Edinburgh Bus Tours
Edinburgh Bus Tours
4.5
Full view
About
Hop on - hop off and discover the best of Scotland’s Capital with Edinburgh Bus Tours. Enjoy unbeatable views and an incredible experience on board our five star tours. Explore sights including Edinburgh Castle, Palace of Holyroodhouse and The Royal Yacht Britannia. Choose from multi-lingual commentary available in up to 10 different languages or let a specially trained English speaking guide tell you about their city. Hop on - hop off tickets valid for 24 hours give you total flexibility to explore. Make a day of it and save money with our Grand and Royal tickets. Grand tickets give you access to all city tours for 24 or 48 hours. The Royal Edinburgh Ticket includes a Grand 48 ticket, plus admission to Edinburgh Castle, Palace of Holyroodhouse and Royal Yacht Britannia. We operate every day of the year.
Edinburgh, Scotland
Awards
Travellers' Choice
2024
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingRevenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Similar Experiences
Edinburgh Bus Tours
Booking unavailable on Tripadvisor
Want other options you can book now?
Show optionsTravellers talk about
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
3,143 reviews
Excellent
2,069
Very good
708
Average
212
Poor
71
Terrible
83
Craig V
Birmingham, UK200 contributions
Sept 2020
We love Edinburgh and although we know it quite well, decided to take a tour to get a few more details. Weather was kind so we sat upstairs in the open top bus. Our guide was Colin T and driver was Leanne. They were both brilliant and worked together to make sure people "hopping on and off" were safe and well cared for. Colin was very informative, funny and seemed to know everything about the city - we'd done this tour a couple of years ago - and it was good then, but it was much better this time and most of that was down to Colin.
I would recommend this to anyone visiting this wonderful city - it is great value and a really good way to get facts and ideas of what to visit and see. Many thanks.
I would recommend this to anyone visiting this wonderful city - it is great value and a really good way to get facts and ideas of what to visit and see. Many thanks.
Written 15 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Craig
What a lovely review, thank so much for hopping on and for taking the time to share your experience here. Leanne and Colin T will be so pleased to hear how much their teamwork added to your enjoyment.
Many thanks for your 5 star recommendation.
Elaine
Written 18 September 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Caitlin B
Liverpool, UK12 contributions
Aug 2020 • Couples
We're visiting Edinburgh for a short break away and decided the best way to get to know the city better was to try a bus tour. We had previously been to information centre where this bus tour was recommended to us and were informed that all 3 bus tours; The Edinburgh tour, Majestic tour and city sight seeing tour were km offer for £16 and you could hop on and off at any of the stops and the times of the last bus were printed on your tickets. We would recommend doing the Edinburgh tour first as its a live guided tour and gives you the history and information about the city! We then did the Majestic tour which which takes you through the city but also through Leith, giving you the history on both. Then the sight seeing tour gives you a little bit or everything, but also explains some of the things in greater depth. The Majestic tour and Sight seeing tour are the ones where head phones are required if you'd like to listen to the information, you can either take your own or a pair can be provided by the company. We got to experience amazing views of Edinburgh and learnt a lot about its history.
A quick reminder at the minute though is that if you are sat either on the lower deck of the bus or the covered are on the top deck, then you'll need a face covering!
A quick reminder at the minute though is that if you are sat either on the lower deck of the bus or the covered are on the top deck, then you'll need a face covering!
Written 6 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your comprehensive review of your time with us. So pleased to hear you made the most of our current special offer and managed to see even more of the city with our GRAND24 ticket. It's also good to hear how much you appreciated the unique views you get from upstairs and thanks for the top tip, for future customers, re face coverings under cover on board.
With best wishes
Elaine
Written 10 August 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sarah b
Lytham St Anne's, UK2,320 contributions
Aug 2020 • Couples
We decided on a bus tour of Edinburgh to save our feet having walked a lot the previous day. The all day hop on hop off pass cost £16 and is good value as it lasts you 24 hours. We used every minute of this doing the red route, then the green and picked up the blue route the next morning, hopping on and off occasionally to have a tea and cake or investigate something on foot.
