• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Did you know that the Edinburgh tour of your dreams exists? Yes, and it’s 100% personalized and created by your local host around your interests. Customize and see only the places that spark your interest. From classic landmarks to neighborhood walks - your wishes are our command!

Destination

Edinburgh, Scotland

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

3 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Dansk, Svenska

Included

• Private guide
• All Withlocals tours are carbon neutral

Excluded

• Entrance tickets
• Tastings
• Transport
• All of the above can be arranged with your local host through a personalized offer

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 13 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 In front of Paolozzi Restaurant & Bar - 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. This Experience is YOURS!

   See the landmarks and places in Edinburgh that you pick on a 100% personalized tour. Make this a one-of-a-kind experience that will satisfy your curiosity with the help of a local. All you have to do is tell them your preferences and interests

4. See THE Main Attractions

   What’s on your bucket list? Hop from landmark to landmark admiring them from the outside, and get recommendations from your local host on what’s the best way to enjoy them to the fullest

5. Off the Beaten Path

   What if there’s a way to see the city’s main attraction from a different angle? All of this while avoiding the touristy crowds? It’s possible with a local by your side!

6. Neighborhood Exploring

   Spend some time deep-diving into the neighborhoods of Edinburgh; there’s plenty of treasures to discover! From history, architecture, and local hangout spots, what area would you like to visit?

7. Amazing City Views

   Find the best lookout places in the city where you can spot your favorite landmarks as well as enjoy breathtaking views of the city - a picture-perfect personalized tour

8. All of Edinburgh

   Go on a full-day tour to see the highlights of the city. Pick the places, duration and let a local take you on a journey where you’ll cross the must-sees from Edinburgh off your list

9. 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

Oleksii🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

6 August 2025

The tour from Alice is something that can’t be substituted by a guidebook. As other reviews say, it’s an immersive storytelling experience. Alice’s skillfull and passionate storytelling keeps the audience - big or small - fully engaged, and connects the dots with the city: buildings, streets, events, legends all blend together helping you understand why the city is the way it is. A few hours with Alice have defined our understanding of magnificent Edinburgh for the rest of our stay, we kept returning to the stories we were told, finding theirs reflections in the city as we kept discovering more of it. We highly recommend this experience.Amazing story-driven tour!

Kristen🇺🇸 United States

(About local Laura)

6 August 2025

Laura did a great job giving us a tour of Edinburgh. She has a lot of background of the history of Edinburgh, stuff that isn’t all in the history books! Can’t recommend her enough. Great tour!!

Nancy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

14 July 2025

Out of our 14 day UK adventure our tour day with Alice was truly a highlight of the trip. She was fun, calm, not in a rush (critical with 2 young children), and super knowledgeable about the area. She is a captivating story teller and we felt as though we saw parts of Edinburgh that we would never have happened upon on our own. She was so patient with our group and very personable. Can't recommend her enough! Alice is THE BEST

Dennis🇺🇸 United States

(About local Oluf)

9 July 2025

Oluf was very personable and knowledgeable and made our tour around Edinburgh relaxed and easy. We had a great time and would recommend him to any group wanting an authentic Scottish guideGreat Day!

Kateryna🇪🇸 Spain

(About local Alice)

29 June 2025

This was our first trip to Edinburgh, and we absolutely loved the tour with Alice! She shared so many fun and shocking stories — it was both entertaining and unforgettable. Highly recommended from the bottom of our hearts!• It Was Absolutely Fantastic!

Michelle🇺🇸 United States

(About local Oluf)

26 June 2025

We are so happy we were able to book our tour with Oluf. He was very knowledgeable about Edinburgh and showed us things we would not have seen on any other tour! We appreciated his fascinating story telling which will make this trip an unforgettable experience. If you are thinking of booking a tour be sure to choose Oluf! Wonderful Afternoon!

Ryan

(About local Alice)

9 June 2025

Alice did a wonderful job tailoring our tour of Edinburgh to our family of five (children ages 15, 13, and 8). All of us were engaged throughout the tour, and Alice was able to answer our questions. She is a fantastic storyteller and made the city's history come to life. We travel frequently, and this is one of the best tours we've ever had.Fantastic Tour!

Christiane

(About local Alice)

2 June 2025

We had a wonderful afternoon with Alice, learning and walking around the city. We included the castle as well! We had flown in very early that morning and Alice more than kept us awake and entertained. Would certainly love to tour with Alice again. A wonderful afternoon in Edinburgh

Unknown

(About local Alice)

2 June 2025

This experience was exactly what we needed to introduce us to Edinburgh. So much interesting history and perfectly tailored to our taste. All Alice’s restaurant/ shop recommendations were also on point. Couldn’t recommend Alice more.Perfect!

