See Edinburgh's top 14 sights on a bus tour, perfect for those short on time.
See Edinburgh's top 14 sights on a bus tour, perfect for those short on time.
Inclusions
Red route
Hop aboard the iconic red double-decker and soak up Edinburgh’s magic! This lively route zips you past the mighty Edinburgh Castle, down the historic Royal Mile, and around the grand Holyrood Palace. Wind through Princes Street Gardens, where blooms pop against ancient stone, then brace yourself for breathtaking views of Arthur’s Seat.
Popular stops: Lothian Road, Grassmarket, Lawnmarket & Regent Road
My family of 5 from US took a tour in late May. Stop #6 was very convinient to our hotel and was attended so our online thickets were scanned so we did not have to when we got on the bus. Handed a disposal set of head phones that plugged in nicely in front of us. The RED guided tour was very informative and helpful. Wish we had more time to take one of the longer tours. Highly recommend this to all first time visitors to Edinburgh. Mind the weather ; we were able to sit outdoors on the top making it a vey comfortable trip around the city. Thanks.
Learning history of Edinburgh through the headphones was great! We had a fantastic day out in Edinburgh as a family of four and would reccomend this tour. Staff were super friendly, and the buses were regular. Superb!
Seeing the sights and being able to stop and walk around and get on another bus throughout the day
Everything was brilliant but the documentary was amazing. I love that.
It is easy to go around the main visiting site. Easy to get the bus and Easy to travel.
The whole experience of sightseeing with 15 other family members. It was exciting and fun though the sun was scorching that day.
Easy on and off access for disabled people with a access ramp and friendly and helpful bus driver and very informative tour. Stops were conveniently located to everything we wanted to see. including Holyroodhouse Palace and Edinburgh Castle.
So easy to book a ticket online and one of the best hop on hop off tour I've done in Scotland. I saw everything I wanted to see and stops in all the right places. Edinburgh is awesome!
Shopping with Headout was pretty easy, although we didn't get the promised discounts, which was a bummer. The city tour was good, it gave us what we expected: a comprehensive view of the city.
This service was very easy to use and myself with mobility issues found that I could pop off and on to buses easily. Also all drivers and staff should be commended , as all very very helpfull. We done a full loop with earphones, and the decided where to get off on the second loop. WELL DONE
Love the option of open air and covered seating. Love the narration along the way. Love the flexibility to hop on hop off. It's just a great way to see the city!
Easy to book.... wonderful view of the city... easiest way to get to the waterfront. Only problem was that at one on the minor stops, the driver didn't automatically stop, so I was left standing there :-( didn't realize I needed to flag him down
Brilliant day out and the bus service is brilliant, so many stops that you can just jump off and back on again to go to another part of Edinburgh. The price is very reasonable too. I would recommend it to anyone
The buses were delayed and over-crowded. There must be a better way to manage crowds when such delays occur. Staff at bus stops told us they didn't know what was going on!
Best way to get an impression of the city, the explanation in several languages via headphones very nice and vividly told, highly recommended
View original review in German
We loved the route, but mostly the audio It was clear, easy to understand and with good information. One of the best hop on hop off tours we have taken Highly recommended
Fabulous hop on hop off bus, got to see so much more of edinburgh which we otherwise would have missed. Ticketing through Headout was great.
Friendly nice staff Clean bus Good narrative Would be great if you could number the stops with the pickup points on the map. It took a while to find you.
The stop was just around the corner from my hotel. I jumped on the bus to get me anywhere and everywhere and it was unbelievable how convenient it was.
A terrific way to visit the city. Drivers were exceptionally pleasant and helpful. Sat up top in the sun. A wonderful time. Would recommend it for everyone.
Great services and over all experience.
Very informative narration. Covered most of the important spots . For a short time visitor it was a good experience.
Friendly driver lovely view, good commentary.
Ease of ticket purchase, helpful staff and great routes for sightseeing.
It was a great way of seeing Edinburgh. And it rained whilst we were on the bus so kept dry.
Inclusions
Please click here for detailed route maps and boarding points.
You can join the tour at any stop and hop on and off for the duration of your ticket.
City Sightseeing tour (Classic red route)
Edinburgh tour (Green route)
Regal tour (Blue route)
The opportunity to choose between three lines and explore the individual sights. Then get back on and continue your journey. The friendly staff contributed to an unforgettable experience.
