Edinburgh Castle tours – which include admission tickets – often have availability when straight entry tickets have sold out.
Want to skip the explanation and just book a tour that gets you into Edinburgh Castle? Check which tours have availability here.
What to see at Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is justifiably one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United Kingdom.
It has a rich history, with the oldest part – St Margaret’s Chapel – dating back to around 1130. It also has several museums and exhibitions that are worth visiting in their own right. The Scottish National War Memorial and Prisons of War are fascinating, although the National War Museum is pretty tedious and best skipped if on a limited schedule.
Do you need an advance ticket for Edinburgh Castle?
Unfortunately, a lot of visitors make the mistake of assuming they can just walk up to Edinburgh Castle and buy a ticket on the gate. Sometimes, this is the case.
But in Edinburgh‘s peak summer season, chances are all the Edinburgh tickets will have sold out online in advance.
And not just for one day, but often several – including Mondays.
What are Edinburgh Castle tours like?
If you really want to see Edinburgh Castle, but have forgotten to book well in advance, the best workaround is to book a tour.
There are several Edinburgh Castle tours available, and they’re all much of a muchness.
There will be plenty of stories of misfiring guns, crafty conquests and lengthy sieges – all fairly entertaining.
However, the tour guides are not permitted to go inside the buildings of Edinburgh Castle – the tours are conducted entirely outside.
Five great things to do while you’re in Edinburgh
Discover the Old Town’s underground vaults on a walking tour.
- Follow the Da Vinci Code on a Rosslyn Chapel day tour.
- Learn dozens of stories on a guided walk of the Royal Mile and Old Town.
- Explore the best places to eat in Edinburgh on a food tour.
- Let an expert guide take you around Edinburgh’s Harry Potter locations.
Do Edinburgh Castle tours include an admission ticket?
What these Edinburgh Castle tours do have in common, however, is access.
The tours include an admission ticket to the castle.
Once the tour guide has finished talking, you’re left to explore on your own. That’s when you can go inside the buildings, see the Royal Palace and ogle Scotland’s version of the Crown Jewels.
Getting into Edinburgh Castle when tickets have sold out
In July, I checked the Edinburgh Castle website for tickets for the next day.
Tickets were entirely sold out for the next day and the day after.
However, going onto Viator, I could find a guided tour for £37 which got me into Edinburgh Castle at 10am the next day.
Given it’s easy enough to spend a day at the castle, that’s really not such a bad deal.
And there’s plenty to do around Edinburgh Castle if you have to wait a while.
All information is correct at the time of writing, but may be subject to change in the future.
Books set in Edinburgh
If you want to get a good feel for Edinburgh before visiting, it’s worth reading a book or two set there. Options include…
- Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – an inspirational teacher changes lives with equal parts comedy and tragedy.
- The Heart of Midlothian – arguably Sir Walter Scott’s finest work.
- Ian Rankin’s Rebus books – gripping, grouchy detective novels.
- Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting series – for the city’s gritty side.
- David Nicholls’ One Day – an innovative and emotive romance, tracked by the same date each year.
The links above are to Amazon. You can probably get them all cheaper at World of Books, which is where I buy most of my books.
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you book through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to yourself.
More Scotland travel
Other Scotland travel articles on Planet Whitley include:
- National Museum of Scotland review: Which bit to visit first?
- The Dean Village: Edinburgh’s secret, scenic escape.
- How to spend a perfect day in Edinburgh.
- Review of the Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour.
- Are there any direct flights from Edinburgh to Oslo?
- Guide to Glasgow’s West End for first time visitors.
