Hop-on Hop-off Tours Edinburgh

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

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

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

Audio guide

Enhance your experience with multilingual audio guide
    • Explore Edinburgh’s medieval turrets, hilly landscapes, 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 route, blue route, or both, with buses running every 10–60 minutes, and take in 20 sights, some over 1,000 years old.

    • Think of the multilingual audio guide as your ride-along storyteller, sharing stories about the sights rolling past your window in the language of your choice.

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

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

    • Access to Red & Blue routes (as per 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
    Waterloo Place

    1. Waterloo Place

    Get direction
    2 attractions

    Waterloo Place

    1 minute walk

    Calton Hill

    St Andrew Square

    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
    Royal Yacht Britannia

    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
    Royal Botanic Garden

    7. Royal Botanic Garden

    Get direction
    1 attraction

    Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

    1 minute walk
    TOTAL DURATION1 hour 10 minutes
    FREQUENCYEvery 10-20 minutes
    FIRST DEPARTUREWaterloo Place at 9:00 AM
    LAST DEPARTUREWaterloo Place at 6:20 PM
    Timeline
    Map
    Waterloo Place

    1. Waterloo Place

    Get direction
    1 attraction

    Waterloo Place

    St Andrew Square

    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
    The Mound

    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

    Grassmarket

    7. Grassmarket

    Get direction
    1 attraction

    The White Hart Inn

    National Museum of Scotland

    8. National Museum of Scotland

    Get direction
    1 attraction

    National Museum of Scotland

    Canongate Kirk

    9. Canongate Kirk

    Get direction
    1 attraction

    Canongate Kirk

    10. Holyrood Palace

    Get direction
    1 attraction

    Palace of Holyroodhouse

    1 minute walk
    Dynamic Earth

    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.

  • 38 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.

    24
    10
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    United States
    Canada
    Ireland
    Australia
    Italy
    Portugal
    Turkey
    United States
    Canada
    Ireland
    Australia
    Italy
    Portugal
    Turkey
    Guests from United States, Canada, Ireland and over 8 countries have loved this experience

    What our guests say

    Kathryn G

    Couple
    Verified booking
    Last week
    I did this already. Check your records.

    Dean G

    Couple
    Verified booking
    Aug 2026
    Brilliant tour. Good locations and guide. Lots of languages to choose from.

    Robert R

    Couple
    Verified booking
    Jun 2026
    I purchased a 48 hr pass from Headout. On presenting this on a BigBus the driver could only issue a 24 hr ticket. This meant we had to take the ticket to the control point to have it countersigned to upgrade it to 48 hrs. We were very happy with Big Bus , The problem was with the Headout Big Bus interface.

    Tina T

    Couple
    Verified booking
    Apr 2026
    Loved the bus tour. So easy to use and the driver was very friendly and helpful. Also, the narrative is very interesting. However, some of the audio jacks did not function.

    Monika W

    Solo
    Verified booking
    May 2026
    The tour showed me all the highlights and places I'll return to for a longer visit on my stay in Edinburgh. It's the perfect way to get oriented.

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