• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Embark on an ethical Crime & Punishment tour, led by guides who have triumphed over homelessness themselves, supporting a social enterprise committed to alleviating homelessness through tourism. Explore captivating tales of thieves and murderers in the city, while gaining insight into contemporary justice systems and local organizations dedicated to aiding our most vulnerable community members. Book now and directly support guides affected by homelessness, on top of that, part of the Withlocals fee is waived and given to the project.

Destination

Edinburgh, Scotland

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

1.5 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English

Included

• Private Guide
• 15% of the tours costs go to the charity
• All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 4 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at Outside the Maggie Kicksons Pub - Edinburgh to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Give back!

   By taking part in this experience, you will also be donating to an enterprise dedicated to reducing homelessness in Edinburgh.

4. Learn & Grow

   Experience a unique and unforgettable activity or tour that offers an opportunity to learn, grow, and make a positive impact.

5. Get to know Edinburgh deeply

   Gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the local culture, traditions, and issues faced by the community.

6. Create a connection

   Interact with passionate and knowledgeable hosts who are committed to providing a memorable and impactful experience.

7. Make Memories

   Create lasting memories and make new connections with like-minded locals who share a passion for giving back and making a positive impact.

8. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Joyce

(About local Sonny)

16 February 2025

Entertaining, fun and informative. Loved the dynamic approach. Also felt worthwhile being able to contribute to a social enterprise. Sonny Delight

Kaitlyn

(About local Sonny)

2 October 2024

The tour went by too fast! Sonny pointed out so many interesting sites and gave a brief and easy digest history at every one in a wonderful Scottish accent! He also pointed us in the direction of multiple restaurants and businesses that helped him and continue to help others that are still in the homeless community on Edinburgh! Even in the rain this tour was worth going on and I’d recommend it to anyone!Informative and inspiring

Liz🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Sonny)

2 September 2024

Sonny was a great guy, full of stories. He took us on the Crime and Punishment tour, but on recognizing how interested we were in homelessness issues around the world he really helped us learn about what resources are and are not around, hidden in plain sight.Sonny himself is an experience!

Kate🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Sonny)

31 August 2024

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Sonny. He's very knowledgable and animated, obviously committed to his work and proud to be making this unique contribution. He was patient while I interpreted for my husband, who is quite deaf and struggles with accents. We felt very lucky to have a private tour With such a talented guide!A wonderfully different perspective

R.🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Sonny)

17 September 2023

Sonny is a fantastic guide. With great enthousiasme he guided us through the city centre telling amazing stories about the history. We also appreciaties the private setting and the background stories of homelesness. We definately recommend Sonny!!The best tour we could have wished

Saskia

(About local Gains)

5 March 2025

Gains waited for us at the hotel lobby in the new city and took us for a two hour walk, through the new city to the old city and the castle for another hour. We experienced an outstanding three hours of historic lecture, learned a lot and heard a lot of fun facts too. Gains knows a great deal about the city and it's history and we probably could have spent another three hours to learn even more about the city. Highly recommended! Very knowledgable sympathetic guide

Jessica

(About local GJ)

27 February 2025

Edinburgh Food Tour with a Local Foodie Custom & Private " GJ did such an amazing job showing us around Edinburgh on our walking food tour. Even with the rain, it was such a lovely afternoon exploring the Old Town. During the tour G was often asking us questions about our interests and adapting the tour as we went to make it more customized. The food was delicious and we got to taste all of the local dishes we were hoping to try out. Despite Mother Nature’s best efforts, it was a perfect first day in Scotland with the friendliest guide. " Review by J B, September 27th, 2024Tastings of Edinburgh

Wendy

(About local GJ)

4 January 2025

GJ was attentive to our interest and made a great effort. We were impressed by his knowledge and how he made history come alive during the tour. Thanks to Gee’s tips , we manage to find Best Buys that are made in Scotland only and also find delicious food . He also suggested to us several attractions. These attractions were useful to our understanding of Scotland . I am also grateful for the great photo shots he took for us ! Thank you , Gee ! Keep up the good work ! Edinburgh Private Tour: Castle to Arthur’s Seat

Judith

(About local GJ)

25 December 2024

Scotch Tour Edinburgh with a Local Expert: Private & 100% Personalized Partner or CU Website Guest Review " Gee was great! He crafted the tour to what we had specifically wanted. The pace. The opportunity to learn about whiskey. He had good stories. Helped us learn about some Scottish history. And he was just a delight to spend the afternoon with. " Edinburgh: Walking and Whisky Tour

Charlotte🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Sonny)

29 November 2024

We hadden Jason ipv Sonny als gids. Het was een geweldige ervaring met hem. Hij vertelde bijzondere verhalen over de stad en zelfs met cameraploeg kregen wij alle aandacht en liet hij zich niet van z’n stuk brengen. Zeker een aanrader!

