The 9 Best Self-Guided Tours in Edinburgh

1.Harry Potter’s Edinburgh: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 42 reviews · 40 minutes to 1 hour (approx.) · from $11Our pick

Explore Edinburgh’s Harry Potter connections at your own pace, from Edinburgh Castle to Greyfriar’s Kirkyard, with an affordable offline audio tour.

“Audio guide is fine but is very difficult to hear. To much noise in the street.} I said everything. I said everything.I said everything.I said everything.I said everything.I said everything.I said everything.I said everything.I said everything.I said everything.I said everything.I said everything.I said everything.”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.Ghosts of Edinburgh: Bloody Past Exploration Game and Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 25 reviews · 1 hour (approx.) · from $7Best value

Explore Edinburgh’s haunted past through a flexible app-based puzzle tour linking castles, closes, kirkyards, and grim city legends.

“App was rubbish Took ages to load in to account By the time it happened it was soo late at night Waste of money”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Edinburgh Harry Potter Self-Guided Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 13 reviews · 2 to 3 hours (approx.) · from $12

Explore Edinburgh’s Harry Potter connections at your own pace, from Greyfriars Kirkyard and Riddell’s grave to Victoria Street and Hogwarts-like halls.

“Overall a thorough tour with some very interesting information! Easy to follow and an easy path. Some parts need updating though - a couple points of interest have shut down or aren’t there anymore.”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Edinburgh Old Town Private Self-Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · 2 to 3 hours (approx.) · from $12Top rated

Explore Edinburgh’s Old Town at your own pace with a GPS audio tour covering the Royal Mile, castle, writers, myths, and more.

“Unable to do due to weather - really wish we could have explore at are own pace but definitely will on our next adventure here.”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.Highlights from Edinburgh’s Old Town: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours (approx.) · from $11

Explore Edinburgh’s Old Town at your own pace with an affordable audio walk covering the Royal Mile, St Giles Cathedral, and more.

“It was our first time using the app. Overall, the experience was relatively good. Sometimes it knew exactly where we were, but sometimes it didn't, which was a bit challening. This particular tour was very focused on the city's architecture, which I didn't recall from the description, so if you aren't as interested in that aspect of the city's history, you may want to try another tour.”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.A History of Witchcraft in Edinburgh: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $9

Follow Edinburgh’s Royal Mile through witchcraft tales, John Knox, torture, and the last witch of Scotland with an offline audio tour.

“I had a great time with the narrated tour by Kat. The facts were interesting but not overly dry and "textbook"-focused. Focused more on the storytelling aspect, which I really liked.”

Check availability →Read our full review

7.Edinburgh City of Wizards Exploration Game and Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 3 reviews · from $8

Solve Harry Potter-themed clues through Edinburgh’s Old Town, from City Chambers to Greyfriars Bobby, using your phone at your own pace.

“The adventure was fun, the only negative comment would be that I purchased four tickets to be able to put on four different phones, and with the link we were sent, we were only able to put it on one phone.”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.Highlights from the Royal Mile: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 3 reviews · 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes (approx.) · from $19

Walk Edinburgh’s Royal Mile at your own pace, from the Witches Well to Holyroodhouse, with stories of royals, crimes, and old ghosts.

“We loved the ability to set the pace and enjoy stopping to shop or take in scenery. Loved hearing all of the history”

Check availability →Read our full review

9.Edinburgh Quest: Self Guided City Walk & Immersive Treasure Hunt

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1 reviews · from $39

Explore Edinburgh’s Old Town with a self-guided treasure hunt featuring puzzles, local facts, major sights, and flexible pacing.

“Es war eine lustige und kurzweilige Möglichkeit, die wichtigsten Plätze in Edinburgh zu besichtigen. Besonders toll waren die vielen Hintergrundinformationen die bei jedem Ort quasi mitgeliefert wurden. Gerne wieder!!”

Check availability →Read our full review