View original review in German
Red and blue route - highly recommended Both the Red and Blue Routes were excellently organized. It was extremely helpful to discover so many sights in such a short time and to quickly find your way around the city - simply great! One suggestion for improvement concerns the buses on the Green Line: it would be desirable if these were also equipped with multilingual audio guides. Currently, the information is only available in English, which can be a challenge for some travelers. However, the staff were friendly and helpful throughout - even when there were language barriers. Special praise also goes to the bus drivers: attentive, courteous and a real rarity in this form. All in all, a great experience - we'd love to do it again
View original review in German
Great way to get about Edinburgh ,especially for first time visitors. Explore awhile then hop back on. Staff very helpful.would definitely recommend.
Purchasing tickets was very easy and we were able to see so much of Edinburgh in the short time we were there. We took the blue and green routes and enjoyed hearing the history and seeing the beautiful sights of the city.
Great way to see the city! Great service
Ease of ticket purchase and all the information about the city , which I really liked. Good luck !
This review is translated. Show original review.
Going hop and off as we wish. Having a guided tour thanks to the earphones. The drivers are really nice .
As always, this type of transport is ideal for discovering the sights - it couldn't be better! What's more, in Edinburgh the audio system was recent and fully functional, which is not always the case.
View original review in French
The map provided is a bit confusing. We wanted the Blue Royal line and the map shows stops along the Royal Mile. But the Red line bus takes you to the 1st stop where you can transfer to the Blue Bus. We asked about getting as close to St. Giles Cathedral as possible and your emplyees were very, very helpful getting us on the right bus. Drivers were friendly , understanding and very helpful. Commentary was excellent.
Thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus Tour in Edinburgh. The three routes all had their own uniqueness and gave us a good overview of this amazing city.
We loved the tour and the company. Very friendly staff. As the only negative comment, there are totally blue buses on the route, and when you see it arrive at the same stops you think that the bus being blue you are undermining the blue route, and it is red route despite the color of the bus. It creates a lot of confusion. For the rest everything was great
View original review in Spanish
A reccomended must do when visiting Edinburgh, provides a great incite to the history of the city, we found it very interesting
Purchased tickets online and everything went as planned. The buses came around as promised and both the audio and live guides were great. The drivers were most helpful with directions to the attractions. Well worth the money
It's a great way to get you started in exploring the city. You get lots of information about the different landmarks and the history of the city. After a round on the bus you know exactly where to go to see the places that interest you.
Buying the tickets was easy and straightforward. The guides on the street were very helpful and the drivers friendy (changing shift). What made it excellent, though, was our guide, James. He was so entertaining, engaging, and a font of interesting knowledge - 10 out of 10 James! Would definatey recommend.
The tours, the kindness of the drivers and the audio guides are very well done. Thank you for this tour of Edinburgh.
View original review in French
The tour guide on the green line was great relaying information live. The recorded information on the red and blue lines was okay but not as good as the live person. Was convient to get around the town. The only issue is on Marathon Weekends the routes are disrupted and go slower.
Everything ran smoothly and on time. We did all 3 courses and got a great feel for Edinburgh in a short time over a few days. Was perfect, thankyou
We liked everything, we chose the three-bus tour and it is the perfect experience, especially if you are only staying a couple of days.
View original review in Italian
The buses ran pretty much on time and it was easy to change between the lines if you bought the regal ticket. Buses were never full like in some cities so no issues getting in a us when we wanted.
Les commentaires sont clairs et précis, bien calés à la position du bus Les arrêts bien définis Le personnel très agréable Manque toutefois le numéro de l'arrêt !! Sur le panneau d'arrêt de bus. Nous avons attendu un bus rouge au mauvais endroit Buckingam
We really enjoyed all 3 routes around Edinburgh. Buses were frequent and stops very handy for all attractions and places we wanted to visit. Both the recorded audio commentary and the live tour guide commentary were excellent. The booking process was very easy. Loved the App to show us where we were going. We had the 48 hour pass and it was great value for money. Thank you!
The audio was in sync with the location. That's not the norm on these city tours. We have been on 8 of these tours around Europe & this was the best. Very enjoyable.
Loved the commentary. All the staff were very helpful and friendly. Took us to lots of locations we would otherwise never had visited.
Helpful and friendly driver. Nice tour, although it started to rain later. The botanical garden is very beautiful.
View original review in German
Palaces, panoramas, and pounds saved! Edinburgh’s best sights in one cost-saving combo.
Palaces, panoramas, and pounds saved! Edinburgh’s best sights in one cost-saving combo.
Inclusions
Royal Attractions
Edinburgh HOHO
Please click here for detailed route maps and boarding points.
You can join the tour at any stop and hop on and off for the duration of your ticket.
