Big Bus Edinburgh Hop-on Hop-off Sightseeing Tour by Open-Top Bus

Overview

Available languages

German

Russian

Portuguese

Chinese

Japanese

English

Italian

French

Spanish

1 hour 10 minutes

Mobile ticket

See Edinburgh like never before with Scotland’s official Hop-on-Hop-off open-top tour! We’ve got the best seats in town and the ultimate way to explore the capital.

Hop on and hop off as much as you like to truly take in the sights of our city tour, including Edinburgh Castle, National Museum of Scotland, Dynamic Earth, Greyfriars’s Bobby, Grassmarket and so many more!

Your 24-hour ticket means you can pack in all the must-sees at your own pace. Plus, our super-friendly team is here to make sure your time on board (and beyond) is unforgettable. Let’s make your Edinburgh adventure one to remember!

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Service animals allowed

Public transportation options are available nearby

Transportation options are wheelchair accessible

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Dog friendly

Entertaining Audio Commentary available in 9 languages

24- or 48-Hour Big Bus Hop-on, Hop-off Sightseeing Tour by Open-Top Bus

Two Routes available: City & Britannia Tours

Hotel Pick-up & Drop-off

What To Expect

Big Bus Edinburgh City Tour (Red Route)

Duration:1 hour 10 minutes

Operating Schedule:Summer (May–August): First departure at 09:00 from Stop 1 (Waterloo Place), every 10 minutes, last tour at 18:20. Off-Peak (April, September, October): Departures from 09:00 every 15 minutes, last tour at 16:00. Winter (November–March): Departures from 09:00 every 15 minutes, last tour at 16:00. For the latest stop locations, timings, and live bus tracking, visit the Big Bus website or download the Big Bus App before you travel.

Stop 1 - Waterloo Place (Opposite the Apex Hotel)

Stop 2 - St Andrew Square (North side)

Stop 3 - Lothian Road (outside kirkyard)

Stop 4 - Bread Street ( opposite Dubble Tree by Hilton Hotel)

Stop 5 - The Mound (west side of National Gallery)

Stop 6 - George IV Bridge (outside the Scottish library)

Stop 7 - Grassmarket ( opposite apex hotel)

Stop 8 - National Museum of Scotland (opposite Museum of Scotland)

Stop 9 - Cannongate Kirk (outside Canongate Church)

Stop 10 - Holyrood Palace (opposite north side of Scottish Parliament)

Stop 11 - Dynamic Earth ( Outside Dynamic Earth)

Stop 12 - Abbeyhill (North entrance to Holyrood Palace)

Stop 13 - Regent Road (At Robert Burns Monument)

Options

48-Hour City & Britannia Tours

Duration: 2 days: Unlimited use, valid for 48 hours from the time of first use.
Travel on 2 routes: Unlimited Hop-on, Hop-off Access on both the City and Britannia Tours.

24-Hour Edinburgh City Tour

Duration: 1 day: Unlimited use valid for 24 hours from the time of first use.
Edinburgh City Tour : Hop-on, Hop-off at over 10 central stops.

48-Hour Edinburgh City Tour

Duration: 2 days: Unlimited use valid for 48 hours from time of first use
Edinburgh City Tour: Hop on Hop off over 10 central stops!

Reviews

4.27

378 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

241

Excellent way to get...
Jennifer R,
Jul 6, 2025
- Viator
5.00
Excellent way to get acclimated to the city if you have never been before! We learned a great deal, enjoyed the sights, and decided what places we wanted to visit. Highly recommend!
Choose your ticket carefully!
kathryn w,
Jul 5, 2025
- Viator
3.00
I was disappointed to find out that the ticket I bought did not include both routes that were listed. (I saw no other option other than the one I bought!)Also, the app was not accurate about the bus locations so we missed the bus at the stop we were trying to catch. The bus was clean and narration of landmarks was okay.
Great Event
Richard S,
May 25, 2025
- Viator
5.00
Great way to get the feel for the city and also learn about the history. I would highly recommend this tour.
Do not book the ORANGE bus!
Kelly C,
May 18, 2025
- Viator
1.00
The hours for on-season which includes May… stayed the bus ran until 7:55pm… and after waiting for 30 minutes (and seeing 3 Red tour buses stop) I called customer service and was told the bus stopped at 4pm on Sunday…. I told them what was on the web site regarding on-season and was told it was only 4pm…. The bus driver didn’t bother to “remind us” of this 4pm last pick up when we got off of the bus at 3pm….. thank goodness it was NOT raining but it was very cold and we didn’t see any of the main stops we wanted too… a total waste of money
You get what you pay for.
Camille P,
May 14, 2025
- Viator
3.00
This company's pick up location was hard to locate compared to their competitors. It was a decent enough tour, but could have a few more places that were easier to find to get onto the bus. Additionally, there seemed to be a problem with the viator tickets the day we were in Edinburgh. Where viator kept telling me to get the voucher from my email, but when I clicked to get the voucher from my email, it took me back to the viator app. The people at the bus stop gave us tickets and let us on the bus as the viator app wasn't working.