The 13 Self-Guided Tours in Edinburgh That Earn Their Price

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 Castlehill to Greyfriars Kirkyard, with offline audio for $11.99.

“We did everything we were supposed to do, but only 1 of the guides purchased actually downloaded, we waited over 3 hours in hopes that the other would download with no luck so we had to share. While walking around it was very finicky with the location, and wouldn’t allow you to play any audio unless you were right on the spot. Overall, the technical issues far outweighed the actual content of the tour and I’d never purchase another audio tour through this company.”

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2.Old Town Walking Tour with an APP

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 36 reviews · 5 hours · from $9

Explore Edinburgh’s Old Town by app, from Calton Hill and the Royal Mile to the Castle, Grassmarket, and Greyfriars Kirkyard.

“Great insight into Edinburgh history, really good how the app uses GPS to start the narrative as you approach the next location”

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

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

Solve spooky clues across Edinburgh, from the Mound to Greyfriars, on a flexible self-guided game with offline play and no castle ticket needed.

“So much fun at night. I would love to do it again with my 15 year old daughter. Well designed map and puzzles”

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4.Edinburgh Harry Potter Self-Guided Private Tour

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

Follow Edinburgh’s Harry Potter trail at your own pace, from Greyfriars Cemetery and Riddell’s grave to Victoria Street and Hogwarts-inspired sites.

“Fantastic tour covering all of the city! Saw everything I wanted and more, but the best part was our tour guide, Adam! He is funny, enthusiastic, and he made the whole thing exciting! One of the best tours I’ve been on in the UK and Adam was a huge part of that!”

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5.Royal Mile Walking Tour & Exploration Game

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 7 reviews · 365 days

Explore Edinburgh’s Royal Mile with a self-guided puzzle quest, historic closes, Harry Potter links, flexible timing, and private play for up to five.

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6.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, legends, 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.”

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8.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 Old Town from Princes Street Gardens to Parliament with a flexible VoiceMap audio walk focused on architecture and history.

“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.”

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9.Edinburgh New Town: City Walking Tour & Exploration Game

★★★★★★★★★★3.4 · 3 reviews · 365 days

Explore Edinburgh New Town on a self-guided app quest with puzzles, Calton Hill views, Georgian streets, and Princes Street Gardens.

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10.Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park Drive Tour with an App

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 3 reviews · 8 hours · from $20

Explore Loch Lomond and the Trossachs by car with GPS audio, castles, lochs, mountain trails, Rob Roy’s grave, and flexible timing.

“Pronunciation was American and not correct, driving directions were unhelpful so we used Google Maps. Repeatedly a lot of the commentary so we skipped parts and eventually gave up.”

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11.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

Walk Edinburgh’s Royal Mile with a self-guided audio tour about witchcraft, John Knox, Major Weir, torture, and Scotland’s last witch.

“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.”

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12.Edinburgh City of Wizards Exploration Game and Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 3 reviews · from $8

Solve Harry Potter-themed clues across Edinburgh, from City Chambers to Greyfriars Bobby, in a flexible phone-led tour for $8.40.

“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.”

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13.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 with an audio tour covering witches, royals, crimes, churches, and Old Town landmarks.

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

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