to hear that the guide was late and did not meet the expectations set for identification, and I understand how frustrating that must have been.
Punctuality and clear communication are incredibly important to us, and we’ve forwarded your comments to our team to address these issues. We will review the processes to ensure our guides are easily identifiable and on time, and that our communication systems can better assist guests in real time.
We truly appreciate your input, as it helps us improve, and I hope we have the opportunity to provide you with a better experience in the future. Should you have any further concerns or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Warm regards,
Margarita I SANDEMANs
John_T, Aug 2024
Our tour guide was awesome.
Witty, knowledgeable. Made sure all were in attendance we loved the start pointe.
Linda_M, Aug 2024
The tour guide, Charlie, from Sandemans was very informative and hilarious. He clarified so much history that I as an American, was unaware of. The castle is just gorgeous and provides so much detail of its many wars…plus it shares the sad details of the many lives lived and deaths. Truly a wonderful experience.
Suzanne_T, Aug 2024
Brian had great knowledge and presented in a friendly manner. It did rain and was very windy and cold but Brian tried to chat to the group in the most sheltered spots he could find.
Kerry_P, Aug 2024
Catherine was an amazing guide! She made the tour interactive and told lots of little stories in very interesting ways that helped to keep my children (6, 9, and 10) engaged. It's a 5 minute walk to the castle and then the tour takes you around the outside part of the castle. She explained what each building was told lots of interesting historical stories. After the tour was over you are free to explore the inside buildings. It was a little long for my young one but Catherine did a really great job of making it interesting. Loved her!
Don_M, Aug 2024
We started at one end of the royal mile had to make it thru large crowds to the castle before we even started the tour. We should have started near the castle. Didn't finish the tour took way to long to begin.
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Dear Don,
Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We are sorry to hear that the starting location and the delay in beginning the tour affected your experience. Navigating through large crowds can certainly be frustrating, and I understand how this impacted your enjoyment of the tour.
We strive to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for all our guests, and your comments will help us reassess the logistics of our starting points and timing. Your feedback is invaluable as we work to make our tours as seamless as possible.
We hope you’ll consider giving us another chance in the future to provide you with the quality experience we aim to deliver.
Warm regards,
Margarita I SANDEMANs
Aaron_M, Aug 2024
Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and informative, quick witted and amusing. We visited during the Fringe festival so crowds were large. We were told to be at the site to begin the tour at 1:45 or miss out on the tour, however we waited until 2:10 to depart up the Royal Mile, which did not allow us enough time to explore the castle after the tour. Would do it again leaving a whole afternoon or morning for exploration. Great Event.
Maria_W, Aug 2024
Charlie the tour guide was very knowledgeable. We thought the tour would take us inside the castle, but it was all outdoors. Perhaps we read the description wrong. Hundreds of other people around us, other tour guides talking, made it sometimes hard to hear Charlie. Standing all the time was hard for someone slightly handicapped. Maybe not a tour for a handicapped person? I went with my 77 year old sister. Family (sibling) should be a choice in the answer to “ Who did you go with?”
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Dear Maria,
Thank you so much for your feedback! We're happy to hear that you appreciated Charlie’s knowledge and enthusiasm. We apologize if the tour didn’t meet your expectations regarding the castle experience.
We also understand how the large crowds and standing for extended periods of time can be challenging. We truly appreciate your suggestion and will take it into account.
We value your feedback and hope to have the opportunity to welcome you and your family on another tour soon.
Warm regards,
Margarita I SANDEMANs
Lisa_C, Aug 2024
The way the story was told about the Edinburgh castle and the Jacobite history. Very informative which was great highly recommend this tour to anyone
RICHARD_T, Aug 2024
Guide very knowledgeable. Take comfy shoes. Describe the meeting point maybe add outside ? Shop and name the shop in this case outside Starbucks.
Christa_J, Aug 2024
Allister was a great storyteller and extremely familiar with the history of the site. A very enjoyable tour.
Diana_S, Aug 2024
Alastair was a wonderful guide and brought the history to life. We regret that we needed to leave the tour early to get back to our ship (poor planning on our part which didn’t take into account the large festival going on), but we would absolutely recommend this tour!
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