Marianne🇦🇹 Austria

(About local Neil)

28 May 2025

If you’re going to walk around Edinburgh with Neil, you’re in for an absolute treat!! Being born and raised in Edinburgh, he knows every single nook and cranny (and close) there is! I asked Neil to pack in as much information about Edinburgh and Scotland as he could since it was my first time in this beautiful country and the start of my trip. And booooy did he deliver! The 3 hours just flew by as we walked up (up!!!!) and down the city, passing all the important spots and little hidden gems while listening to the stories (historical and personal) behind it. He is undeniably a fan of Robert Louis Stevenson, and after the tour, you surely become one too… With Neil by your side, you could walk to the world’s end and beyond ;-) And the care before and after the tour, making sure you are finding your way around the city and sending you the links and photographs of the “storytime”-Spots is just the nicest and sweetest touch! There isn’t a second chance for a first impression. And because of Neil, my first impression of Scotland couldn’t have been better!! Thank you so much Neil! You were a delight to tour with!☺️🤩🥰Fantastic Tour and beyound!!!

Terri

(About local Alice)

26 May 2025

Loved having a personalized tour with Alice on our first day in Edinburgh. We covered alot of ground and she shared stories, recommendations and tons of the history that Scotland is famous for. Perfectly pleasant in every way

kammerinke

(About local Svend-Erik)

24 May 2025

Perfect. Funny. Lots of Humor. Lots of knockledge. Thanks a lot, Erik!Perfect.

Monte🇺🇸 United States

(About local Neil)

10 May 2025

Neil knows the best views, restaurants and neat places to pop in for more info about Robert Louis Stevenson. He was very patient with ALL our questions picture taking and encouraged us to try haggis. We actually liked it! The hours flew by because we were having such a good time. He recommended other things for us to do in our own as well. HIGHLY recommend!The best custom tour of Edinburgh

Mike🇺🇸 United States

(About local Joe)

2 April 2025

Our Edinburgh tour with Joe was a top highlight of our group’s entire UK trip. He was super accommodating and personalized the tour to our various interests. Joe was very cool and personable, with no shortage of stories, history, and humorous anecdotes anywhere we went. He had a plethora of recommendations for after our tour as well. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Joe, highly recommend booking a tour with him!!Unforgettable tour with Joe!!

James

(About local Gains)

16 March 2025

We had a tremendous experience with Gains. He was so knowledgeable and accommodating. It was a tremendous experience. We highly recommend booking him for a tour. He’s a true professional!Old Town Edinburgh w/Gains

Marissa🇺🇸 United States

(About local Oluf)

11 August 2025

We booked a private walking tour of Edinburgh with Oluf for our family and had a wonderful experience! From the start, when we were working out timing and details for the tour, he was very accommodating. We walked all over the city and he shared so much information with us. His depth of knowledge on Scotland and its history was incredible. We all got so much from the afternoon.A Wonderful Afternoon!

Danny🇺🇸 United States

(About local Laura)

10 August 2025

Laura was great. Her knowledge was boundless, and you could feel her passion in everything she said. Highly recommend!Laura was fantastic!

stacey

(About local Oluf)

9 August 2025

Olaf was a very informative and flexible tour guide. He took us to the must see sights, with interesting stories, as well as some local favorites. Our small group of 3 felt it was the perfect way to spend the morning in Edinburgh. Great tour with Olaf

Christine

(About local Monica)

8 August 2025

Tolle Führung, viele Infos, supernette Frau!Ein großartiges Erlebnis!

Brian🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

6 August 2025

We had a great tour with Alice at Edinburgh Castle. It is a very popular attraction with many people wandering around but Alice made us feel as if we had the entire Castle to ourselves! Alice is very friendly and full of great stories about the Castle and its history. After our tour concluded, Alice made several nice recommendations of additional things we could explore on our own at the Castle such as The Prisons and viewing the Crown Jewels. We would highly recommend Alice as a guide- she’s great!A Castle to Remember

Brian🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

6 August 2025

My wife and I had a fantastic time exploring Edinburgh with Alice. It was our first time visiting and Alice was filled with many stories about the town and its historical figures. It was very crowded but Alice kept us moving down side alleys and into buildings to help us avoid the crowds. The three hours flew by and we left Alice with a smile on our face and great memories.Delightful Day in Edinburgh

Sonja🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Neil)

