Edinburgh Castle tours – which include admission tickets – often have availability when straight entry tickets have sold out.
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 tickets will have sold out online in advance. And not just for one day, but often several.
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.
Do Edinburgh Castle tours include an admission ticket?
What these Edinburgh Castle tours do have in common, however, is that they 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 £33 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.
