Experience Edinburgh
Beyond the Guidebooks

Doug was amazing, kind and very knowledgeable about Edinburgh. He was kind enough to meet us at our hotel and friendly enough to help my sister along who is handicapped and requires the use of a mobility scooter for long and/or uneven distances. We got to see the highlights in a 3 hour tour, but we should’ve booked a 4 hour tour. I can’t say enough good things about Doug and the whole experience.

Doug was very prompt and met us at our hotel. He asked what we had seen so far and worked around that. We took a 3 hour walking tour of Edinburgh that was wonderful- cobbled streets, picturesque scenery and just the right amount of history. Doug is a true Scottish character & we would highly recommend him.

This was the perfect introduction to Edinburgh. Our guide was Doug Scott, a local resident, who walked us around the city to see the highlights. He gave us a bit of history, a bit of humor, and some great suggestions for what to see after our time together. He went at our pace and answered our questions. Not only did we get the historical side of things, we also got a local's view of the new monarch, political climate, and his feelings for his town in general.

Our tour guide Doug was a wealth of information - a walking history book of Edinburgh. Friendly and flexible, he provided a terrific condensed experience of the city’s highlights.

It is a custom tour so G will adapt on the spot and give you a great background of Edinburgh. He is well informed, very witty and very accommodating to our wishes.

We had a great time! Learned a lot, saw a lot, and had wonderful conversation. Highly recommend G and the tour!

We had an excellent tour with our guide, G Davidson! He was very knowledgeable and tailored the tour to things that interest us. Plus, we tried some fantastic gin along the way! I highly recommend this experience for people visiting Edinburgh.

We easily met Gee in Waverley Station, our meeting point. After a short introduction we started an interesting walking tour that he adapted to our interests and wishes. He is a great storyteller and showed us lot of hidden gems and remarkable details in and on the Edinburgh streets. We had a nice lunch in The Last Drop. We concluded our tour, that covered all the main places of interest, with a good beer in a beautiful pub. He made our visit to Edinburgh one of the highlights on our cruise.

Richard was very knowledgeable, engaging and easy to work with!

Our tour started being picked up right off the dock. We had an informative drive into Edinburgh and then off to wander the miracle mile. Richard was enthusiastic and had a wealth of knowledge on Edinburg history. He also regaled us in stories of the more turbulent and dark stories of the cities history at our request. A stroll through the cemetery was a favorite. Backstreets and Alleys cobblestones and stairs we traversed the old city and Richard answered our many questions. After a deli ou lunch in the city we were off to Hopetoun house. It’s actually a palace in my opinion but nevertheless it is an awe inspiring structure built in 1699. We toured the house and spoke to the knowledgeable staff and learned a great deal about the home and the family. We were then returned to the dock and said our good byes. You can’t go wrong with Richard on this tour. Highly recommend this tour.

Richard is a plethora of knowledge and charming to boot. A great afternoon had by all!

Richard was engaging, colorful and fun. His knowledge of Scottish and Edinburgh history was extraordinary. We done, Richard!

Our experience with Colin was great. He communicated well and we saw and learnt a lot. Highly recommended.

Lovely tout

Enjoyed the pacing of the experience and how we could go deeper on areas of interest to us.

Really great customizable tour. Tom was friendly, enthusiastic, highly knowledgeable and tailored stories and sites perfectly to keep our 7 and 10 year old engaged — so much so that they were sad when the tour ended. A+ all the way!

Edinburgh ist eine fantastische Stadt und Tom ein sehr sympathischer Guide mit viel historischem und aktuellem Wissen. Besonders gefallen haben uns die vielen Anekdoten. Edinburgh is a fantastic city and Tom is a very personable guide with a lot historical and current knowledge. We particularly liked the many anecdotes.

Thomas was a very knowledgeable tour guide who was able to answer all the questions that we peppered him with and gave us additional information that we didn’t know prior to our tour.

Walking the city with a native who knew all the closes. It was a fun way to navigate the city - we wouldn't have ventured far from the tourist routes otherwise. The recommendations and insights were great. Thanks, Michael!

Michael’s experience and insights were excellent

Michael was a wonderful guide and host! We saw parts of the city we would have not found on our own! He took pictures for us and sent them after our tour!

Michael was extremely knowledgable and was skilled at customizing our tour to our interests. I would recommend him to anyone interested in touring Edinburgh.

Our guide was lovely, she took us to places we would not of seen if doing this ourselves, it was so interesting and she gave us a list at the end that she had written up of places to eat and bars to visit with live music, highly recommend

We had a great day with Jill! She was very knowledgeable about everything we saw and did. Took us to some places we didn't even know existed! Truly magical day!

I wanted to go to places "off the beaten track" That is EXACTLY what Jill did. We went to some local pubs and got to talk with the locals. I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon.

Jill did a great job of giving us an overview of the city. She is very knowledgeable and flexible. She has a lovely way of weaving together history and current culture. We would definitely recommend.

James was a phenomenal tour guide. Very informative, passionate about the history of his city, and pointed out so many things one would just walk by not realizing the significance or history. James brought so much to life.