We hesitated at first as we didn't know if we would get the value. However I can thoroughly recommend it especially if you have 2 days to spread the use.
The commentary/ guide is very interesting and made engaging by being amusingly told. 2 of the routes are headphone commentary and one is by personal guide, both are good. The guides are very funny and make the tour interesting and engaging. Always good to learn something new.
Masks to be worn inside the bus, but ok with outside areas on the upper deck, fortunately it stayed mostly dry during our tours. The buses are thoroughly cleaned regularly between each tour. The buses are frequent, red ones every 10 minutes, the others slightly less so but still very convenient.
We hesitated at first as we didn't know if we would get the value. However I can thoroughly recommend it especially if you have 2 days to spread the use.
The commentary/ guide is very interesting and made engaging by being amusingly told. 2 of the routes are headphone commentary and one is by personal guide, both are good. The guides are very funny and make the tour interesting and engaging. Always good to learn something new.
Masks to be worn inside the bus, but ok with outside areas on the upper deck, fortunately it stayed mostly dry during our tours. The buses are thoroughly cleaned regularly between each tour. The buses are frequent, red ones every 10 minutes, the others slightly less so but still very convenient.
Written 13 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much for your comprehensive 5 star review. I love the thought of you hopping off for cake - we should make that a thing!!
I am glad you made the most of your GRAND24 ticket and enjoyed all three routes and commentaries over 2 days.
Our Guides will be delighted to hear that you found them fun and engaging, also that you learned a lot from all of our tours.
Many thanks for hopping on and for taking the time to share your review here. We really appreciate it.
With best wishes
Elaine
Written 14 August 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
nirvine1995
Glasgow, UK30 contributions
Oct 2020
We went on the Edinburgh Bus Tour last week and it was absolutely fantastic! We chose the live tour guide option and stayed on the bus for the full tour which was about 75 minutes. The driver was Gordon was great he drove slowly and allowed us to take photos. The tour guide Steve was fantastic so knowledgeable and personable throughout. We were lucky to have a sunny day and sit on the open top deck however would recommend wrapping up as it is a bit chilly (It is October after all!)
All Covid measures were fully complied with including wearing of masks which made us feel safe. Fantastic day out, great value for money and would highly recommend!
All Covid measures were fully complied with including wearing of masks which made us feel safe. Fantastic day out, great value for money and would highly recommend!
Written 5 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It's good to hear how much you enjoyed exploring Edinburgh in the sunshine with us. I appreciate you highlighting how safe you felt too.
We hope others will read your recommendation of our tours as a fantastic day out.
Many thanks from us all
Elaine
Written 8 October 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jon
Harrogate, UK32 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
We have just enjoyed a few days in Edinburgh & with the mixed weather & lack of attractions open, we decided to take the bus tour. What a fantastic decision as everything & everyone was top notch. The staff aboard particularly the drivers made our experience informative & fun ...they were courteous & helpful for extra information...well done & great value for money.
Written 2 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much for your 5 star review. The whole Edinburgh Bus Tours team are so pleased to hear how helpful, fun and polite you found them all .
We also appreciate you recommending our tours as great value for money.
Many thanks
Elaine
Written 4 August 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Guy B
Maryport, UK137 contributions
Jul 2020
I took a ride on this bus with my wife and daughter after spending a week in Edinburgh as a way of seeing the rest of the city and saving our feet after many hours of walking up and down hills.. The journey itself was about an hour around the old and new town, with lots of interest paid to the Georgian architecture of the New Town. It was a very interesting ride and out our guide, Colin, came around and asked us all where we were from so he could personalise his live guide of the city, pointing out a bench that was dedicated to John Lennon as we are scousers.
I'd highly recommend this tour at the start of a stay to get yourself orientated with the city.
