Edinburgh Private Day Tour | The Royal Experience from Glasgow

Glasgow, Scotland

8 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

See the best of Edinburgh in a day with this private sightseeing excursion. Avoid the crowds on public transport, and get around the city in a comfortable and convenient way—in a private vehicle with a chauffeur. No need to worry about rigid itineraries—this tour is completely flexible based on your needs. Potential sights and attractions include Edinburgh Old Town, Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, Holyrood Park, and Calton Hill.

Tick off many top Edinburgh sights, such as Edinburgh Castle
Let someone else do the navigating—enjoy having a private chauffeur
Travel with ease between sites in an air-conditioned Mercedes Benz
This luxury private tour can be customized based on customer interests

What's Included

Door to Door Service from Glasgow or Greenock Cruise Port
Services & Stories of a Scottish Local
Wi-Fi Access

Gratuities (Passenger Discretion)
Edinburgh Castle

£21.50 per person
Palace of Holyroodhouse

£25.00 per person
The Royal Yacht Britannia

£21.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Arranged start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

Select your preferred tour option to see hours.

View tour option

Itinerary

Grassmarket Square

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Edinburgh Castle

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Royal Mile

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Palace of Holyroodhouse

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Calton Hill

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Royal Yacht Britannia

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 7 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed

Infant seats available
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Edinburgh Royal Mile - This is explored on Foot Only
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Supplied by

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

4.3

based on 12 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Great day in Scotland.

Mike_M, Jun 2024

Stephanie was an absolute pleasure to be around and very knowledgeable. We really enjoyed her tour and would highly recommend them anytime. Thank you for making our trip to Scotland so much fun.

Response from Host, Jun 2024

Thank You Mike for your custom and lovely review, we will make sure Stephanie gets your words. So pleased you had a great time, we appreciate you entrusting Aura Journeys with being part of your Scottish Adventure.

Chauffeur not a tour guide

Ann_J, Jun 2024

Our guide was the nicest and most wonderful person. But she knew absolutely nothing about Edinburgh. It was a $1300 chauffeur ride. Uber drivers knew more than she did. It was a bespoke tour and I had asked to go to Loch Lamond-she recommended not going there bc it was “just a lake without anything worth seeing there.” Did nothing to explain anything along our entire 8 hours together. I paid this much for this private tour so that I we could get a rich education about scotland tailored to both my teenage children and me. I feel like I need a refund-l to reflect the cost of a chauffeur - not a tour guide. This was through Aura Tours

Response from Host, Jun 2024

Ann, we are disappointed that you did not have the experience expected. Aura Journeys always set out to give an experience to remember so when we fall short we need to take a look at why expectations were not met. Discussing your tour with Gerry who managed your booking and Stephanie your Driver / Guide there seems to be a number of comments that do not reflect the day? When we receive a booking our team always reach out through the Viator and Trip Advisor messaging system to introduce ourselves and get a line of communication in place, this is key to ensuring a great experience is given to the travellers. You booked on Sunday the 12th of May 2024, our team messaged you on Monday the 13th of May 2024 to introduce and get the communication going. You replied on the 17th of May with the requested details and we emailed you straight away, we had no reply to this email so Gerry also tried again on the 3rd of June. No reply to Gerry was sent so he decided to send an Text Message on the 6th of June, he got a reply to this which was can I get back to you in a bit. You mention in the review that Stephanie “knew absolutely nothing about Edinburgh”, this we found strange as whilst we picked you up in Edinburgh we had to change the tour to suit your requests due to the weather. You visited Stirling and the Trossachs National Park. We could mention and counter your other comments on the tour, but what is apparent is that due to the poor communication from yourself and planning prior to your day expectations were not met. If you had taken some time to communicate prior to the day you would have had a much better experience, also maybe reading the tour listing would have also helped. Our Driver guides are all Scottish Locals, finding a Uber driver of the same standard would be like going on the hunt for Nessie ! We are confident that Stephanie would not of spoken about Loch Lomond as being a “Lake”, we are proud of our country and its jewels. Hopefully in the future you will take a little time to plan and find out about where you are so you get that rich education you strive for. If we had fallen short in anyway in trying to get the tour planned and correct we would be open to discussing a refund, the fact is we made every effort prior and during to get it correct. The issue is this was not reciprocal. We are not perfect but by taking a little time to read our other reviews, especially the one above this one travellers will see what they can get out of the day if some time and attention is given to the planning. saol ghrá