Red route
Green route
Blue route
Royal Attractions
Edinburgh HOHO
The 48hr ticket was great value - also including entry to Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyrood House and the Royal Yacht Brittania.
Easy to book, helpful staff and great to be able to get tickets to to the three Royal attractions. Bus commentary was good and being available in Chinese was great for my wife. Recommend the full package.
Hello, the system with the buses and great. As I travel with a crutch and find it difficult to walk long distances, we took a cab to Waterloo Place to activate the 48-hour ticket. We had a room at the Grasmarket. There was also a hop on, hop off bus stop there. It would have been nice to be able to hop on anywhere to activate the ticket! I think another passenger did that too! If that were possible, it would at least be easier for people with walking disabilities! So long Bea and Marie
View original review in German
Wonderful to see all the highlights of Edinburgh in two days.
I recommend this app everything was perfect
Everything good hip on hip off was the best
Easy to get to. Stops well signposted. The royal tour was perfect with all three visits included.
View original review in French
Helpful staff friendly informative tickets easy to use audio on bus good
Nice clean buses, the most awesome drivers ever!! Everyone was so nice and helpful!
5% off
Pair Edinburgh Dungeon frights with flexible sightseeing across Edinburgh’s top landmarks.
Pair Edinburgh Dungeon frights with flexible sightseeing across Edinburgh’s top landmarks.
Inclusions
Edinburgh Dungeon
Edinburgh Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
Exclusions
Edinburgh Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
Edinburgh Dungeon + Edinburgh Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
Edinburgh Dungeon
Edinburgh Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
My family of 5 from US took a tour in late May. Stop #6 was very convinient to our hotel and was attended so our online thickets were scanned so we did not have to when we got on the bus. Handed a disposal set of head phones that plugged in nicely in front of us. The RED guided tour was very informative and helpful. Wish we had more time to take one of the longer tours. Highly recommend this to all first time visitors to Edinburgh. Mind the weather ; we were able to sit outdoors on the top making it a vey comfortable trip around the city. Thanks.
Learning history of Edinburgh through the headphones was great! We had a fantastic day out in Edinburgh as a family of four and would reccomend this tour. Staff were super friendly, and the buses were regular. Superb!
The staff was very talented. Great performances.
Seeing the sights and being able to stop and walk around and get on another bus throughout the day
Everything was brilliant but the documentary was amazing. I love that.
It is easy to go around the main visiting site. Easy to get the bus and Easy to travel.
The whole experience of sightseeing with 15 other family members. It was exciting and fun though the sun was scorching that day.
It was very well orchestrated and the actors very good. As a foreigner though, it was rather difficult to follow what they were saying due
Easy on and off access for disabled people with a access ramp and friendly and helpful bus driver and very informative tour. Stops were conveniently located to everything we wanted to see. including Holyroodhouse Palace and Edinburgh Castle.
So easy to book a ticket online and one of the best hop on hop off tour I've done in Scotland. I saw everything I wanted to see and stops in all the right places. Edinburgh is awesome!
Shopping with Headout was pretty easy, although we didn't get the promised discounts, which was a bummer. The city tour was good, it gave us what we expected: a comprehensive view of the city.
Was a great experience with the ride being the best part! definitely recommend - you need to have a great sense of humor and like to participate!
This service was very easy to use and myself with mobility issues found that I could pop off and on to buses easily. Also all drivers and staff should be commended , as all very very helpfull. We done a full loop with earphones, and the decided where to get off on the second loop. WELL DONE
Love the option of open air and covered seating. Love the narration along the way. Love the flexibility to hop on hop off. It's just a great way to see the city!
Easy to book.... wonderful view of the city... easiest way to get to the waterfront. Only problem was that at one on the minor stops, the driver didn't automatically stop, so I was left standing there :-( didn't realize I needed to flag him down
Brilliant day out and the bus service is brilliant, so many stops that you can just jump off and back on again to go to another part of Edinburgh. The price is very reasonable too. I would recommend it to anyone
The buses were delayed and over-crowded. There must be a better way to manage crowds when such delays occur. Staff at bus stops told us they didn't know what was going on!
Best way to get an impression of the city, the explanation in several languages via headphones very nice and vividly told, highly recommended
View original review in German
We loved the route, but mostly the audio It was clear, easy to understand and with good information. One of the best hop on hop off tours we have taken Highly recommended
An absolutely fantastic experience. Staff were amazing, the experience was tremendous fun and educational along the way. Highly recommend it!
Fabulous hop on hop off bus, got to see so much more of edinburgh which we otherwise would have missed. Ticketing through Headout was great.