5 August 2025

Just a few words - great Guide who showed us a lot from Edinburgh. We visited many spots and we heard a lot from a local. We had a blast!!! 😊👍👏Evening with Neil

George Marc🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

5 August 2025

I highly recommend Alice as a tour guide. She was both informative and entertaining. She was always aware at what pace we needed to go at and the entire afternoon flew by.The Perfect Tour

Sarah🇫🇷 France

(About local Neil)

5 August 2025

Nous avons effectué une remarquable visite d'Edimbourg sous la conduite de notre guide, Neil qui est un natif de la ville, à présent à la retraite. Il a su nous faire partager sa passion et nous plonger dans l'histoire particulièrement riche de la ville et plus globalement de l'Ecosse. Neil est un guide qui s'exprime de manière extrêmement claire en anglais. Il est facilement compréhensible pour des touristes francophones et très à l'écoute. Ce fut un réel plaisir que d'effectuer cette visite avec un tel guide. Les trois heures en sa compagnie sont passées très vite et nous avons eu un très grand plaisir à prolonger cette rencontre par une bière au pub sur la Royal mile street. Tres belle visite guidée d'Edimbourg

Ashley🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alec)

3 August 2025

We absolutely loved our tour with Alec who was personable, knowledgeable and went above and beyond! He was prepared for any question we could ask and typically had additional information at his fingertips to share with us. Highly recommend! Wonderful experience with Alec

Gillian

(About local Laura)

3 August 2025

We really enjoyed our Tour of Edinburgh Castle with Laura - she was very personable and tailored the tour to us and our interests. She was open to any questions and was more than happy to stop when we needed a rest. Laura has a wide and varied knowledge of Edinburgh, its history, it's castle and Scotland and she brings this knowledge to life in a sometimes humorous and always interesting way. She was punctual and the meeting place was easy to find. We would really recommend Laura as a guide.Excellent Tour with Laura

Cameron🇺🇸 United States

(About local Chris)

3 August 2025

My family is still raving about our walking food tour with Chris! He is very knowledgeable about Edinburgh’s history and took us through various neighborhoods we would have otherwise missed. Along the way, we stopped at local establishments and tried delicious Scottish foods. He even accommodated our allergy requests. Book this tour now, you won’t regret it!Excellent experience

mathias🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Oluf)

3 August 2025

Best guide ever !Oluf is tnr best !:)

Michael

(About local Russell)

2 August 2025

Russel was very knowledgable and affable. He adapted the tour to account for activities we had already already booked. He showed up unique parts of Edinburgh and helped us understand the uniqueness of the city.

Victoria🇺🇸 United States

(About local Neil)

2 August 2025

Neil was one of the best guides I have ever had. His knowledge and passion of history is very evident. I especially appreciated his interest of Robert Louis Stevenson, one reason I chose him! I learned so very much Edinburgh history with him. He is a wealth of information. Very nice man. Next time I am in Edinburgh, we hope to see him again! Thank you Neil! Full of passion and history!

Gabby & Peter🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Chris)

31 July 2025

History is obviously one of Chris’s specialties. Chris engaged early and read his clients well. As we like to walk and explore, our 3 hour walking tour took us to a larger area than expected which was superb. Would recommend being introduced to Edinburgh by ChrisFriendly, engaging and very informative

Jason🇺🇸 United States

(About local Alice)

30 July 2025

Alice gave a very exciting tour and tailored it to our interests. What a great experience, highly recommend! Exceptional Private Tour in Edinburg

Jason🇺🇸 United States

(About local Gains)

30 July 2025

Gains provided excellent Castle tour for our family and tailored it to our needs. Great knowledge and experience. Thank you Gains! Excellent guide

Jason🇺🇸 United States

(About local Laura)

28 July 2025

Laura was the best tour guide! She knows Edinburgh so well and can take you to the seldom known most unique places that really impress. Great stories, history and knowledge! Wonderful experience, thank you Laura for your time and kindness! Jason, Nádia and Louie Exceptional guide!

Allan

(About local Alice)

27 July 2025

Alice was great fun and completely flexible to our needs . First time with a local tour. Another great way to enjoy Edinburgh. Highly recommend to all. Fun and spooky tour indeed

Arthur

(About local Alec)

26 July 2025

We had a great time with Alec on the food tour. At the beginning, he asked us a few questions to get an idea of our interests beyond food and quickly curated a lot of great sightseeing to go along with the snacks. Alec had great stories and histories to share about the town and kept the entire time very engaging. Because we were moving pretty quick, we also got to go on some bonus adventures, which was very welcomed. The food that was selected was great! If I had one critique, I would say that the back end of the tour where we sampled 4 different pies was a lot all at once. I think I would have preferred we did 1 or 2 pies (because you have to of course!) and maybe another quick stop for something different? However, we had such a great time on this tour and can't recommend it enough!Great Bites and Stories in Edinburgh

Heike🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Chris)

26 July 2025

Very interesting tour and Chriswas very flexible. Ask him a question and you will get the answers. We had a great tour with Chris!

