Edinburgh Private Tour with a Local Guide, Highlights & Hidden Gems
4.4
34 Ratings
Edinburgh
Experience the best of Edinburgh with a private tour led by a local guide. Explore the city's highlights and hidden gems, tailored to your interests and pace.
Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Edinburgh Castle - Spend half a day with your host and enjoy the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of historic Edinburgh - visit iconic sights like the Edinburgh Castle and pay homage at the Scott Monument

IMPORTANT: As this is a private and personalised experience, the places you visit may differ from those listed and these will be chosen by your host based on your interests and preferences

  • Royal Mile - Take a walk down the Royal Mile, passing historical monuments and quaint shops as you go

IMPORTANT: As this is a private and personalised experience, the places you visit may differ from those listed and these will be chosen by your host based on your interests and preferences

  • Arthur’s Seat - Take a hike to Arthur’s Seat and admire the stunning architecture, noticing how seamlessly it blends in with the rocky highlands

IMPORTANT: As this is a private and personalised experience, the places you visit may differ from those listed and these will be chosen by your host based on your interests and preferences

  • The Real Mary King’s Close - Go underground at the Real Mary King’s Close, a world of underground hidden streets from the 17th century

IMPORTANT: As this is a private and personalised experience, the places you visit may differ from those listed and these will be chosen by your host based on your interests and preferences

  • Princes Street Gardens - Absorb the city’s atmosphere and bask in the warm sun (if you’re lucky enough to visit during the summer) at the Princess Street Gardens, while you enjoy a picnic with your host

IMPORTANT: As this is a private and personalised experience, the places you visit may differ from those listed and these will be chosen by your host based on your interests and preferences

What's Included
  • Private and personalized experience
  • Guided walking tour
  • 2 to 4 hours with a local guide
  • Pick-up from your accommodation (within a reasonable distance)
  • Optional hotel meet-up for central locations
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Transportation (primarily a walking experience however public transport may be used)
  • Tickets to any attractions
  • Gratuities (optional)
Additional Information

Nestled amidst rugged hills, Edinburgh presents a spectrum of charm, from eye-catching structures to breathtaking sceneries, and more in-between. One of our local guides will be your companion, and depending on your preferences, you can opt to parade down the Royal Mile, or visit the Scott Monument. Whether you prefer straight exploration of landmarks or a relaxed exploration of the city, just let us know your pace.

Post your booking confirmation within 24 hours, you’ll get a brief questionnaire about your disposition and hobbies. Your answers to these questions allow us to pair you with an alike host. Your guide will contact you to propose a tourism plan that’ll reveal what makes Edinburgh special. You two will also decide on when and where to meet. Importantly, your travel plan is adaptable and you’re free to change what you wish to do anytime during your journey.

  • Itineraries are fully personalized so any additional requirements like tickets, transportation and food & drinks can be arranged for an additional cost
  • Private groups are normally no larger than 6 people (if your group is larger, please make this known so that arrangements can be made)
Location
Harvey Nichols Edinburgh
Saint Andrew Square
After booking, you can adjust the meeting point to fit your preferences with the help of our Experience Planners.
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.4
(34 Ratings)
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Wayne_f
Mar 16, 2024
Enthusiastic Experience in Edinburgh - I think the entire experience was amazing because we were so taken back at how accommodating G was during our tour. He was chock full of historical information. His enthusiasm for Edinburgh really showed. Thank you G!
Review provided by Viator
Robert_w
Nov 7, 2023
A Very Enjoyable Tour - This was a great introduction to Edinburgh. I was impressed with the way the tour company matched us with our guide and what we wanted to see. Doug, our guide, was great and very knowledgeable. The two hours went by very quickly and made the rest of our visit much more enjoyable.
Review provided by Viator
Pjfinucane
Aug 21, 2023
Fantastic Walking Tour with Wonderful Stories - Alice is a fantastic storyteller and is very knowledgable. We had two hours walking around Edinburgh and I feel we saw the highlights of everything. It was a busy time but I never felt rushed or crowded because she always found us a place to chat without the people. Great stories and great views. Highly recommend. Thank You Alice!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Curtis_j
Jul 21, 2023
A lovely walk in Old town Edinburgh. - Was a excellent walking tour through the old part of Edinburgh. Walking the royal mile to the castle and also see different areas that inspired the Harry Potter series.
Review provided by Viator
Ellenkaplanesq
Jul 10, 2023
Super nice and pleasurable - We asked our tour guide Cameron to create a tour that didn’t overlap with our already other planned tours. He hit the nail on the head. He was young, personable, vibrant and quite knowledgeable about the history, architectural buildings and the sites. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and each took away something we found interesting. The private tour was well worth the money! Would recommend to anyone.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maps167897
Jul 3, 2023
Lovely afternoon in Edinburgh - Doug was a great guide. Catering specifically to our requests and interests, he took us on a fine walk through Edinburgh. We have many new insights into this lovely city because of Doug's excellent knowledge of Scottish and English history.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julie
Jul 1, 2023
Take the Guide - This was solo because it was only my husband and myself so not a group. We had the best time with Adam S. There couldn't possibly be a guide that was more comfortable and knowledgeable than Adam. From the very start you were at ease and he had come so prepared with the understanding of what WE wanted to see and not what he wanted to show us! That right there was so powerful. We had great socio economic debates and understandings! Factoid: the meaning and respect of the Scots for the kilt. Who knew! He knows the back story of everything in this town AND GAVE US THE BUS APP! Now getting from one end to the other in Edinbrugh is much smoother!! Big thanks and hugs Mr. Steel or Steele! I'm not sure which mow!! Hope our paths cross again. Julie
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jorge_g
Oct 14, 2023
Good experience - Good experience, very knowledgeable guide - history filled, perhaps too much history for the average client. Covers many sights. One area of improvement for guide is be more tactful of clients interests. A bit on the pricer side too. But overall a recommended experience
Review provided by Viator
Wegl81
Jul 21, 2023
Tour Was Limited due to King and Queen visit - Let me preface this review by saying that it probably would have been a better tour had it not been taking place on the same day as the King and Queen were in town. This basically ruled out touring the Royal Mile or anywhere near Edinburgh Castle. Colin was fairly knowledgeable but spent a little too much time on his own experiences than the history of this great city. Not knowing anything about the city, I think we expected more from a private guide than what we could have gleaned walking around with a guidebook.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vmg2009
Dec 5, 2023
A complete waste of time and money...with this tour guide - We had a tour with Brian Morley. This was the most boring, uninteresting tour we have ever made. A total waste of time and money. Just walking around, hardly any explanation, no interaction with the guests, having a big problem in express himself. Most information we wanted form the sites we had to ask Google, because the tour guide didn´t know. Brian was keep saying that there were interesting stories about this or that location but never told anything. It was always….”but I can tell you later”. The guide was keep saying that is an interesting place to take a picture, that is a nice place to have lunch. An that´s it…no stories about the places, no explanation. A beautiful city, great locations, a million stories to tell and we end up with almost 4 hours of nothing. I had more fun sitting in the dentist chair. On the way, some people of our group just give up and walk away. This tour can be interesting. We saw other guides doing it ( or a similar one ). But with this guide….no way. Avoid it like the plague.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 8 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
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