Are Edinburgh ghost tours worth it?

Short answer: the good ones are, and the guide is the entire product. The rooms, the kirkyards and the closes are free to look at; what you are booking is somebody who can hold a group in the dark and tell a story that is mostly true. Ratings across the six tours we compare run from 4.3 to 4.8, and the gap is almost entirely about tone rather than quality. Read the listing before you book: it tells you whether you are getting history or theatre.

What you bookThe guide, not the rooms

Ratings spread4.3 to 4.8

Most reviewed12,464 on the flagship

Most theatricalThe 18+ extreme tour

Least theatricalThe Blair Street history tour

Typical length1 to 2 hours

How to read a listing for substance

Everything you need is on the page before you book, and most people skim past it. A listing that names a museum, a film, audio devices, artefacts or a small-group guarantee is telling you it intends to explain. A listing that leads with characters, costumes, catching evidence or a minimum age of 18 is telling you it intends to perform. Both are legitimate and neither is a con. The unhappy reviews almost always come from someone who booked one and wanted the other.

What works

A good guide turns an empty room into the best hour of the trip
The Old Town gives them genuinely grim material to work with
Short formats: an hour is a low bet on a stranger
Free cancellation on the listings we link, usually to 24 hours before

Worth knowing

The rooms themselves are bare — there is nothing to look at
Theatrical tours divide people sharply; the 4.3 rating is that split
No step-free route on any underground tour
A big review count matters more than a high average from few reviews

What reviewers actually praise

Names, almost every time. Beverley from South Africa wrote that Jordan was “full of humour, engaging stories, and a tad bit creepy”. Sandy in the UK said of the witches walk that “Juniper was amazing — her energy and knowledge was unmatched”. Natasha called the same tour a “perfect balance of humour and respect”, which is the phrase I would use as a test for the whole category. On the extreme tour, Grace said James “was so funny and made the experience so memorable”. Nobody praises the brickwork.

Insider tip

Check the review count as well as the score. A 4.6 average across twelve thousand people tells you an operator is consistent on a wet Tuesday in February; a 4.8 from a few hundred tells you less, though the witches walk earns its rating either way.

Which to book if you want the history

The Blair Street history tour is the least theatrical of the six. If you want atmosphere with the history, the vaults and Greyfriars tour pairs the kirkyard with the chambers and rates 4.6 across 7,299 reviews. More on the split in the haunted question and which tour is best.

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Frequently asked questions

Are Edinburgh ghost tours actually scary?

Some are built to be and some are not. The adults-only extreme tour is the most theatrical of the six; the Blair Street history tour never tries. See the haunted question.

Which Edinburgh ghost tour is the best?

It depends whether you want history or theatre. By review weight the one-hour South Bridge tour leads; by average the above-ground witches walk does. Compared here.

Do ghost tours go inside the vaults?

Five of the six we compare do — three into the South Bridge chambers, two into Blair Street. The witches walk stays at street level.