Edinburgh Hop-On Hop-Off Buses

Thousands and thousands of tourists visit Edinburgh every year. Edinburgh's combination of scenery, centuries-old architecture and attractive culture put it on every traveller's bucket list. While it's not a large city, the sights are many, and taking a sightseeing bus will make it easier to organise your visit to see all that Edinburgh has to offer.

You can use it as an hour-long ride along the route of your chosen itinerary, or you can simply hop on and off as many times as you like, saving you time in finding out about transport. Join me to find out more.

The Edinburgh City Sightseeing Bus is the Edinburgh Bus Tours company, which offers between 3 different routes, or even the possibility to combine all 3, depending on the type of pass.

It is a double-decker bus that will allow you to cover the whole city with its different routes, from the comfort of your seat and with audio commentary on board. My recommendation is also to take a guided walking tour of Edinburgh so that the explanations are more extensive and you have access to more content and interesting facts.

If you prefer to make your visit more comfortable and practical when it comes to seeing the city of Edinburgh in a day, don't hesitate to purchase your pass.

The pass is booked on the date of your choice and is based on a free-stop basis. For the duration of your pass, you will have the option to hop on and off the bus as many times as you like. They are available for 24 or 48 hours.

Let's say you have a 24-hour pass and you use it for the first time at 9am on a Friday, then you have until 9am on Saturday to get around the city.

All bus tours depart from St Andrew Square in the heart of Edinburgh city centre. Your pass includes wifi and audio commentary from a specialist guide on board, available in English, Chinese, German, Russian, Italian, French, Spanish and Dutch.

Depending on your time in the city and what you want to visit, there are different types of passes. First of all, you can opt for just one line of one colour and get your 24-hour pass. The prices are detailed in the table below:

But if you are an ambitious traveller and one itinerary is not enough for you, you can opt for tickets that combine the 3 lines. In this case, the combined passes can be chosen according to what you prefer: 24 or 48 hours. Here are the price details:

The bus operating schedule changes depending on the time of year and here are the details so you can make the most of your pass.

• July and August: 09:15hs to 19:00hs
• April, May and October: 9:15hs to 18:00hs
• From December to March: 9:15hs to 16:00hs

Each of the routes covers a different area of the city of Edinburgh and range from the historic city centre to exploring the city by boat. At each of the stops on all the routes you will find a map with the exact location of the stops within each area. They are easy to identify.

There are 3 different route options and they have different names and colours to make everything much more convenient. Here I offer you a detail of the most important stops that each one includes, but the complete route will take you 60 minutes per route. Will you join me?

Red Line: the best way to get to know the Old Town

You'll take a walk through Edinburgh's Grassmarket, the Royal Mile, the National Museum of Scotland and Holyrood Palace, among others.

Blue Line: the Majestic tour, the New Town beyond the Old Town

You will visit the famous Princes Street, Dean Village, a famous medieval village, the Botanic Gardens, the popular Royal Yacht Britannia, Holyrood Palace and end at the gates of the Old Town.

Green Line: the Edinburgh tour and its most representative buildings

You will see Waverley Bridge, Holyrood Palace, the Royal Mile, the National Museum of Scotland and the iconic Edinburgh Castle. It joins other lines at the New Town Gate.

For those who want to get a more complete experience of the city, sailing along Edinburgh's River Forth is a very appealing idea. The Three Bridges Tour is designed to allow you to split your day between water and land. Board your bus in the heart of Edinburgh, followed by a relaxing cruise along the Firth of Forth.

The bus route takes you from Edinburgh Castle, across the popular Deen Bridge, past Dalmeny House, an important Gothic-style mansion, and finally to Queensferry, where you can change to the boat part of the route.

Once on board the cruise, the views of the Three Bridges are truly incredible. On the tour you will see Blackness Castle(one of Edinburgh's finest castles), made famous by Outlander and Outlaw King and pass through the village of Limekilns.

You will also have the opportunity to see a variety of marine wildlife, including the distinctive seals.

