Best Tours and Day Trips from Edinburgh

Walking through the streets of Edinburgh is a mixture of stepping back in time and stepping into a fairy tale. With these guided tours you will be able to discover the most fascinating corners of the city and its surroundings.

One of the main reasons why I fell in love with the city of Edinburgh is because of the stories of monsters, ghosts and murders behind it. I'm sure if you take this tour of Edinburgh's Old Town your guide will tell you how the Mayor of Edinburgh inspired the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde or how advances in medicine were once made by stealing corpses from the city's graveyard.

This Edinburgh ghost bus tour explores the darker side of the city's history and includes stories of cannibals and dealings with the devil, so it's not suitable for children. Stories aside, you'll also enjoy perfect views of the city and a pleasant bus ride through the streets.

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It was inevitable that in Scotland's capital there would be a place for the legendary Scotch whisky. This introductory tour to the world of whisky takes place every day at ten o'clock in the morning. On this guided tour you'll skip the city centre sightseeing and focus on the history of the national drink by touring a distillery and the world's largest collection of Scotch whisky. Of course, the final tasting is included.

The tour of this whisky museum lasts 50 minutes andcan be conducted in a total of 15 languages. Children under the age of 18 are allowed to enter the tour, but are not allowed to taste the alcoholic beverages.

The museum is located next to Edinburgh Castle and the tour includes transportation in a mobile whisky barrel through the grounds. You will finish this tour knowing much more about the history of the drink and why it is so important in the country.

While on the Old Town tour you will discover stories of monsters and ghosts, on the New Town tour in English your expert guide will tell you about influential inventions such as the telephone and anaesthesia, Edinburgh's Enlightenment period and the abolition of slavery.

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It's almost a sin to leave Edinburgh without seeing the country' s countryside. If you've been pleasantly surprised by the city (which you will be), wait until you see the landscapes of the Highlands on this full day tour of Edinburgh's lochs and castles.

You'll meet your driver and guide at a meeting point that will be emailed to you once you've booked. You will then travel by coach (or minibus) to the various key points on the tour itinerary.

Lovers of Scottish castles will be more than satisfied after this guided tour, which would be very difficult to do on your own.

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What has the city of Edinburgh got to do with Harry Potter, and isn't London the setting for J.K. Rowling's books? Yes, but it is in Edinburgh that the author lived during one of the hardest periods of her life and it is there that she found inspiration for many of the names and locations that appear in her books.

Fans of the most famous wizarding saga of all time will enjoy the Harry Potter Edinburgh tour like children, discovering how the city's cemetery has gravestones with the names of many of the characters from the saga or how Edinburgh Castle looks suspiciously like Hogwarts.

You can enjoy this two-hour walking tour available in English, Spanish and German. An expert guide will take the group to the cafes where the author wrote her books and the places that inspired her.

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• Diagon Alley
• The Name of Voldemort
• Hogwarts School
• The Quidditch Game

Every child has heard of the Loch Ness Monster and more than a few of them will be sticking their heads out of the car window on a trip to the Scottish capital with their parents as they drive through the Edinburgh Highlands in search of him. On this tour to Loch Ness and the surrounding area from Edinburgh you're not guaranteed to find the monster, but you are guaranteed to learn all about its history and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

The famous loch is located about three and a half hours from the Scottish capital and there's plenty to see along the way, which is why this tour lasts for two days. Accommodation can be added to the tour for a surcharge or you can arrange your own.

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for the first day

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of the second day

The jewel in Edinburgh's crown is undoubtedly its majestic castle. This guided tour of Edinburgh Castle includes a skip the line tour of the castle as well as a visit to the National Monument, St Margaret's Chapel (home to one of the few dog cemeteries in the world) and the National War Museum.

At the end of the tour, once you say goodbye to your guide, you can continue exploring the castle independently. The Edinburgh Castle tour is available in English, German and Spanish and lasts approximately one and a half hours.

You may have seen clips of the bloody battles that shaped Scotland's history in TV series or films and on this tour you will learn how and where these battles took place. Get ready to take a few centuries of history back in time as you enjoy this all-access tour with the best explanations and anecdotes.

There are sites such as Edinburgh Castle that you can also see on your own instead of on a guided tour. If you're short on time, but don't want to miss out on seeing the city's main sites, you can also do a self-guided tour by buying tickets to Edinburgh Castle without taking a guided tour. I tell you all about it here: Castle of Edinburgh Tickets.

Normally when you talk about a palace tour you don't think of it being on the water, but when you talk about the Royal Yacht Britannia the reference points change. For more than 40 years, this ship was the British Royal Crown's yacht of state and today, by order of Elizabeth II, it has been converted into a museum.

During the Royal Yacht Britannia floating palace tour you will walk around the five decks of the ship with the help of an audio guide in 15 languages who will tell you the story of the personalities who have visited the ship, including Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela. You will also have access to the crew's quarters and see furniture from the royal collection on board the ship.

The departure point will be the port of Leith, located 15 minutes away from the centre of Edinburgh.

A culinary tour with food and drink tasting is a must on the list of the best tours and excursions in and around Edinburgh. This food and drink tasting tour of Edinburgh includes the services of an expert guide and during the tour you will visit some of the most famous pubs in the Scottish capital.

As well as the food and its history, this food tour also visits the Morningside and Bruntsfield areas, giving you the opportunity to learn more about the local culture of the city unlike other tours that focus only on the food.

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