Also, if it has been raining, take some tissue to dry your seats if you plan on sitting on the open deck, or take some plastic carrier bags to sit on.
I'd highly recommend this tour at the start of a stay to get yourself orientated with the city.
Also, if it has been raining, take some tissue to dry your seats if you plan on sitting on the open deck, or take some plastic carrier bags to sit on.
Written 28 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your lovely comments, Guy, it sounds like you had a enjoyable time exploring Edinburgh with us. We'll pass on to Colin how much you appreciated his personal touches tying Edinburgh and Liverpool.
Edinburgh does have many hills so pleased that you took time to sit back and enjoy the unique views from upstairs. We are delighted to see you on board at any point during your stay but agree with your recommendation to hop on at the start of a visit so you can get a feel for the city then hop off to explore the places of interest.
We have paper towels available on board in case of any inclement weather and of course touchpoints are cleaned between each tour too. Our team are always on hand to assist.
Many thanks for taking the time to share your review here, we all really appreciate it.
with best wishes
Elaine
Written 4 August 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Carla O
Slough, UK12 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
I highly recommend this type of travel if you don't want to spend too much money on Uber/Taxis and you're not the type of person who's fond of walking. All their bus stops are just 5-10 minute walk from the tourist spot so it is easily accessible. I'm also satisfied with their fee since it include 3 free entry passes to major tourist attractions. Well done.
Written 11 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for describing your experience with us as excellent. It's good to hear what great value you felt our Royal Edinburgh Ticket is.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts here.
With best wishes
Elaine
Written 13 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Stephen B
York, UK181 contributions
Aug 2021
As a family of 4 we took the Green bus tour lasting about 1hr 10mins with a live guide shortly after arriving in Edinburgh city centre.
The kids went free and we only paid about £8 for each adult from the man peddling tickets outside Waverley St station.
Enjoyed the route and commentary from the female live guide. It helps orientate you and learn a little more about the city - recommended.
The kids went free and we only paid about £8 for each adult from the man peddling tickets outside Waverley St station.
Enjoyed the route and commentary from the female live guide. It helps orientate you and learn a little more about the city - recommended.
Written 31 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for choosing or live guided Edinburgh Tour and for taking the time to post your review here and recommend us so highly.
It's good to hear you appreciated our special offers and found the tour useful for getting your bearings in the city.
I hope you also hopped on and off making the most of the ticket's 24 hour validity.
with best wishes
Elaine
Written 2 September 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
A S
Aberdeen, UK222 contributions
Jul 2021
We had a free day in Edinburgh whilst on a break there and with the weather being unreliable, we opted to to one of the city tours on a bus, even though we had done them before. We went to St Andrew's Square and were met by a sales person who expained that one tour is £16, and if we purchased it, there was a special offer on, whereby we would get the 2 others free. This was a no brainer.
We did one of the tours in the morning. This had a real person who was doing the narating. This is the best kind of tour as they are able to throw in additional snippets of information or 'fill in' with a humerous story if the bus gets stuck in traffic. You can hop on or off at any of the attractions that the bus passes - but as we had seen all the attractions, we remained on the bus till it had gone full circle and was back at St Andrews Square. We got off and went away for a spot of lunch, and returned in the afternoon for another tour. As part of the Royal Mile is closed (I think for roadworks), the bus had to detour off, and having done the tours previously, this wasn't as good. It is a real shame. Again, we stayed on the bus till it returned.
These tours used to leave from the bridge next to Waverly Station, and it is such a shame that the bridge appears to be closed and the busses are now leaving from St Andrews Square as they won't be getting the same amount of passing trade. They are now being hit by the roadworks on the Royal Mile.
Would I do the tours again? Yes, especially if they have a live tour guide. These are not excellent value for money, but a great way to see the city.
