Hop-on Hop-off Tours Edinburgh

Big Bus: Edinburgh Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour

Edinburgh hop-on hop-off bus with Edinburgh Castle in the background.

Open-top bus tour passing the Scott Monument in Edinburgh.

Open-top bus tour with view of Edinburgh Castle in the background.

Edinburgh hop-on hop-off bus near modern architecture and Arthur's Seat.

Explore at your pace

Choose your entry time, stay as long as you like

Free cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience

Book now, pay later

Book now without paying anything. Cancel for free if your plans change.

Audio guide

Enhance your experience with multilingual audio guide

4.3/5

(13)

Kendall

Oct 2025

Verified booking

4/5

We used both the red and blue routes in Edinburgh and we very happy. Loved the tour guide narration and the drivers were very kind. Only think that makes me not stay 5 stars is the audio narrations would often be out of sync with our location. Highly recommend. Utilized the 48 hour ticket and eventually used the service as our bus to and from.

Ronald

Oct 2025

Verified booking

5/5

Relaxed drivers driving their rounds through the city. It is such a beautiful city that you can't help but feast your eyes. Together with the Audio in the bus they also tell you what you see and the facts. The Is just fantastic and the people of this bus are super friendly

Pamela

Jul 2025

Verified booking

4/5

The actual route in Edinburgh hit many highlights of the city. We had a problem with the frequency of the pick up once we hopped off. We thought the bus would have a 10 minute wait, between one bus leaving and the next coming. We waited ~20 minutes, and couldn't make our ride back to the ship. So we had to practically run to our pick up spot, and still almost missed our shuttle back to the cruise ship

Explore Edinburgh’s medieval turrets, hilly scenes, and Gothic charm on a 24 or 48-hour hop-on hop-off bus adventure that lets you set the pace.

Ride as often as you like on the red, blue, or both bus routes with 10–60 min frequencies and peek at 20 iconic sights, some over 1000 years old.

Think of the multilingual audio guide as your ride-along storyteller, whispering secrets and surprises about the sights rolling past your window.

See spiky towers at Edinburgh Castle, Old Town’s cobbled charm, Britannia’s royal decks, and Greyfriars Bobby guarding the gates of Kirk.

24/48-hour unlimited hop-on hop-off bus tour

Access to Red & Blue routes (based on option selected)

Audio guide in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese & Mandarin

Mobile app with a detailed map and live bus tracking

TOTAL DURATION55 minutes
FREQUENCYEvery 1 hour
FIRST DEPARTUREWaterloo Place at 9:05 AM
LAST DEPARTUREWaterloo Place at 6:05 PM
Timeline
Map
1. Waterloo Place
Get direction
2 attractions
Waterloo Place
1 minute walk
Calton Hill
2. St Andrew Square
Get direction
1 attraction
St Andrew Square Gardens
2 minutes walk
3. The Shore
Get direction
1 attraction
Leith Murals
4 minutes walk
4. Victoria Quay
Get direction
2 attractions
Victoria Quay
2 minutes walk
Water of Leith Walkway
17 minutes walk
5. Royal Yacht Britannia
Get direction
2 attractions
Royal Yacht Britannia
4 minutes walk
Port of Leith Distillery
5 minutes walk
6. Fishmarket Square
Get direction
1 attraction
Fishmarket Square
3 minutes walk
7. Royal Botanic Garden
Get direction
1 attraction
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
1 minute walk
TOTAL DURATION70 minutes
FREQUENCYEvery 10-20 minutes
FIRST DEPARTUREWaterloo Place at 9:00 AM
LAST DEPARTUREWaterloo Place at 6:20 PM
Timeline
Map
1. Waterloo Place
Get direction
1 attraction
Waterloo Place
2. St Andrew Square
Get direction
1 attraction
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
3 minutes walk
3. Lothian Road
Get direction
1 attraction
Usher Hall
3 minutes walk
4. Bread Street
Get direction
1 attraction
The Lyceum Theatre
1 minute walk
5. The Mound
Get direction
1 attraction
National Galleries of Scotland
1 minute walk
6. George IV Bridge
Get direction
1 attraction
George IV Bridge
7. Grassmarket
Get direction
1 attraction
The White Hart Inn
8. National Museum of Scotland
Get direction
1 attraction
National Museum of Scotland
9. Canongate Kirk
Get direction
1 attraction
Canongate Kirk
10. Holyrood Palace
Get direction
1 attraction
Palace of Holyroodhouse
1 minute walk
11. Dynamic Earth
Get direction
1 attraction
Dynamic Earth
12. Abbeyhill
Get direction
1 attraction
Abbeyhill
2 minutes walk
13. Regent Road
Get direction
1 attraction
Robert Burns Monument
1 minute walk

You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.

4.3
13 reviews
How do we collect reviews?
These ratings include verified reviews from both Headout guests and our trusted partners who operate this experience locally. All reviews come from real travelers who've taken this experience.
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What our guests say
Kendall
Oct 2025
Verified booking
4/5
We used both the red and blue routes in Edinburgh and we very happy. Loved the tour guide narration and the drivers were very kind. Only think that makes me not stay 5 stars is the audio narrations would often be out of sync with our location. Highly recommend. Utilized the 48 hour ticket and eventually used the service as our bus to and from.
Ronald
Oct 2025
Verified booking
5/5
Relaxed drivers driving their rounds through the city. It is such a beautiful city that you can't help but feast your eyes. Together with the Audio in the bus they also tell you what you see and the facts. The Is just fantastic and the people of this bus are super friendly
Pamela
Jul 2025
Verified booking
4/5
The actual route in Edinburgh hit many highlights of the city. We had a problem with the frequency of the pick up once we hopped off. We thought the bus would have a 10 minute wait, between one bus leaving and the next coming. We waited ~20 minutes, and couldn't make our ride back to the ship. So we had to practically run to our pick up spot, and still almost missed our shuttle back to the cruise ship
Jessy
Jul 2025
Verified booking
5/5
We still have one more day to go
Kristen
Oct 2025
Verified booking
5/5

Accessibility

Most buses are wheelchair and pram/stroller accessible.

Your guide dogs and pets are welcome onboard the bus.

Your voucher will be emailed to you instantly.

Please display the same on your mobile phone with a valid photo ID at the time of redemption.

Ticket redemption point

Please check your final voucher for redemption point details and specifics.