Scotland · CITY TOURS
Good city tours fill up weeks ahead; the great ones go first. Below: the 15 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
City Sightseeing Edinburgh hop-on hop-off bus with a 24-hour pass, open-top views, and multilingual audio. Kids go free for value.
“It's an excellent tour of the city. The ear buds make the narration easy to listen to. The information about the city is awesome.”
Hop-on hop-off Glasgow buses with open-top views, Red and electric Yellow routes, and full recorded or live commentary for 1-2 days.
“Great tour! The essential tour of the city. The driver did a great job navigating the city and the recorded voice over was excellent.”
90-minute small group Glasgow city centre walk for $16.64, with local tips, George Square to the Gallery of Modern Art, plus street art.
“Great tour! Excellent, friendly local guide. Good overview of history of the old town, giving you information on where to spend more time.”
A small-group Edinburgh ghost tour hitting South Bridge Vaults and Greyfriars prison, with admission included and a guide who mixes humor and chills.
“Brilliant spooky tour Ian our guide was the best he made the experience so enjoyable would definitely recommend”
Small-group 90-minute Inverness walk with a local guide, River Ness monster stories, and key sights plus a few surprises.
“Thank you Steve for the informative introduction to Inverness. Great stories & thoroughly enjoyed the stroll around the city.”
Go underneath Edinburgh on a small-group Underground City of the Dead tour, exploring the South Bridge vaults in 1h 20m.
“A very well organized and entertaining tour. Heather did an amazing job portraying the history of Edinburgh and what it was like to live in the vaults”
Edinburgh e-bike tour for small groups, from Union Canal and parks to Arthur's Seat, Portobello Beach, and Leith.
“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ We had an absolutely fantastic time on the e-bike tour around Edinburgh and couldn’t recommend it more. From start to finish, everything was so well organised — clear directions, excellent quality e-bikes, and all the equipment you need to feel comfortable and confident on the road. Our tour guide was truly lovely: incredibly knowledgeable, engaging, and clearly passionate about Edinburgh. They shared fascinating history and local insights while keeping the ride relaxed and enjoyable, making it easy to take everything in without feeling rushed. The small group size was perfect — it felt personal, safe, and easy to keep together, which made the whole experience even more enjoyable....”
Small-group haunted walk in Edinburgh through Greyfriars Kirkyard and Covenantor's Prison, led by local guides, about 1h20.
“Even though our tour was on a cold, wet, rainy, windy ‘Scottish’ July night, Ross made our tour excellent! He did a great job of getting to know each person and introducing the groups so we made friends along the way. Although I didn’t get any paranormal experiences, the history was great and the stories were brought alive by Ross. Bravo!! I hope to come back one day with more ‘paranormal enthusiasts’ from the US 👻”
90-minute Aberdeen city-center walk blending art, granite history, and eerie tunnels tied to witch trials, led by engaging local guides.
“Seeing and learning is great but via a good story even better. That’s what we experienced. A brief tour but you come away feeling like you’re in ‘the know.’”
Hop on and off Big Bus Edinburgh with a 48-hour pass and free headphones on two routes, including the Royal Yacht Britannia stop.
“The bus ride was ok but the audio didn’t always sync to where we were We also thought the tour included a visit to the royal yacht Britannia but this was not the case and we had to buy tickets to do this tour so it was not made clear”
City Sightseeing Inverness hop-on hop-off bus gives 24-hour flexibility, open-top views, and recorded audio on a short loop through town.
“As we only had a couple days in Inverness, we thought this would be a easy way to get to see the city. We rode it around once and then decided what stops we wanted to make and we got to see everything we wanted. This was a great idea.”
Private Inverness tour with St Andrew’s Cathedral, Loch Ness at Urquhart, Culloden, Clava Cairns, Beauly, whisky tasting, and Cawdor Castle.
“From beginning to end our tour with Mike from Historic & Scenic Tours, Inverness, was a fantastic experience. We began at Culloden on a beautiful day and walked leisurely while Mike filled us in on the history of the battle. We could choose to visit the museum there, but we declined. Next we went to Clava Cairns and soaked in the beauty of the ancient stones and the surrounding trees and fields. October is a perfect time to visit Scotland. Cawdor Castle was already closed for the season, so we went to Fort George instead. Next we made a stop at the Singleton Distillery where a flight of three whiskies…”
Explore Edinburgh’s South Bridge Vaults in a small group, with lantern-lit storytelling, real-life misery accounts, and spooky underground tales.
“On March 19th, 2025, our small lovely group led by charismatic guide Joshua descended into the dark and mysterious vaults of old Edinburgh. I was rather sceptical - until Joshua started telling us his bone-chilling stories, in the complete darkness, illuminated only by the faint light of a lantern. I still get goosebumps when I remember that strange sensation of being in the presence of something dead and ghostly! The frightening reality of the past intertwined with horror. A brilliant and fascinating tour, played out like a small performance. Bravo, Joshua! For the first time in many years, I went to bed that night with the lights on!”
A 2-hour music walking tour through Glasgow’s Merchant City, with local guides, landmark venues, and a Mono Cafe discount.
“The history of music in Glasgow is rich and fascinating. You'll walk about two hours with one comfort break. Our guide, Fiona, was impressive in her breasts and depth of knowledge. She's an arts journalist and clearly has a love for Glasgow and it's musiciand. I take walking tours all over the world, and this was one of the best!”
Glasgow City and Clyde Bridges bike tour covers top sights in 3 hours with a small group, guide-led route, bike and helmet, snacks.
“Alastair, our guide, was very knowledgeable and careful my for our safety. We especially liked bicycles along Kelvin Walkway and the canals”
Every kind of day out, from an hour under the Old Town to a week in the islands.
