In this guide
💡 The Short Version: “Underground Edinburgh” is three things. The Real Mary King’s Close is a preserved 17th-century street, £28.50 for an hour. The vaults are chambers under the bridges: Auld Reekie’s South Bridge tours are £24 to £26 and Mercat’s Blair Street tours £31, with cheaper evening tours from £16. The Edinburgh Dungeon is a live-actor show with rides, from £19. A tour with “underground” in its name may not go in, so check the inclusions. Over-18s only: the Terror Tour, Mercat’s Vaults and Graveyard tour and the Extreme Paranormal tour. No wheelchair access on the vault tours. The South Bridge Vaults tourad is £24 (GetYourGuide).
The tours compared
Prices are the operators’ own or GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices for one adult. The vault tours below go underground; the last two rows do not.
| Tour | Where | Length | From | Ages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Mary King’s Closead | A preserved 17th-century close | 1 hour | £28.50 | Not under 5 |
| Auld Reekie Vaults Tourad | South Bridge Vaults | 1 hour | £24 | Not under 5 |
| Auld Reekie Vaults & Graveyardad | Greyfriars Kirkyard and the South Bridge Vaults | 1½ hours | £26 | Not under 12 |
| Auld Reekie Terror Tourad | South Bridge Vaults and a torture exhibition | 75 minutes | £26 | Over 18 |
| City of Edinburgh Tours, Evening Ghost Tourad | Greyfriars Kirkyard and the Edinburgh Vaults | 75 minutes | £19 | Not under 7 |
| City of Edinburgh Tours, Old Town and Undergroundad | The vaults under the South Bridge | 1 hour | £16 | Not under 5 |
| Mercat Tours, Vaults Evening Ghost Tour with Whiskyad | Blair Street Vaults and a drink in a cellar | 2 hours | £31 | Not under 5 |
| Mercat Tours, Vaults and Graveyardad | Blair Street Vaults and Canongate graveyard | 105 minutes | £31 | Over 18 |
| Dark Secrets of the Old Townad | Streets, Old Calton Cemetery | 2 hours | £20 | Not stated |
| Greyfriars Kirkyard Tourad | The kirkyard | 1½ hours | £16 | Not under 12 |
Which kind of underground
- Mary King’s Close is a street that was built over and left, with rooms to walk through and costumed guides. It has 58 steps over several floors, no photography, and no children under 5. Real Mary King’s Close tickets has the ticket types.
- The vaults are arched chambers built into the South Bridge and Blair Street, used as homes for the poor, taverns and stores before they were closed off. A tour is a guide, torchlight or candlelight and ghost stories. Different companies hold different vaults.
- The Edinburgh Dungeon is a show: actors, sets and rides, from £19 booked ahead, 75 minutes. Its drop ride is closed until further notice. It is a theatre, not a historic site.
South Bridge Vaults with Auld Reekie
Auld Reekie Tours runs four tours in the South Bridge Vaults and sells them at the same prices on its own site and on GetYourGuide. It does not take bookings at the start, so book ahead online. The GetYourGuide tours meet in front of 300 Lawnmarket, by the tourist information booth and red telephone box opposite Deacon Brodie’s Tavern.
A candlelit chamber in one of Edinburgh’s underground vaults. Photo: fw42, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
The Vaults Tour
£24 · 60 minutes · departures every 30 minutes from 10:00 to 16:30 · 12,634 reviews
Edinburgh: Underground Vaults Tourad is the daytime tour: the guide tells of the murders, witches and the poor who lived in the vaults, by candlelight. Auld Reekie says it is not suitable for under-5s; the version with the torture exhibition suits ages 12 and over. The entrance has a two-foot step and a spiral staircase, and filming is not allowed.
The Vaults and Graveyard Tour
£26 · 90 minutes · at 17:30, 18:00, 19:30 and 20:00 · 7,450 reviews
Edinburgh: Haunted Underground Vaults and Graveyard Tourad starts above ground in Greyfriars Kirkyard, with the Greyfriars Bobby story and the Burke and Hare murders, then goes into the vaults. Not suitable for under-12s. Auld Reekie’s own Haunted Vaults Tour (£24, 60 minutes, 17:00 and 19:00) is also for ages 12 and over.
The Terror Tour
£26 · 75 minutes · 21:00, 22:00 and 23:00 · over-18s only · 4,692 reviews
Edinburgh: Late-Night Underground Vaults Terror Tourad adds a torture exhibition with instruments from the Nuremberg and Bamberg castles to the vaults, and the stone circle vault. Entry to both is included. For the Halloween Midnight Special on 30 and 31 October 2026, Auld Reekie charges £34 for 90 minutes, over-18s only.