We did one of the tours in the morning. This had a real person who was doing the narating. This is the best kind of tour as they are able to throw in additional snippets of information or 'fill in' with a humerous story if the bus gets stuck in traffic. You can hop on or off at any of the attractions that the bus passes - but as we had seen all the attractions, we remained on the bus till it had gone full circle and was back at St Andrews Square. We got off and went away for a spot of lunch, and returned in the afternoon for another tour. As part of the Royal Mile is closed (I think for roadworks), the bus had to detour off, and having done the tours previously, this wasn't as good. It is a real shame. Again, we stayed on the bus till it returned.
These tours used to leave from the bridge next to Waverly Station, and it is such a shame that the bridge appears to be closed and the busses are now leaving from St Andrews Square as they won't be getting the same amount of passing trade. They are now being hit by the roadworks on the Royal Mile.
Would I do the tours again? Yes, especially if they have a live tour guide. These are not excellent value for money, but a great way to see the city.
Written 21 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AS
Thanks so much for buying our special offer GRAND24 ticket valid on all three routes. It sounds like your favourite route was our live guided Edinburgh Tour as they brought the city to life and kept you informed of the current diversion as the city makes improvements tot he Royal Mile. The beauty of our 24 hour validity is you can hop off the tour to take a closer look at the areas not visited by the tour, especially the Closes down the Royal Mile, then hop back n a later tour.
I love that you would hop on again and hop your comprehensive review encourages others to hop on too.
With best wishes
Elaine
Written 22 July 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Peterborough-stig
Peterborough, UK603 contributions
Sept 2021 • Family
A modern fleet if buses and 4 routes which appear to cover everything you may need to visit. Including a trip to the Forth bridges.
One route has a live commentary, which was to a good standard, while the red and blue routes had a recorded commentary which was decent. Free headphones given out
Some packages offer admission for Edinburgh castle, The Royal yacht and Holyrood.
The quality of the offer was fairly reasonable, however the biggest gripe - given that this is a premium service, is the frequency of services.
On a good weather day, its difficult to get a seat on the open top section unless you want to catch the next bus. With the red route every 15 mins that's not an issue but with the blue route being every half an hour....
And thats why the tour loses 2 stars
Being dumped by the Royal yacht, unable to board the first bus and barely getting on the second , others were left behind for the second bus, is not a premium tourist service.
There are no staff in the key locations outside the city centre and to put it bluntly, it's tough if your bus is full.
Wait an hour to get a bus back and then sit downstairs crammed in. Hardly a great way to see Edinburgh.
Given that this tour is owned by Lothian bus, you would expect greater integration with the public buses they run. For example if the tourist bus is packed, your ticket is also valid on the number X to get back to the city centre.
Sadly I couldn't tell you the bus number, as Lothian bus don't appear to supply such information on bus stops but you get the picture.
This is either a premium service, and one where you get your seat on the top deck of the bus or your choice, or its a standard service and you cross your fingers you can get on the bus.
One route has a live commentary, which was to a good standard, while the red and blue routes had a recorded commentary which was decent. Free headphones given out
Some packages offer admission for Edinburgh castle, The Royal yacht and Holyrood.
The quality of the offer was fairly reasonable, however the biggest gripe - given that this is a premium service, is the frequency of services.
On a good weather day, its difficult to get a seat on the open top section unless you want to catch the next bus. With the red route every 15 mins that's not an issue but with the blue route being every half an hour....
And thats why the tour loses 2 stars
Being dumped by the Royal yacht, unable to board the first bus and barely getting on the second , others were left behind for the second bus, is not a premium tourist service.
There are no staff in the key locations outside the city centre and to put it bluntly, it's tough if your bus is full.
Wait an hour to get a bus back and then sit downstairs crammed in. Hardly a great way to see Edinburgh.
Given that this tour is owned by Lothian bus, you would expect greater integration with the public buses they run. For example if the tourist bus is packed, your ticket is also valid on the number X to get back to the city centre.
