In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Royal Edinburgh Ticket is £81 for the castle, Holyroodhouse, Britannia and 48 hours on three bus tours. The same sights and a bus ticket cost about £90 separately, so it saves around £9 only if you use all of it, and Holyroodhouse is shut on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 17 September to 20 May. The Edinburgh City Pass is from £55 a day for about 20 smaller attractions. It leaves out the castle, Holyroodhouse, Britannia, the Real Mary King’s Close and St Giles’, and it pays for three or four attractions in one day. The Historic Scotland Explorer Pass is £48 in summer and £38 in winter for 14 days and pays once Stirling Castle joins Edinburgh Castle, with one more site in summer. Or buy the ticket on GetYourGuide: the Royal Edinburgh Ticketad is the same £81.
The three passes
| Pass | Price | What it covers | What it leaves out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Edinburgh Ticket, 48 hours | Adult £81, 60+ £76, child (5 to 15) £43 | Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Yacht Britannia, and the three hop-on hop-off bus tours | The Real Mary King’s Close, St Giles’ Cathedral and the smaller museums; Holyroodhouse is shut Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 17 September to 20 May |
| Edinburgh City Pass, 1, 2 or 3 days | From £55 a day; from £70 with the castle tour; 2 days £75 | About 20 experiences: Camera Obscura, a vault tour, a Holyrood Distillery tour, a Three Bridges cruise, Dynamic Earth, a Harry Potter walk, a 24-hour hop-on hop-off bus ticket and the airport tram return | Edinburgh Castle entry on its own, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Britannia, the Real Mary King’s Close, the Dungeon and St Giles’ (an audio guide only) |
| Historic Scotland Explorer Pass, 14 days | Summer £48, winter £38; child £29 or £23; family £100 or £80 | Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Urquhart Castle, St Andrews Castle, Tantallon, Craigmillar, Linlithgow, Doune, Blackness and the other Historic Scotland sites | The Palace of Holyroodhouse and National Trust for Scotland sites |
Summer for the Explorer Pass is 1 April to 31 October and winter 1 November to 25 March.
The sums
Prices are the operators’ own for an adult, April to October. The sights are priced on their own pages: Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Royal Yacht Britannia.
| Plan | Bought separately | The pass | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castle £23.50, Holyroodhouse £22, Britannia £23, a 24-hour three-tour bus ticket from £21.60 | About £90.10 | Royal Edinburgh Ticket £81 | The ticket saves about £9, if you visit all three on days Holyroodhouse is open |
| Castle, Holyroodhouse and Britannia only | £68.50 | Royal Edinburgh Ticket £81 | The ticket costs £12.50 more |
| Camera Obscura £24.95, a vault tour £24, a hop-on hop-off bus £20 | £68.95 | City Pass, 1 day, £55 | The pass saves about £14 |
| The same three plus a Holyrood Distillery tour £25 | £93.95 | City Pass, 1 day, £55 | The pass saves about £39, but four in a day is a push |
| Castle £23.50 and Stirling Castle £18.50 | £42 | Explorer Pass £48 summer, £38 winter | Costs £6 more in summer, saves £4 in winter |
| Add St Andrews Castle £10 | £52 | Explorer Pass £48 summer, £38 winter | Saves £4 in summer, £14 in winter |
| Add Linlithgow Palace £10 | £62 | Explorer Pass £48 summer, £38 winter | Saves £14 in summer, £24 in winter |
Historic Scotland takes 25% off standard admission at several of its sites when you book online and arrive by train, bus or bike (code GOOD25). Where it applies, the Explorer Pass needs more sites to pay. The Stirling Castle guide has the rule.
Royal Edinburgh Ticket
£81 · 48 hours · sold by Edinburgh Bus Tours
The ticket is a voucher you exchange at the Edinburgh Bus Tours stop. Until 30 November 2026 that is Stop GG on George Street, opposite the Assembly Rooms, because road works moved the first stop from Waterloo Place. Its sellers book your castle slot at that point.
Edinburgh Castle from Princes Street Gardens. Photo: Matti Blume, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- The castle. Edinburgh Bus Tours says it guarantees castle entry on this ticket even when the castle’s own website is sold out. The slot cannot be arranged before you arrive. The castle’s own tickets sell out online and nothing is sold at the gate then, so this is the reason to buy it for a short, late-booked visit.
- Holyroodhouse. The Palace is shut on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 17 September to 20 May, and the ticket offers no alternative on those days. When the Palace closes on other dates, ticket holders get entry to The King’s Gallery and a guidebook. The Palace part of the ticket works outside the 48 hours, so you can use it on a later trip.
- Britannia. Open seven days, with the next available tour on the day.
- The buses. All three hop-on hop-off tours run for 48 hours from first use. You can board at any stop.
- No refund if you skip one of the three sights.