Cheaper vault tours
City of Edinburgh Tours
From £16 to £21 · 60 to 75 minutes · meets at the police box on the Royal Mile
Four tours with a guide in period costume and entry to the Edinburgh Vaults: Old Town and Underground Ghost Tourad (£16, 1 hour, 1,886 reviews), Evening Underground Ghost Tourad (£19, 75 minutes, 4,306 reviews, with Greyfriars Kirkyard, not suitable for under-7s), Old Town and Underground Historical Tourad (£20, 1½ hours, a local historian, 2,106 reviews) and the adults-only Extreme Paranormal Underground Ghost Tourad (£21, 75 minutes, 898 reviews).
Blair Street Vaults with Mercat Tours
From £31 · 105 minutes to 2 hours · meets at the Mercat Cross · small groups
Mercat Tours has access to the Blair Street Vaults, a different set of chambers. Underground Vaults Evening Ghost Tour with Whiskyad (2 hours, 2,837 reviews) goes through the Old Town closes into the vaults and ends in a candlelit cellar with a whisky, beer or soft drink. Underground Vaults and Graveyard Evening Tourad (105 minutes, 419 reviews) adds Canongate graveyard and the Vaults Museum, and is for over-18s only.
Ghost walks above ground
Both of these stay outside, so they suit anyone who cannot manage steps.
Dark Secrets of the Old Town
From £20 · 2 hours · 2,657 reviews · Scotland City Tours
Edinburgh: Dark Secrets of the Old Town Ghost Walking Tourad covers Burke and Hare, the witch trials and plague doctors, and visits Old Calton Cemetery and Canongate Kirkyard.
Greyfriars Kirkyard
From £16 · 1½ hours · 185 reviews · The Cadies & Witchery Tours
Edinburgh: Greyfriars Kirkyard Tourad is a walk among the graves, including the lecturer who taught Charles Darwin and an actor buried in costume. It touches on the graves linked to a boy wizard and a dog. Not suitable for under-12s. For the writing sites, see Harry Potter in Edinburgh.
Monuments in Greyfriars Kirkyard, with the Old Town behind. Photo: Enric, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Day or night
- Daytime: the Vaults Tour (every 30 minutes), the City of Edinburgh Tours afternoon tour and Mary King’s Close.
- Evening: the Vaults and Graveyard tours from 17:30, and the Terror Tour from 21:00.
- October: Mary King’s Close runs a Lantern Led Tour from 2 October to 1 November 2026, daily from 18.00, at £31.50.
- Booking: Auld Reekie takes no bookings at the tour start, so book ahead. The GetYourGuide listings for the Auld Reekie tours carry free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Which to book
- One hour, one tour, history first: Mary King’s Close, £28.50.
- Vaults at the lowest price: the City of Edinburgh Tours Old Town and Underground tour, £16, or Auld Reekie’s Vaults Tour, £24.
- A graveyard first, then the vaults: the Vaults and Graveyard Tour, £26.
- An evening tour with a drink in a candlelit cellar: Mercat’s, £31.
- Anyone who cannot do steps: a ghost walk on the streets.
- Teenagers who want a show: the Edinburgh Dungeon.
What to book before you go to Edinburgh has the sights that sell out, Edinburgh walking tours compares the daytime Old Town walks, and the Edinburgh City Pass includes a vault tour. Edinburgh public transport covers the late buses, and hotels near the Royal Mile are a few minutes’ walk from the Lawnmarket start.
Common questions
What is the difference between Mary King's Close and the Edinburgh Vaults?
The Real Mary King's Close is a preserved 17th-century street under the Royal Mile with costumed guides, £28.50 for a one-hour tour. The South Bridge and Blair Street vaults are chambers built into the arches of the bridges, and tours of them run from £16 to £31. The Close says it is the only underground close in Edinburgh and is separate from the vaults.
Which Edinburgh ghost tour goes into the vaults?
Auld Reekie Tours runs vault tours under the South Bridge from £24, Mercat Tours goes into the Blair Street Vaults from £31, and City of Edinburgh Tours includes entry to the Edinburgh Vaults on tours from £16. The Dark Secrets of the Old Town walk (£20) is on the streets and in Old Calton Cemetery and does not go underground.
Are Edinburgh ghost tours suitable for children?
Some. Auld Reekie's Vaults Tour is not suitable for under-5s and its Haunted Vaults and Graveyard tours not for under-12s, while its Terror Tour, Mercat's Vaults and Graveyard tour and the Extreme Paranormal tour are for over-18s only. The Greyfriars Kirkyard tour is not suitable for under-12s.
How long are the vault tours?
Auld Reekie's are 60 to 90 minutes, City of Edinburgh Tours' 60 to 75 minutes, and Mercat's evening tours 105 minutes to 2 hours. The Real Mary King's Close takes an hour and the Dungeon 75 minutes.
Can wheelchair users do the Edinburgh vault tours?
No: the vault tours listed on GetYourGuide are not suitable for wheelchair users. The South Bridge Vaults entrance has a two-foot step and a spiral staircase, and the floors can be wet.