Friendly nice staff Clean bus Good narrative Would be great if you could number the stops with the pickup points on the map. It took a while to find you.
This was such a fun morning with surprises around every corner .. I did expect more of a scare fest, but the anticipation and acting was brilliant! Highly recommend 👏🏼 10/10
The stop was just around the corner from my hotel. I jumped on the bus to get me anywhere and everywhere and it was unbelievable how convenient it was.
A terrific way to visit the city. Drivers were exceptionally pleasant and helpful. Sat up top in the sun. A wonderful time. Would recommend it for everyone.
5% off
Ride through Edinburgh’s top 3 routes, then roam Scotland’s most popular wildlife park.
Ride through Edinburgh’s top 3 routes, then roam Scotland’s most popular wildlife park.
Inclusions
Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour
Edinburgh Zoo + Edinburgh bus tour
Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh bus tour
The opportunity to choose between three lines and explore the individual sights. Then get back on and continue your journey. The friendly staff contributed to an unforgettable experience.
View original review in German
Red and blue route - highly recommended Both the Red and Blue Routes were excellently organized. It was extremely helpful to discover so many sights in such a short time and to quickly find your way around the city - simply great! One suggestion for improvement concerns the buses on the Green Line: it would be desirable if these were also equipped with multilingual audio guides. Currently, the information is only available in English, which can be a challenge for some travelers. However, the staff were friendly and helpful throughout - even when there were language barriers. Special praise also goes to the bus drivers: attentive, courteous and a real rarity in this form. All in all, a great experience - we'd love to do it again
View original review in German
Great way to get about Edinburgh ,especially for first time visitors. Explore awhile then hop back on. Staff very helpful.would definitely recommend.
Purchasing tickets was very easy and we were able to see so much of Edinburgh in the short time we were there. We took the blue and green routes and enjoyed hearing the history and seeing the beautiful sights of the city.
Great way to see the city! Great service
The map provided is a bit confusing. We wanted the Blue Royal line and the map shows stops along the Royal Mile. But the Red line bus takes you to the 1st stop where you can transfer to the Blue Bus. We asked about getting as close to St. Giles Cathedral as possible and your emplyees were very, very helpful getting us on the right bus. Drivers were friendly , understanding and very helpful. Commentary was excellent.
We loved the tour and the company. Very friendly staff. As the only negative comment, there are totally blue buses on the route, and when you see it arrive at the same stops you think that the bus being blue you are undermining the blue route, and it is red route despite the color of the bus. It creates a lot of confusion. For the rest everything was great
View original review in Spanish
The reception people went out of there way to ensue my ticket was valid even though they never heard of Headout. Was not happy with Headout to ensure the zoo that they were a valued vendor of the tickets. I have since deleted the Headout app as I feel like I was scammed.
Purchased tickets online and everything went as planned. The buses came around as promised and both the audio and live guides were great. The drivers were most helpful with directions to the attractions. Well worth the money
Buying the tickets was easy and straightforward. The guides on the street were very helpful and the drivers friendy (changing shift). What made it excellent, though, was our guide, James. He was so entertaining, engaging, and a font of interesting knowledge - 10 out of 10 James! Would definatey recommend.
We liked everything, we chose the three-bus tour and it is the perfect experience, especially if you are only staying a couple of days.
View original review in Italian
The buses ran pretty much on time and it was easy to change between the lines if you bought the regal ticket. Buses were never full like in some cities so no issues getting in a us when we wanted.
Loved the commentary. All the staff were very helpful and friendly. Took us to lots of locations we would otherwise never had visited.
Helpful and friendly driver. Nice tour, although it started to rain later. The botanical garden is very beautiful.
View original review in German
It was easy to buy the tickets and the tour was very informative and fun to listen to. The app was easy to use and help me decide where to visit throughout the day
Staff lovely at check in. Weather was great and baboons were on form.
A very fun way to explore the city.
View original review in Dutch
Great day out! Penguins definitely the highlight💚
Great experience at the Edinburgh zoo.Everything was good and i loved my first visit.Highly recommend.
Easiest way to see everything and navigate the city! 10/10 recommend!
ease of use, very interesting explanations, choice of stops and routes
View original review in French
Excellent routes, great views and enjoyed the commentary.
A perfect way to sightsee and learn about history on a windy rainy day. The commentary was great!
The three very well connected routes and the tour guides who gave insights into the city
Great city overview, entertaining and knowledgeable guide
5% off
Make the most of Edinburgh with 24-hours city access and gin flavour exploration.
Make the most of Edinburgh with 24-hours city access and gin flavour exploration.
