London to Edinburgh Day Trip Adventure

See the best of the Scottish capital on this independent day trip from London to Edinburgh. Travel by train through England’s countryside and jump aboard your hop-on hop-off city tour in Edinburgh. Wander along the Royal Mile — a UNESCO World Heritage site — and marvel at the Scottish Crown Jewels inside Edinburgh Castle. Gaze up at the Scott Monument and visit the Scotch Whisky Heritage Center. With your rail travel, hop-on hop-off bus tour (if option selected) and entry to Edinburgh Castle all included, you’re free to explore Edinburgh at your leisure.

Meeting Point

King’s Cross

Euston Rd., London N1 9AL, UK

Please do not wait to meet our staff at the train station as we do not conduct in-person departures. This tour is unescorted.

What's included:

• Entrance to Edinburgh Castle
• Hop on Hop off tour of Edinburgh
• Return train journey with reserved seats

Not included:

• Guide (Unescorted tour)
• Hotel pickup and drop off
• Food and drinks, unless specified

What to expect:

Duration: 16 hours

Edinburgh Castle

Castlehill, Edinburgh, EH1 2NG

Edinburgh Castle is a historic fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position on the Castle Rock. Archaeologists have established human occupation of the rock since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear.

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

St Giles' Cathedral

High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1RE

St Giles' Cathedral, also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh. Its distinctive crown steeple is a prominent feature of the city skyline, at about a third of the way down the Royal Mile which runs from the Castle to Holyrood Palace

20 minutes

Princes Street Gardens

54 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4BA

Princes Street Gardens are two adjacent public parks in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in two phases in the 1770s and 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, beginning in the 1760s.

15 minutes

Edinburgh Old Town

Edinburgh, EH1

Visitors pack the Old Town, a bustling area of centuries-old buildings and narrow alleys. At its heart, perched on an extinct volcano, Edinburgh Castle is home to Scotland’s crown jewels. The Royal Mile, a steep street lined with traditional pubs, casual eateries, souvenir shops and small museums, runs from the castle to the Scottish Parliament and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen’s Scottish residence.

30 minutes

Royal Mile

High St., , Edinburgh, EH1 2PB

The Royal Mile is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W M Gilbert's Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century (1901), "...with its Castle and Palace and the royal mile between", and was further popularised as the title of a guidebook, published in 1920.

40 minutes

Princes Street

53 Princes Street, , Edinburgh, EH2 2DG

Princes Street is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1 mile (1.6 km) from Lothian Road in the west, to Leith Street in the east. The street has virtually no buildings on the south side, allowing panoramic views of the Old Town, Edinburgh Castle, and the valley between. Most of the street is limited to trams, buses and taxis with only the east end open to all traffic.

45 minutes

Holyrood Park

Holyrood Park Education Centre 1 Queen's Drive, , Edinburgh, EH8 8HG

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland, Queen Elizabeth II.

Pass by without stopping

Palace of Holyroodhouse

Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8DX

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland, Queen Elizabeth II.

Pass by without stopping

National Museum of Scotland

Chambers Street, , Edinburgh, EH1 1JF

The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Museum, with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world cultures.

Pass by without stopping