Edinburgh Castle 120-Minute In-Depth Experience with Expert Guide
Recommended by 99% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Edinburgh, Scotland
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Edinburgh Castle stands impressively at the top of the Royal Mile. Discover its history with a guided tour, where you'll marvel at the treasures within, including the Scottish Crown Jewels, while listening to a guide provide context about what you see. Learn about the One o'clock Gun, take in views over Edinburgh, and hear fascinating stories about the people who have shaped the Castle throughout history—from the death of a queen to deadly banquets. Plus, you'll have time to explore the castle's museums and exhibitions at your leisure after the tour ends.
- Explore historical Edinburgh Castle and learn about its fascinating history from your guide
- Escorted entry to the castle from the famous Royal Mile
- Take time to ask your guide questions, and explore the castle and museums at your leisure after the tour ends
- Snap photos as you explore the historic building
What's Included
- Edinburgh Castle Entry Ticket
- Professional Local Guide
- Map of Edinburgh Castle
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- David Hume Statue379-381 High St, Edinburgh EH1 1PW, UK
This tour DOES NOT meet at Edinburgh Castle. Please meet your guide in front of the High Court next to the statue of David Hume. Your guide will be holding a black and white umbrella with the EDI Tours logo on it.
End point
- Great HallEdinburgh Castle, Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NG, UK
This tour ends in the heart of Edinburgh Castle giving you the opportunity to explore the site further at your own pace.
Itinerary
1
Royal Mile
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Edinburgh Castle (Pass By)
2
Edinburgh Castle
1 hour 20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Argyle Battery (Pass By)
One O’Clock Gun (Pass By)
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum (Pass By)
St. Margaret's Chapel (Pass By)
The Royal Palace (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour is an outdoor experience, we recommend checking the weather forecast and dressing appropriately for the Scottish weather
- This experience DOES NOT start at Edinburgh Castle. Please meet your guide at 379-381 High Street, Royal Mile next to the Statue of David Hume. Your guide will be holding a black and white umbrella with the EDI Tours logo on it.
- Edinburgh Castle is still a functioning military garrison, therefore, the tour duration and itinerary may vary based on any ceremonial activities taking place.
- Bags over 30L and suitcases are not permitted in the Castle and there are no left luggage facilities nearby
- Ticket only valid on the specified date and time
- Not recommended for travellers with mobility issues
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 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
5.0
based on 401 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
John was friendly, informative, knowledgeable, delightful guide. He had many stories and facts to share.
The guide was excellent. She was knowledgeable, whitty and fun. Our tour was small, just us and another couple, which was perfect as my husband has profiteering loss. He was able to hear, understand her and ask questions. So glad we did it.
Tour guide was very knowledgeable and provided excellent historical on Edinburgh and the castle. Enjoyed very much and highly recommend
Amazing! Steep walk up- if you’re bringing older people definitely get a wheelchair! Magnificent views.
John is a terrific guide. Knowledgeable and enthusiastic and entertaining. And a nice guy. We would take a tour with him any time.
Our guide John was knowledgeable, entertaining and cognizant of everyone in the group. We learned a great deal about the castle, its history and its architecture.
John was an awesome tour guide, his animation and knowledge made the tour amazing! I would recommend this tour!
Our guide was lovely but her English was not fantastic and she kept repeating herself. We booked a 2 hour tour but the tour finished in 90 minutes. We spent a solid 30+ minutes of the experience outside the castle walls which was interesting but given the abbreviated tour itself, it means we had even less time in the castle.
John couldn’t have done a better job. He was entertaining, charming and knowledgeable! We’ve taken tours all over Europe and John ranks as one of the top two guides we’ve been with. The pace of the tour on a windy and brisk day, although it was also sunny, was perfect and never bogged down with superfluous information or too much sharing. We also had plenty of time after to revisit areas of the castle or complete the visit. The Crown Jewels were fun to see and the story John relayed about them was great commentary. Couldn’t be happier with our experience.