Sadly I couldn't tell you the bus number, as Lothian bus don't appear to supply such information on bus stops but you get the picture.
This is either a premium service, and one where you get your seat on the top deck of the bus or your choice, or its a standard service and you cross your fingers you can get on the bus.
Written 21 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peterborough-stig
Thank you for hopping on our tours and for your comprehensive review of your experience. It sounds like, on the whole, you enjoyed exploring Edinburgh with us.
I understand there was an issue with one of our Majestic departures on the day you were with us. Customers were assisted when they called us and our app had up-to-date information.
The frequency of the tours reflects our assessment of customer numbers and usually works beautifully. We are not allowed to position sales staff around the route but our drivers are always happy to advise or assist in any way.
Many thanks for taking the time to share your experience and thoughts here. Please be assure we always do our best to offer a premium service to all our customers and apologise if on this occasion we failed.
With best wishes
Elaine
Written 24 September 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Can I bring my 9 month old on the bus with me and my fiance? We would baby wear so he'd be strapped to us
Written 12 June 2024
Hi I would like to purchase Edinburgh The Grand 48+ ticket. Can someone please advise me if it’s valid for 48 hours from the time it’s used or in the day it’s used regardless of its time. As I am planning to use it on Tuesday later on in afternoon. So will it be valid until Thursday afternoon or Tuesday and Wednesday only? Thanks.
Written 28 July 2019
The ticket is date and time stamped st the time of purchase and usable time starts at purchase.
Written 25 August 2019
Heading to Edinburgh next week and bought the Royal Edinburgh Ticket. Which bus brings you closest to the castle or are they all about the same? We are thinking of starting our tour there. Thank you.
Written 28 May 2019
The hop on/hop off busses all leave from the bridge at Waverly Station. There are a couple of lines and the locations are printed on the side of the bus. It is easy. Since you have this bus included in your ticket, you are good. Like someone else said, just a short walk to the castle. Most everything in Edinburgh is a short walk on a hill.
Written 3 June 2019
Jessica P
Cardiff, United Kingdom
I would like to book the tour bus with the entry to the 3 attractions for £55. Are the entry to the attractions only valid for 48 hours too?
Written 10 March 2019
Which one is better to purchase tickets for: Citysightseeing Tour or 3 Bridges Tour?
Written 16 September 2018
Is it cheaper to book these tickets online before we go or is it the same price please
Written 15 August 2018
There is no difference in price if you prepurchase or buy on the day from our ticket sellers.
Elaine , Edinburgh Bus Tours
Written 15 August 2018
soxfanjm1
Boston, Massachusetts
If we make our purchase in Edinburgh when we arrive, but we don't have access to a printer, can we use cell phone to obtain tickets and vouchers on site?
Written 6 August 2018
Yes if you buy from our own website , just show the QR code
Elaine
Written 6 August 2018
You can pick up the Majestic Tour at Newhaven and Leith ports. If arriving at South Queensfeery take the CruiseLink shuttle in to St Andrew Square then walk 5 mins to Waverley Bridge.
I hope this helps, let me know if you need any further information.
Elaine
Written 11 July 2018
Hi we are arriving on the Holland America Cruise August 7th. Can we walk from the cruise ship to the bus stop?
Written 8 July 2018
H which port do you arrive in to?
Keith or Newhaven hop straight on the Majestic Tour, Queensferry, use the CruiseLink shuttle service to get you in to the city centre (St Andrew's Square) then walk 2 minutes to Waverley Bridge, our main tour departure point.
Elaine
Written 8 July 2018
Hello. If I buy the tickets ahead of time can I then just get on at any stop with the printed voucher?
Written 23 May 2018
Hello, yes you can, your voucher will be scanned and tickets issued. Note for Royal Edinburgh Tickets the driver would take you to Waverley Bridge, the tour departure point, to exchange your voucher.
Elaine, Sales Dept
Written 6 June 2018
…
Showing results 1-10 of 46