Edinburgh Sightseeing Tours

Edinburgh Sightseeing Tours

Orientation Tours

The best way to get oriented in Edinburgh is to take a bus tour, most of which are operated by Lothian Buses. City Sightseeing open-top bus tours (£8.50) include multilingual commentary; MacTours (£8.50) are conducted in vintage open-top buses. All tours take you to the main attractions, including Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, Palace of Holyroodhouse, city museums and galleries, and the Old and New towns. They depart from Waverley Bridge, and are hop on/hop off services, with tickets lasting 24 hours. The 60-minute Britannia Tour (£12) operates with a professional guide, and takes you from Waverly Bridge to the New Town, past Charlotte Square, art galleries, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and Newhaven Heritage Museum, until it reaches the Royal Yacht Britannia moored at Leith. Tickets for all tours are available from ticket sellers on Waverley Bridge or on the buses themselves.

The money-saving Edinburgh Pass gives you bus transport (including a return ticket on the airport bus), access to more than 25 attractions, and other exclusive offers. A one-day pass costs £26; two-day pass £34, and three-day pass £40. Passes are available from the tourist information centers in Princes Street, at Edinburgh Airport, or online.

Information

Edinburgh Pass (0131/473-3800. www.edinburghpass.org). Lothian Buses (0131/555-6363. www.edinburghtour.com).

Walking Tours

Cadies and Witchery Tours, a fully qualified member of the Scottish Tourist Guides Association, has built a reputation for combining entertainment and historical accuracy in its lively and enthusiastic Ghosts & Gore Tour and Murder & Mystery Tour (£7.50 each), which take you through the narrow Old Town alleyways and closes, with costumed guides and other theatrical characters showing up en route. The Scottish Literary Tour Company takes you around Edinburgh's Old and New Town, with guides invoking Scottish literary characters; it also has regional tours around Scotland.

Contact

Cadies and Witchery Tours (84 West Bow, Edinburgh. 0131/225-6745. www.witcherytours.com). Scottish Literary Tour Company (97B West Bow, Suite 2, Edinburgh. 0131/226-6665. www.edinburghliterarypubtour.co.uk).

Personal Guides

Scottish Tourist Guides can supply guides (in 19 languages) who are fully qualified and will meet clients at any point of entry into the United Kingdom or Scotland. They can also tailor tours to your interests.

Contact

Scottish Tourist Guides (Contact Doreen Boyle, Old Town Jail, St. John St., Stirling, FK8 1EA. 01786/451953. www.stga.co.uk).