Inclusions
Edinburgh Gin Distillery:
Edinburgh Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour
Edinburgh Gin Tasting + Edinburgh Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour
Edinburgh Gin Tasting
Edinburgh bus tour
My family of 5 from US took a tour in late May. Stop #6 was very convinient to our hotel and was attended so our online thickets were scanned so we did not have to when we got on the bus. Handed a disposal set of head phones that plugged in nicely in front of us. The RED guided tour was very informative and helpful. Wish we had more time to take one of the longer tours. Highly recommend this to all first time visitors to Edinburgh. Mind the weather ; we were able to sit outdoors on the top making it a vey comfortable trip around the city. Thanks.
Learning history of Edinburgh through the headphones was great! We had a fantastic day out in Edinburgh as a family of four and would reccomend this tour. Staff were super friendly, and the buses were regular. Superb!
Seeing the sights and being able to stop and walk around and get on another bus throughout the day
Everything was brilliant but the documentary was amazing. I love that.
It is easy to go around the main visiting site. Easy to get the bus and Easy to travel.
The whole experience of sightseeing with 15 other family members. It was exciting and fun though the sun was scorching that day.
Easy on and off access for disabled people with a access ramp and friendly and helpful bus driver and very informative tour. Stops were conveniently located to everything we wanted to see. including Holyroodhouse Palace and Edinburgh Castle.
So easy to book a ticket online and one of the best hop on hop off tour I've done in Scotland. I saw everything I wanted to see and stops in all the right places. Edinburgh is awesome!
Shopping with Headout was pretty easy, although we didn't get the promised discounts, which was a bummer. The city tour was good, it gave us what we expected: a comprehensive view of the city.
This service was very easy to use and myself with mobility issues found that I could pop off and on to buses easily. Also all drivers and staff should be commended , as all very very helpfull. We done a full loop with earphones, and the decided where to get off on the second loop. WELL DONE
Love the option of open air and covered seating. Love the narration along the way. Love the flexibility to hop on hop off. It's just a great way to see the city!
Easy to book.... wonderful view of the city... easiest way to get to the waterfront. Only problem was that at one on the minor stops, the driver didn't automatically stop, so I was left standing there :-( didn't realize I needed to flag him down
Brilliant day out and the bus service is brilliant, so many stops that you can just jump off and back on again to go to another part of Edinburgh. The price is very reasonable too. I would recommend it to anyone
The buses were delayed and over-crowded. There must be a better way to manage crowds when such delays occur. Staff at bus stops told us they didn't know what was going on!
Best way to get an impression of the city, the explanation in several languages via headphones very nice and vividly told, highly recommended
View original review in German
We loved the route, but mostly the audio It was clear, easy to understand and with good information. One of the best hop on hop off tours we have taken Highly recommended
Fabulous hop on hop off bus, got to see so much more of edinburgh which we otherwise would have missed. Ticketing through Headout was great.
Friendly nice staff Clean bus Good narrative Would be great if you could number the stops with the pickup points on the map. It took a while to find you.
The stop was just around the corner from my hotel. I jumped on the bus to get me anywhere and everywhere and it was unbelievable how convenient it was.
A terrific way to visit the city. Drivers were exceptionally pleasant and helpful. Sat up top in the sun. A wonderful time. Would recommend it for everyone.
Great services and over all experience.
Very informative narration. Covered most of the important spots . For a short time visitor it was a good experience.
Friendly driver lovely view, good commentary.
Ease of ticket purchase, helpful staff and great routes for sightseeing.
It was a great way of seeing Edinburgh. And it rained whilst we were on the bus so kept dry.
Whether you're interested in Edinburgh's rich history, stunning architecture, or scenic waterfront, City Sightseeing's hop-on hop-off tours gives you the freedom to explore all of it on your own terms. Choose from any of its 3 comprehensive routes: Classic Red Route, Green Route, or Blue Route.
This historic fortress offers panoramic views of the city and houses the Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny. It's a symbol of Scotland's heritage and a must-see landmark.
Depending on the operator and traffic conditions, Hop-on Hop-off buses in Edinburgh usually arrive every 15-20 minutes.
Yes, children aged 5-15 years get free entry on most Hop-on Hop-off tours in the city.
English, French, Italian, Scottish, German, Spanish & Chinese are some of the common languages for audio guides.
City Sightseeing has a live English-speaking guide for the Green Route.
Yes, most Hop-on Hop-off buses in Edinburgh are wheelchair-friendly, with ramps and designated seating areas.
The Hop-on Hop-off tours usually run from 9am to 6pm, but hours may vary by season or specific operator.