James was knowledgeable, warm and funny. We loved his stories

Our tour guide James was wonderful! His knowledge was exceptional, above and beyond what we expected. We felt very comfortable with James and enjoyed his commentary along with the great presentation of the points of interest and history. He was remarkable!!! We are leaving Edinburgh with a sense of fulfillment and pride of our Scottish heritage. We are Stewart's! Thank you James!! ❤️

James became an instant friend. He adjusted the tour to our taste and even got us to try haggis! Very knowledgeable about Edinburgh history as well. Highly recommend!

We did a private whisky tour with Brian and we had a great tour of Ediburgh. Went to a distillery, a few pubs and sampled various whiskies. Would highly recommend Brian for any tour he has.

Brian was very helpful and knowledgeable of the area and buildings. He covered all the places I had requested and more.

Brian is great. Clearly spent some time researching and scheduling our tour. His demeanor is easy and approachable

In addition to the old city we visited new city and some other out-of-bitten tracks. Thus, I’ve got different angle of the city.

Andre did a wonderful job. Friendly, funny, knowledgeable. Connected with everyone in our family. Genuinely had a great time while learning a ton about Edinburgh

Andre was very knowledgeable, personable, and flexible, which made the tour very enjoyable. He created an excellent blend of historical, modern, and cultural stops and information. The tour was an excellent way to get our bearings and learn about Edinburgh. We wish we had more time in the area so we could follow up on his recommendations!

Andre was exceptionally personable and knowledgeable. Tour was well-paced and allowed for diversions when needed.

Andre was very knowledgeable and personable

When they say this tour is customizable, they really mean it! After booking, I received a detailed survey asking about our interests, and I shared that we wanted time to shop for local souvenirs and artisan crafts. Our guide, James, went above and beyond — taking us to charming local shops and recommending beautiful spots for handcrafted jewelry. We also mentioned our love for cozy cafés, and he made sure we had time to enjoy one during our walk. Throughout the tour, we learned so much about how Edinburgh was built and the fascinating bits of history hidden in plain sight — things we never would have noticed without a local guide! (For example, the subtle markings that show where the old city walls once stood — we’d walked past them several times before without realizing what they were!) Our must-see list included Edinburgh Castle, St. Giles’ Cathedral, Scott Monument, and Edinburgh Old Town. Even though our castle visit was only from the exterior, the 4-hour walking tour was packed with insight and charm. By the end, James felt like family — my 12-year-old even joked that she wanted to adopt him as her new granddad! Honestly, this was the best thing we did during our trip to Scotland. I can’t recommend it enough for anyone who wants a meaningful, personalized, and truly local experience of Edinburgh.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 4 hour tour with our host Tanya! She is a true gem, and walked us through the Old Town sites sharing tidbits of Scottish history. The information we learned from her mapped out our journey through the country as we drove to Inverness down to Glasgow, then back to Edinburgh. I LOVE Scotland - thank you so much!

We had a great tour with our guide, Jenny! She asked what we liked to see and suggested great ideas. I would highly recommend!

We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon with Cal. He loves the city and is an enthusiastic host.

Absolutely loved Edinburgh. All of our guides were marvelous. Such a warm, inviting city even in Winter! We had the pleasure of a guided walking tour around Edinburgh that gave us a fantastic overview of the city. We will be coming back soon!

Calci was engaging, attentive, patient and hospitable. We enjoyed conversing with him! He also didn’t rush us, which made the tour more pleasant and enjoyable. 10/10.

We had a limited time in Edinburgh and Calcedonio Riesi was our tour guide. His love of history and his city and country was evident as he gave us an engaging walk through Edinburgh -full of history, myths, and anecdotes. He offered suggestions for the remainder of our stay as well. Full of knowledge and energy, the time flew by as we talked centuries of royalty, history, renovations and progress. You can’t miss spending some time with Cal!

Amazing tour!!!! Alice did amazing job and had the best stories!!! I would recommend this tour to everyone

Alice story telling is amazing

The time frame and how knowledgeable she was.

Great way to start off your trip in Edinburgh! Alice was a wonderful/witty guide….definitely recommend!

Our tour guide Lilia was amazing. She was very knowledgeable and had a lot of stories to share. We really appreciated her time!

Excellent guide. Lilia was extremely informative about history and intriguing facts. Would recommend this tour highly.

Lilia is the perfect tour guide. She knows so much about the history and intrigues of Scotland that four hours went too quickly. She was more than accommodating, making this tour truly personalized. I would recommend the city unscripted tour most highly and especially Lilia to lead the way.

Lilia was very knowledgeable and helpful and she had interesting stories about the area and the royal bloodlines.

Elizabeth was a great guide - she was very knowledgeable about the topics we were interested in, including history, architecture and local recommendations for food and drink. It was helpful to have taken the tour on the day we arrived since it gave us a good idea of the layout of the city.

The guidance was excellent, Elizabeth's disposition and attitude was extraordinary!

Elizabeth is bright, energetic, and had a good route. We learned a lot about Edinburgh. Having only 4 people in our group gave us a personal and flexible schedule.

Elizabeth was very knowledgeable and put together a tour of sites in Edinburgh specific to our interests. We enjoyed our time with Elizabeth, learning the layers of history in Edinburgh