Edinburgh Open-Top Tour: Explore Iconic Sights

Hop on and hop off the Edinburgh City Tour to explore iconic landmarks like Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Mile, and more. Enjoy 24 hours of unlimited sightseeing from the best seats in town!

Duration: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights

Big Bus Edinburgh City Tour (Red Route) (Route)

Operating Schedule:

  • Summer (May–October): The first bus departs at 09:00 from Stop 1 (Waterloo Place) every 10 minutes, with the last tour at 18:00.
  • Winter (November–March): Buses depart from 09:00 every 15 minutes, with the final tour at 16:00.
    For the most current stop locations,…
What's Included
  • 24- or 48-Hour Big Bus Hop-on, Hop-off Sightseeing Tour by Open-Top Bus
  • Two Routes available: City & Britannia Tours
  • Entertaining Audio Commentary available in 9 languages
  • Dog friendly
What's Not Included
  • Hotel Pick-up & Drop-off
Additional Information

Experience Edinburgh like never before with Scotland’s official Hop-on-Hop-off open-top tour! Enjoy the best seats in town and the ultimate way to discover the capital.
Feel free to hop on and off as often as you wish to fully appreciate the sights on our city tour, including Edinburgh Castle, the National Museum of Scotland, Dynamic Earth, Greyfriars…

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.2
(414 Ratings)
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Sungodezz
Nov 6, 2025
Great tour, great people - Great tour to give you a solid overview of this interesting city. Thank you Ben for looking after us so well and going out of your way (twice!) to make sure we got on the right bus. Fabulous customer service. Friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable. Thank you ☺️
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Skye_f
Oct 21, 2025
Fun and relaxing way to see the city - Really liked how there’s the option to listen to commentary on the bus while’s it’s driving round to give you information about each area and stop alone the way.
Review provided by Viator
624abbieb
Oct 9, 2025
Amazing!! Big up Ben !! - Totally worth the money , so easy and convenient to use! We had great experience with Ben In Edinburgh he was most helpful and kindest soul! Ben made the experience so much easier to use by guiding us through it all!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ronald_n
Oct 7, 2025
Drivers were friendly and... - Drivers were friendly and patient. Buses were very clean and timely. Would have preferred an actual person instead of the recording for the narrative.
Review provided by Viator
Jane
Oct 2, 2025
Highly recommend - 5 star!!! I came with my family from England for a city tour, and Connor truly made the experience wonderful. From the very start he was cheerful, polite, and welcoming. He couldn’t have been more helpful when I asked for directions and recommendations, and he went out of his way to make sure we had everything we needed. His positive attitude made the whole tour so enjoyable for all of us. Thank you, Connor, for helping make our family trip so memorable!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Charlottefi9464bo
Oct 2, 2025
HOP ON STAY ON!!!! - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ We had the best time on our city tour with Connor! I wanted to write this to him as I can only imagine how difficult it is driving round the city but from the moment we got on the bus, he was so cheerful and friendly. Nothing was too much trouble – I asked him for directions and recommendations, and he went out of his way to help. You can tell he genuinely enjoys what he does, and that made the whole experience even more fun. Honestly, he couldn’t have been more helpful. Thanks, Connor – you made our day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mathewj534
Oct 1, 2025
Amazing - We recently took a trip into Edinburgh for a change and got the city tour with Connor as our driver he was cheerful and helpful on food recommendations and cracked plenty jokes with the kids as we got on the route and commentary coudnt be better absolutely loved it we wait to come try the Britannia tour next time we visit
Review provided by Tripadvisor
947frant
Oct 30, 2025
Pleasant ride but could do with a kids guide - The drivers are super friendly and willing to answer any questions. The driving was safe and steady the way i expected it. My only snag is that the kids couldnt absorb the information as there was no kids version of the history which another bus had for Oxford. Having said that, we do enjoy bus tours altho paid for 2 lines for 2 days but only ended up 1 line for 2 days.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lucyh750
Oct 30, 2025
Great tour but audio not working. - The tour was great and the guys standing around the bus stops were so friendly and helpful. We were, however, very disappointed in the bus and audio equipment. Most of the audio plug in consoles were either not working at all or no sound/ buttons not working to change language. You had to keep moving seats to get one that worked. A handle was broken on the bus which could have been dangerous and lots of litter. The commentry was good but sometimes didn't match up with where you were on the route. It was a shame the bus did not go nearer to the Brittania.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nickrv618hf
Nov 1, 2025
Thoroughly spoiled our visit to Edinburgh - What they told us: - busses every 15 mins till 6pm - free entry to Edinburgh City Pass sights, worth £20 on average (an over-estimate) What they didn’t tell us: - change to winter programme the next day, with busses every 30 mins till 4pm - main sites (castle, Holyrood Palace) not included - half the sites included in the Edinburgh City Pass were not on the bus circuit! - of the few experiences accessible and of interest, Dynamic Earth closed at 3pm, (with, according to another angry TripAdvisor reviewer, entries closing at 1pm)! Papers we were given included a competitor’s brochure, with a much better service. We only found out it was a competitor when we tried to get on one of their busses! Receipts were QR codes, making comprehension and discussions with personnel difficult.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $24
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).