Great Experience - Highly Recommend

Douglas_L, May 2024

We booked the private tour as we were getting married in Edinburgh with the cruise ship arriving in Glasgow, needing to leave the ship ready and a few things we wanted to do on our special day before returning to the ship before it departed. Our driver was Kenny and really glad we met. He messaged me the night before with his contact number and in the morning upon arrival. He spoke to the port security and drove right up to the gangway point, which was really appreciated having started our day at 6am, leaving the ship in full wedding gown and formal kilt kit for our day. Kenny arrived early and greeted us smartly dressed with a Mercedes minivan, stocked with drinks and snacks for the day. We headed out to Edinburgh with the wedding mid-day, Kenny was engaging but also respectful of our time alone, pointing out a few things along the drive. We arrived in Edinburgh early and he took us for a brief tour before heading to the park and Ross Fountain where we were holding the ceremony. Knowing the area, he was able to drive right into the park and park close to the Fountain, instead of us walking 500 metres from the entrance, which was great too. Waiting for Reverend Lindy, our photographer Jenny Beckett and piper Jonathan Graham, Kenny offered to assist us in any way he could - little did he know what he was getting into! When the the crew arrived, Kenny got along with everyone, like they knew each other well. He jumped in walking my beautiful bride from the van down the aisle, he was our ring bearer and assisted with logistics with her dress, bubbles and our photos, somehow finding the time to move the van and decorate it without us noticing. Following our ceremony and pictures, finally again aware there were others around us, we walked back to the decorated van where we asked Kenny to take us to a local pub to celebrate. He knew just the place, taking us to Grassmarket and the Beehive Inn, with cheers and congratulations from well wishers enjoying the afternoon on the patios as we strolled to the pub. He joined us for a Coke at our request as we celebrated, before leaving us to enjoy our moment together. We met up with him later and he took us to the Royal Mile, dropping us off close to the bottom as he pointed out a few landmarks, like St. Giles’ Cathedral where Queen Elizabeth II laid in State upon her passing. We strolled the Royal Mile like royalty, still in full wedding gown and Scottish kilt, stopping for pictures and conversations along the way, we shared our day with many before being turned away at Edinburgh Castle with so many taking pictures (apparently not allowed to go in wedding attire!). Being Canadian, we took that in stride as we walked the other side of the Royal Mile, standing for pictures and conversations as we did. We ended up at a pub, having fish and chips for lunch before meeting Kenny who had us on a schedule to ensure we arrived back to the ship in Glasgow in time. We were very fortunate to have meet Kenny. While a professional driver and knowledgeable guide, his personality really made experience on our special day even better and we are very grateful to have had him share our day. Highly recommend Kenny to anyone - he’s a professional that makes the journey personal. We have had great experiences with Viatour bookings and will continue to book through them as quality tours wherever we have gone. The service was great - new Mercedes, well stocked with a great knowledgeable driver who knew the area and history well.

Response from Host, Jun 2024

So pleased you had a lovely day, Kenny was so pleased that you entrusted Aura Journeys Glasgow to be part of your big day. We appreciate the kind words and the lovely review.

This was a great tour. ...

Nancy_K, Sep 2023

This was a great tour. Gerry was amazing, he couldn’t have been more helpful, informative and friendly. I wish he could have done all our tours.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Thanks for your Kind Words, so pleased Gerry looked after you all. Appreciate your business.

Edinburgh Sights

d2gredvig, May 2022

We enjoyed William and the sights of Edinburgh but we were under the assumption that we would have a driver and a guide. Without William, as the driver, accessing some of the sights with us, we had to rely on our own interpretations of those sight. Wonderful experience, wonderful country, but the guided portion was not what we were expecting ... especially after our other Viator tours we experienced. Thank you!

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Good Afternoon and thank you for taking the time to leave a review and Feedback. We are sorry that you thought that there was a Driver and Guide, I have just checked the listing and we do have the option selected for the "Driver is also the Guide" but Trip Advisor / Viator do not seem to publish this on the Tour listing very well. Edinburgh is difficult for the driver guide to be with you at all times, due to the location many of the stops require the driver to drop the group off and then either park or return for you once finished. A number of the locations do have Free Guides available to use if required. We have emailed Trip Advisor / Viator to try and ensure that the Option showing "Your Driver is Also the Guide" is published more prominently. Thank you for your business and hope you all enjoyed your day in Edinburgh.