Angel🇺🇸 United States

(About local Joe)

21 July 2025

Booked Joe the evening before! He was flexible with us on timing as we ran a little late getting out of the hotel. Joe offered an entertaining and educational walk all over Edinburgh. We were very impressed and so glad we hired him!! Don’t be deterred by his limited reviews. We were lucky to find him. Thanks Joe, we took all the history and fun facts with us across Scotland!Delighful and Insighful

Valerie

(About local Alice)

20 July 2025

Alice was great - we had a group of 9 - it was classic Scotland weather - a bit of drizzle off and on - and Alice rolled with it - a few minutes at the Story Telling Centre and then off we went. Lots of history and you can tell that she has a special love for her city. Thank you Alice for a great tour! Great way to tour Ednburgh!

Arne

(About local Monica)

20 July 2025

Wir hatten zu viert eine private Tour mit Monika. Das war super, sehr informativ , sie geht auf alle Fragen ein. Fragt zu Beginn nach unseren Interessen. Thanks a lotSuper

Kathleen🇺🇸 United States

(About local Svend-Erik)

18 July 2025

We totally enjoyed our walking tour the only bad part is it seemed to go to fast. Beautiful day to walk the town and Svend is truly a story teller. Kept us totally engaged would definitely book him again.Great Day in Edinburgh

Heather🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local GJ)

18 July 2025

G was fantastic! We could have spent the whole day listening to his stories and the history of Edinburgh. He had us all laughing and on the edge of our seats. If he is available to book- do not hesitate. Also sent us on our way with wonderful recommendations. Thank you G!

Inka

(About local Alice)

17 July 2025

For our first time visit in Edinburgh as a family with grown up kids, we booked a three hour tour with Alice: she is a great story-teller, we loved to learn about the secrets of Edinburgh. We had a very interesting and fun afternoon, Alice was warm and cheerful, we enjoyed every minute. Highly recommended Great experience

Asiya

(About local Alice)

17 July 2025

She is a wonderful guide, storyteller and person. She entertained and educated our student group flawlessly. Perfect!

5gmgnvz6sj

(About local GJ)

17 July 2025

G knew exactly what we were looking for and tailored the tour accordingly. He took the time to get to know us and that resulted in a personalized tour. He went the extra mile. He’s a Mind Reader!

Brecken🇺🇸 United States

(About local Neil)

16 July 2025

We had a fantastic afternoon exploring Edinburgh with Neil! His deep knowledge of the city's history, hidden gems, and fun facts kept us all engaged—and he even managed to keep our 9-year-old twins entertained the entire time. His warm personality and thoughtful recommendations made the experience feel like a day out with an old friend. He tailored the tour to our interests, added plenty of humor and charm, and shared insights we would’ve completely missed on our own. We ended the evening with a delicious dinner at a local spot Neil suggested—it was the perfect way to wrap up a truly memorable day. Highly recommend!A Perfect Day in Edinburgh with Neil!

Pam🇺🇸 United States

(About local Chris)

16 July 2025

Chris was fantastic! He was very knowledgeable in the history and the food was great. The tour was wonderful and we had a lot of fun.Great tour

Katie

(About local Chris)

15 July 2025

We loved our tour with Chris. He was incredibly knowledgeable of the city and took us to some really unique places. I don’t think we ever would have discovered or walked around the places he took us so it was all very fun to do. He even got my aunt to try haggis and she was adamant about not wanting to during our time here. This tour is a major highlight of our trip. Thanks again, Chris! Such a fun time!

Sona

(About local Alice)

15 July 2025

This was an excellent tour of the royal mile and Edinburgh castle. My family and I really enjoyed Alice’s stories on the history of the area. Thankyou Alice. Excellent tour for families

Emily🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Gains)

15 July 2025

Gains is extreamly knowledgable about scottish history. He helped us to orient ourselves in the city especially around the royal mile. Wether it was identifying the inspiration for Hogwarts and the validity as such, to the square by the writers museum which holds quotes of Scottish authors, he showed us hidden areas that would be easily missed by the casual visitor. If you have a love of history and want to engage with a likeminded individual Gains is your ideal tour guide.Great tour!