Edinburgh City Pass
From £55 for 1 day · from £70 with the castle tour · 2 days £75
The pass starts on your first visit to an included attraction, and each pass is valid per calendar day. The airport tram return, worth £9.50, is open return and does not start the pass.
| Included, with the price the pass lists | Notes |
|---|---|
| Camera Obscura & World of Illusions, £24.95 | Walk-in |
| Hidden Vaults Tour, £24 | See Edinburgh ghost tours for what a vault tour is |
| Holyrood Distillery Tour, £25 | Booking required; over-18s |
| Three Bridges Boat Tour, £20, and an Inchcolm Island cruise, £20 | |
| Dynamic Earth, £24.50 | |
| Harry Potter Walking Tour, £18 | See Harry Potter in Edinburgh |
| Witches & Haunted History Walking Tour, £18 | |
| 24-hour hop-on hop-off bus, £20 | |
| Edinburgh’s Secret Nuclear Bunker, £22 at weekends | Booking required |
| John Knox House, Gladstone’s Land, the Georgian House, the Scott Monument and Craigmillar Castle | £7 to £12.50 each |
| Arthur’s Seat and St Giles’ audio guides | £7.99 and £5; the Cathedral’s entry is not included |
| Edinburgh Castle tour with Little Fish Tours, £39 | Only on the pass with the castle tour |
The pass also takes up to 20% off an escape room and up to 15% off Timberbush day tours. It pays for three or four of the entries in a day. The castle tour option is the only way the pass includes the castle, as a guided tour with entry.
Historic Scotland Explorer Pass
£48 summer · £38 winter · 14 consecutive days · one visit to each site
The pass suits a trip that goes beyond the city, because most of its sites are outside Edinburgh. Booking each visit in advance is recommended.
- The sites. Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, St Andrews Castle, Tantallon, Craigmillar, Linlithgow Palace, Doune Castle, Blackness Castle, Melrose Abbey and Jedburgh Abbey are in both the summer and winter lists. Inchcolm Abbey is in the summer list only.
- Stirling Castle in February and March 2027 cannot be pre-booked by pass holders.
- Audio guides are 20% off when bought in person at Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle and Glasgow Cathedral.
- Not covered: the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Rosslyn Chapel and the National Trust for Scotland sites.
Tours and tickets that replace a pass
Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices for one adult. GetYourGuide does not sell the City Pass.
Royal Edinburgh Ticket
From £81 · 3,167 reviews
Edinburgh: Royal Attractions with Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Toursad is the Royal Edinburgh Ticket at the operator’s own price.
Hop-on hop-off pass
From £26 · 2,459 reviews
Edinburgh: Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Pass with 3 City Toursad covers the three bus tours without the sights.
An open-top Edinburgh Tour bus. Photo: Hullian111, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Castle with a guide
From £42 · 1½ hours · 12,746 reviews
Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle Guided History Tour with Ticketsad is Little Fish Tours’ walk with the castle entry. The castle’s own entry is £23.50 and its official tour £6.50 more.
Which to buy
- Castle, Holyroodhouse and Britannia on three open days: the Royal Edinburgh Ticket, at about £9 under separate tickets.
- A short visit with the castle booked late: the Royal Edinburgh Ticket, for the guaranteed castle slot.
- Only the castle: the castle’s own £23.50 ticket.
- A day of Camera Obscura, a vault tour and a bus: the City Pass for one day.
- Stirling, St Andrews and the castle in one trip: the Explorer Pass, especially from 1 November.
- Mostly free sights and one big ticket: no pass.
What to book before you go to Edinburgh has the closed days for each sight, and Edinburgh walking tours compares the tours the City Pass includes with their stand-alone prices. Edinburgh public transport has the bus and tram fares, which the Explorer Pass and the Royal Edinburgh Ticket leave out apart from the buses on the tour. Day trips from Edinburgh covers the sites outside the city, and where to stay in Edinburgh compares the areas.
Common questions
Is the Edinburgh City Pass worth it?
Only for a day of the smaller attractions. The pass is from £55 for one day and covers Camera Obscura, a vault tour, a 24-hour hop-on hop-off bus ticket and about 20 other experiences, but not Edinburgh Castle (unless you add the castle tour at £70), Holyroodhouse, the Royal Yacht Britannia, the Real Mary King's Close or St Giles' Cathedral.
How much is the Royal Edinburgh Ticket?
£81 for an adult, £76 for ages 60 and over and £43 for a child aged 5 to 15. It covers the castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Yacht Britannia and 48 hours on the three hop-on hop-off bus tours.
Does the Royal Edinburgh Ticket work if Edinburgh Castle is sold out?
Edinburgh Bus Tours, which sells it, says it guarantees castle entry on the ticket even when the castle's own website is sold out. The ticket sellers book the slot for you when you exchange your voucher, which cannot be arranged in advance.
Does the Royal Edinburgh Ticket work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays?
Not for the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is shut on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 17 September to 20 May, and the ticket offers no alternative on those days. The Palace part of the ticket can still be used outside the 48 hours.
What does the Historic Scotland Explorer Pass cost?
£48 for an adult in summer (1 April to 31 October) and £38 in winter, valid for 14 consecutive days. It covers Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Urquhart Castle, St Andrews Castle and the other Historic Scotland sites, but not the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Do any of the passes include St Giles' Cathedral?
No. The City Pass includes a £5 audio guide to St Giles', not entry, and the Cathedral has charged £12 for visitors aged 16 and over who do not live in Scotland since 5 October 2026.
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