We had tickets for Edinburgh Castle’s guided tour on a Saturday morning. The tour met up on the Royal Mile not far from St. Giles Cathedral. Naomi was our tour guide, and she led us into one of the side streets off the Royal Mile to give us a history of city life as it may have been historically in the residential areas before moving on to Edinburgh Castle. This allowed us to have a nice approach to the castle grounds. Naomi also provided a fascinating talk about the history and lineage of Scottish royalty once we were on the grounds. She also spoke of geology and suburban planning as it related to the “newer” section of Edinburgh. This summary appropriately set up the rich context of the history of Edinburgh Castle. I think also what made this tour so special is that Naomi prompted myself to read up on UK history in general because the history of Scotland and England are so intertwined. I highly recommend Naomi as your tour guide if you opt for this wonderful adventure.
The tour of Edinburgh Castle by John was amazing! He is so knowledgeable and really made the stories, the history, come to life. John is very engaging and fun! The only thing I would change is for it to be longer. 2 hours was just not enough time with a fantastic guide! 10/10.
John was an excellent guide! He was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the castle and of Scotland. He had lots of anecdotes about the past and present inhabitants of the castle and how and why its possession changed. Plus, he had an excellent sense of humor. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and highly recommend it.
Our guide John was not only very knowledgeable but also very engaging. He made the historical information accessible and fun and sometimes a little good gossipy.
John is a great guide!
Friendly and relatable.
So much history of this special place.
Communication is clear, and his accent is very easy on American and "basic English" ears!
Highly recommend!!
Our tour guide Sarah was amazing. She was very knowledgeable with loads of charm, wit, and enthusiasm. A native Scot, she had us believing every tale she told, especially the part about the Scottish inventing everything. We also met the owner of the tour company and he and Sarah got along famously, which to me is a very important sign of a well run company. Cannot recommend EDI Tours highly enough.
Our guide to gave us thorough yet not too detailed history of Scotland and how Edinburgh Castle is woven into it. Sarah is very friendly and is a very guide.
Sarah was an excellent guide, able to relate history through story. We were well entertained throughout.
Wonderful and informative. Naomi was a fantastic guide. Highly recommend this tour of Edinburgh Castle.
The owner was at the meeting spot 30 minutes early! He scanned us in and had a pamplet for us. Our tour guide was awesome as well. She had a lot of knowledge.
This tour was absolutely amazing and worth every penny! Our guide gave local and historical insights, was friendly and happy to answer all of our questions, and gave us recommendations for both inside the castle grounds and Edinburgh in general. The castle and castle grounds are gorgeous and you really just can't top hearing the Scottish accent in any situation!
My tour guide was Charlotte. Engaging guide, and the tour was very well planned, and was quite informative and enjoyable!
Informative tour of the castle! I highly recommend. Edinburgh is amazing and not complete without a visit to the castle
The tour was very average and not worth the money. The tour guide’s knowledge was highly superficial and not engaging. Granted, it was a bitterly cold day, but it was obvious that the guide just wanted to get the tour over and would as quickly as possible.
Sara is an amazing guide! Her stories were intriguing and she kept it fun despite the cold and wind. She clearly know and loves her country’s history. The tour company was very well put together, easy to find and on time. 100% recommend!
Great tour enthusiastic telling of the history of the castle would highly recommend it made the visit to the castle far more interesting.
Our tour guide Charlotte was very informative, she made the tour captivating, throwing in jokes to keep us entertained and captivated and was very pleasant to speak too.
It was just wonderful, definitely sensible footwear is essential for this time of year
Disappointed that prisons were closed with no explanation though
John is knowledgeable, personable, witty, and very entertaining! His tour was the best one we’ve been on in Scotland. His knowledge of the castle in particular and Scotland in general is impressive! He also gave us plenty of suggestions for the remainder of our holiday. Book this tour! John will not disappoint!
Charlotte was a great tour guide. Really informative and interesting. The castle is fascinating and a must see when in Edinburgh.
Excellent tour of the castle with lively, knowledgeable and informative guide John. The 90 minutes went very quickly, and there's still lots to see afterwards.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Thank you for the lovely feedback. I am very glad you enjoyed the tour and that the time flew by for you. There is always plenty more to discover after the guided part, so I am pleased you were able to make the most of it!
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per personWas $63.17(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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