Edinburgh Vaults tour reviews
Six tours go into — or, in one case, deliberately past — the Edinburgh Vaults, and they are not variations on one product. Two operators hold two different sets of chambers, one tour never goes underground at all, and one is strictly adults only. I have written each of them up separately below: what the tour actually does with its hour or two, who it suits, and who should book a different one. If you want the comparison in a single table instead, that is on all tours.
The six, rated
Ratings and review counts are the operators’ live GetYourGuide figures. I have not adjusted them and I have not left the low one out.
Underground Vaults Tour
The most-reviewed of the six. South Bridge chambers, a live guide, nothing bolted on.
1 hourRead the full review ›
Evening Ghost Tour with Whisky
Blair Street, small group, audio devices, and a drink by candlelight in a cellar.
2 hoursRead the full review ›
Haunted Vaults and Graveyard Tour
Greyfriars Kirkyard first, then the South Bridge vaults. Twelve and over.
1.5 hoursRead the full review ›
Historic Vaults Small-Group Tour
The history-first one: the deepest Blair Street chambers, a museum and artefacts you can hold.
75 minutesRead the full review ›
Witches and History Old Town Walk
Highest-rated of the six, and the only one with no vault stairs. Street level throughout.
75 minutesRead the full review ›
Extreme Paranormal Ghost Tour
Adults only, after dark, heavy on theatre. The lowest-rated of the six and the most divisive.
75 minutesRead the full review ›About that 4.3
The Extreme Paranormal tour sits at 4.3 from 886 ratings, which is a good score in most contexts and the weakest of this particular six. The reviews split cleanly rather than trailing off: people who booked it for the performance came out delighted, and people who booked it expecting the history of the chambers came out feeling they had been sold a jump-scare. It is 18+ and it does not pretend otherwise, so read the listing carefully before you book it for a group with different appetites in it.
How I read these listings
The rooms underground are the same bare brick for everyone. What varies is the guide, the chambers you are let into, and what the operator hands you besides the talking — audio devices, a museum, a film, a drink, an artefact. So I read every listing for those four things, then for the practical filters: minimum age, the stairs, and whether the tour leans on history or on theatre. More on that method on are Edinburgh ghost tours worth it and which vaults tour is best.
None of the six is step-free. Every vault tour here has a spiral staircase in it and the South Bridge entrance has a two-foot step at the threshold — the accessibility page sets out what that means in practice, and the witches walk is the only one of the six with no vault stair at all.
Frequently asked questions
Are these reviews independent?
Yes. I am not a tour operator and I do not sell tickets. Booking links go to GetYourGuide and earn this site a commission, which is set out on the affiliate disclosure page, and it does not change what I write — the lowest-rated tour of the six gets its own review here rather than a quiet omission.
Which Edinburgh Vaults tour has the best reviews?
The Witches and History walk is the highest-rated at 4.8, but it stays above ground. Of the tours that actually go underground, the whisky tour and the historic small-group tour both sit at 4.7.
Do all six go into the same vaults?
No, and this is the thing people get wrong. Three go into the South Bridge chambers on the Niddry Street side, two go into the separate Blair Street vaults held by a different operator, and one does not go underground at all.