Linda

(About local GJ)

26 November 2024

We got to spend 3 hours walking the city, seeing and hearing amazing things and tasting really great local Scottish food. My husband and I did a tour with Gee for 3 hours incorporating our personal interests in sites in Edinburgh and including a stop at a local pub for lunch in which we were invited to try some local food. We were traveling with another couple who are very good friends of ours and were able to walk the city and see Dean Village, Grassmarket, a quick peak at the Royal Mile (we didn't want to spend tons of time there since it is so busy with tourists), both Old Town and New Town, Outlander site, Calton Hill and points of interest along the way between these spots. G was a wonderful guide and made the whole experience a high point of our time in Edinburgh. He shared many interesting and fun stories full of the history of Edinburgh. At the pub, we enjoyed (even though we doubted we would) Cullen Skink, Boiled Scottish eggs, Haggis Spring Rolls, and Smoked Salmon. Thanks to G’s gentle nudge we tried them all and loved them. We highly recommend G as this was one of the most fun things we did while there and we loved it that he tailored it specifically to what we had expressed we were interested in through a questionnaire provided prior to our arrival. We felt he went above and beyond our expectations for this tour. Take the tour with GJ and you wont be sorry you did!! Your Way: Edinburgh City Tour

Deirdre🇺🇸 United States

(About local Sonny)

4 October 2024

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Sonny.Great intro to Edinburgh

Robert

(About local Sonny)

14 September 2024

I went on Sonny's tour with my family and we all found it very interesting and enjoyable. Sonny has an extraordinary in-depth knowledge about his subject matter, he is an excellent guide and speaker, and we visited some really interesting places. On top of that he connected us with the homeless charities in Edinburgh, explained their role and important value to the city.Top tour in Edinburgh

Lucy-Rose

(About local Sonny)

21 May 2024

Sonny ran a fantastic tour for myself and my colleagues! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the stories he told us and the places he took us to visit. I would highly recommend this tour as you get to see a different perspective of Edinburgh than most of the touristy tours! Thanks Sonny, we loved it! Funny, entertaining tour!

Alexander🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Sonny)

5 December 2023

Sonny is a great person and an engaged guide, very friendly, courteous and reflective in what he is doing. He showed us a lot of sites, which you would usually ignore as a tourist (although a couple of famous places were also part of the tour). The whole tour helped us to better understand the city with regard to its social aspects and the everyday life of quite a lot of people living there and trying to purely survive. Moreover, Sonny is also entertaining, while keeping the balance between great legends of the city and serious stories about the hardships of life. He patiently waited at every stop, giving me the chance to translate for my dad, who was also glad to be on that tour and enjoyed it. We would do similar tours with "invisible cities" in other cities again, if there is a chance. It is a fantastic project und worth to support it. Making the invisible visible!

Randy

(About local Sonny)

25 August 2023

Sonny made this trip so very special! It was a small group (6 in total), and Sonny ensured everyone was fully engaged. We spent almost a week exploring Edinburgh and agree, hands-down, the time spent with Sonny ranked top of the list of our highlights. I recommend this tour. A highlight of our time in Edinburgh

Amy

(About local Sonny)

1 August 2023

I would definitely recommend this tour. We had such a lovely time with Sonny hearing about all the places crimes were committed and the punishments they received. We were also taught about the Scottish court system! Sonny was extremely helpful when explaining things to us and is an all round wonderful human! He is a credit to you all. Would recommend!!

Lara

(About local Sonny)

26 July 2023

We booked this tour as an educational activity for our work team and we had a great time with Sonny and Jason! Amazing to discover some of Edinburgh’s dark secrets as well as learning about how the city supports the homeless population. We really enjoyed the stories from Greyfriar’s Kirkyard - from the past and present! We could easily converse with our guides and they were both knowledgable and friendly. I imagine during the Fringe this being a very popular tour but it can be difficult to navigate the narrow streets at St Leonard’s and the busyness of the Royal Mile. Something to bear in mind if you do want to go as a large group! Thanks to our guides for a wonderful Wednesday afternoon. Wonderful Wednesday Walk