Private Tours of Edinburgh

This three hour tour is a more in-depth version of our Appetiser Tour. We will take you on wonderful three hour walk through Edinburgh, you will be taken on a journey to all the main sights of the Old Town with your funny and informative guide. You will be taken down narrow alleyways, be told the stories behind the history, and shown views which will define your trip to Scotland’s capital!

We have include a short break for you to take quick coffee or a cup of tea at a local pub but should you rather skip it you may, as we said before… on a Private Tour, you are the boss!

This tour covers:  

• St Giles’ Cathedral
• Heart of Midlothian
• Edinburgh Castle
• The real Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
• William Wallace and the Stone of Destiny
• Greyfriars Kirkyard (cemetery) and Greyfriars Bobby
• The Royal Mile
• Edinburgh’s Old Town
• Mercat Cross
• National Museum
• Covenanters’ Prison
• Martyrs’ Memorial
• The Scottish Writers Museum
• Grassmarket
• The original ‘Hogwarts’
• The Hub
• Burke y Hare
• Witch huntings
• Tron Kirk

Our recommendation: Highly recommended to join during your first day in the city!

What do you want to do after the tour? The tour ends back at Tron Kirk next to the Royal Mile here you will find a lot of pubs and bars and places to rest after the tour, you can also go shopping and for those eager to keep discovering the city with no break, you can visit the National Museum which is five minutes away by foot.

During this three hour tour, you will discover how Edinburgh Castle dominates one of the world’s most heroic and bloody national histories. It stands on Castle Rock, a dead volcano which was cut to its hard basalt core in the Ice Age, with the Old Town now nestling in its geological shadow.

The Castle’s crucial role in the history of Scotland and Great Britain is obvious from the acclaimed museums and memorials within. Make the most of your visit to Scotland’s most popular visitor attraction, with an expert guide who will lead you around the upper end of the Royal Mile and throughout your trip to the Castle, you will be shown things that other visitors might miss, and ensure you get the best value for your time and money.

After the tour through the Castle, guests are welcome to stay as long as they like within the Castle itself or the grounds, until closing time.


This tour covers:

• Dùn Èideann, the first settlement
• The Castle & the Esplanade
• Glaciers and volcanoes
• Wars with England & Scottish independence
• National War Museum and War Memorial
• St Margaret’s Chapel
• Royal Crown Jewels
• The first city walls
• Mons Meg Cannon
• The Dungeons
• Half Moon Battery
• Dog Cemetery
• The Stone of Destiny

Our recommendation: Don't miss this one! No visit to Scotland is complete without visiting this number one visitor attraction in the country. Today it is one of the quietest places in the city, far above the busy streets of Edinburgh, with breathtaking views across South West Scotland.

Please be aware that Edinburgh Castle stays open until 5pm we recommend at least 1.5 hours are needed to explore the Castle itself. Therefore, we would advise that you book this tour to start any time before 2pm.

If you traveled back in time to 1850, you would recognise life in Edinburgh, but if you went back to 1750, you very likely wouldn’t.  What happened in those 100 years  not only changed the face of Scotland, but indeed the world?

This period in Scottish history influenced the golden era of the Enlightenment like no other.  Edinburgh had the highest literacy rate in the world and was the place that Sir Walter Scott, John Knoxx and Alexander Graham Bell called home. It also was the birthplace of seminal inventions like the telephone, anaesthesia and even the world's first fire brigade.

This tour covers:

• The world’s oldest Masonic Lodge and other secret societies
• The campaign to abolish slavery
• Why the entire area of Edinburgh’s New Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site
• Major inventions during the Scottish Enlightenment
• Sir Walter Scott and the colourful visit of King George IV.
• Scottish National Portrait Gallery
• James Braidwood and the world’s first fire service
• John Knoxx and the educational revolution
• The Ross Fountain and Princes Street Gardens

Our recommendation: Are you passionate about history and literature? Are you curious to discover more about the Masonic Lodge in Edinburgh? If this is the case, this is the tour for you!

What do you want to do after the tour? This tours ends at the famous Princes Street Gardens during the summer this is a lovely place to spend time after the tour but should the weather be a little more chilly, you will find a wide range of local pubs around where you can to have a nice coffee or beer!

Things are simply not what they seem in this Jekyll and Hyde city, famous for witch burning, grave robbing, body snatching, and mysterious murders. Behind, beneath and beyond the Royal Mile lie plundered tombs, funeral pyres, and mass graves from thousands of years of history. Expose Edinburgh’s dark side and relive the most evil tales from its past.

During this two hour tour, you will feel the hair on the back of your neck stand on end as you explore gruesome graveyards and narrow alleyways hiding secrets from deep in Edinburgh’s dark history. Even the bravest soul will be shaken by these spine-chilling true stories of real-life cannibals and vampires.  

No fake stories, no men in wolf masks: Edinburgh’s true history is terrifying enough!

This tour covers:

• Burke and Hare - the West Port murderers
• Witch Trials and the site of witch burnings
• Bodysnatchers and living burials
• Edinburgh’s cannibals and vampires
• The Murder of Mary Queen of Scots’ lover
• Canongate Kirkyard and mausoleums
• The best view of the Old Town
• Abraham Lincoln and the Lighthouse of Souls
• Carlton Cemetery
• Arthur’s Seat and the mystery of the 17 doll coffins   
• Folklore and faeries

Our recommendation: This tour is best done in the late afternoon/early evening, ideally right before dinner! There are no age limitations, although during this tour we do visit a cemetery sometimes when dark so parents with children under 13 years old should be aware of the nature and sights covered during this tour.