This pass is priced at €25 for adults, €23 for over 60s and €12 for children up to the age of 15.

To help you get the most out of your bus tour in this Scottish city, here is a brief summary of the most interesting points along the route.

Edinburgh Castle

The main star of the city that no visitor should miss is Edinburgh Castle. Besides being on top of the main hill of the city and offering an imposing image, it is also a fortress of great architectural and historical importance.

I recommend this article on how to visit Edinburgh Castle, where you have all the information you need to make your visit a success.

Holyrood Palace

Holyrood Palace is enchanting for the details and the luxury it contains inside. And no wonder, as it was the official residence of the Queen of England in the 11th century.

Its abbey is one of the most photographed in Scotland and is the perfect place to be transported back in time. It's an essential stop to explore in detail.

Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is the most famous street in the whole city of Edinburgh. It owes its name to the fact that it is 1800 metres long, almost two miles.

The whole street is the main artery of the Old Town where you will find all kinds of shops, but also many hidden and special corners to discover. The magic is in all the alleys that emerge, each one with its own style and magic.

Royal Yacht Britannia

The Royal Yacht Britannia is one of the most popular ships in the world and you may wonder why. Well, it has been the ship of the British Royal Household for four decades.

It has visited around 150 countries at the hands of the royal family, but that was in its glory years. Now, you can visit it and get an idea of how this family lived on board and the comforts they enjoyed. You'll see family photos on the walls and people's objects that have been left exactly there, in disuse.

Princess Street

Princess Street and its gardens are a must-see and one of the most beautiful stops in the city. The gardens are well known for being the boundary that separates the Old Town and New Town, two very distinct areas of Edinburgh.

But the interesting thing about these gardens is that they are not simply large expanses of lawns and flowers. In ancient times, there was a lake here, and this lake hid stories of witchcraft and corpses, which contaminated the city's drinking water sources. When the lake was finally drained, this space was reinvented to create the most beautiful gardens in all of Edinburgh. Amazing, isn't it?

National Museum of Scotland

With its collections of Scottish history and interactive exhibits, this space is a must-see in the city of Edinburgh. It is the most visited museum in all of Scotland and was founded from the merger of two institutions: The Museum of Scotland and the Royal Museum.

In fact, if you look at its façade, you can clearly identify the difference between the old structure and the more modern structure. What's more, it's completely free, so you have no excuse not to stop by and learn a little more about the history of this country.

• These tours are designed for you to visit the specific monuments, sites and museums that are considered the essence of the city. You will even be able to visit places a little further afield that you might not discover if you were to do your tour on foot. In addition, you will save time, a very precious resource on holiday.
• The city is very beautiful, but if you can also learn about it, everything will make much more sense. The audio commentary from the guides will give you important insights into the significance of what you're seeing, so you won't just be content to contemplate its charm.
• The panoramic views from the bus are a completely privileged place to contemplate a city you are seeing for the first time.
• If you're one of those brave travellers who decide to visit the city in winter, the bus service is a great idea for those cold, grey days that Edinburgh is known for. You can take shelter inside the bus while you look out over the city from the comfort and warmth of your seat.
• And if you're travelling to Edinburgh with children, it's a great way to organise your trip. You can give them more attention and increase your family's enjoyment.

In addition to the sightseeing buses, you can add tickets to the main activities with your ticket, saving time, worry and money.

The Royal Edinburgh Ticket is the best combined pass for your Edinburgh trip. It includes 48 hours of the 3 sightseeing bus routes, plus the Three Bridges Tour and admission to the most visited sights across the city: Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Royal Yacht Britannia.

If the idea of the sightseeing bus sounded interesting to you, read my article about the best tours and excursions from Edinburgh to get to know the surroundings of the city.

On the other hand, don't forget to include some Outlanders location tours or excursions to the Highlands and Loch Ness in your Edinburgh holiday.

You'll transform your holiday into a much more complete experience. The city is fascinating, but don't miss out on falling in love with the green hills and enchanted castles.