Is the Royal Edinburgh Ticket worth it?
The Edinburgh City Pass costs £ 81 per adult. Here the bundle is set against the single tickets of the three attractions and the 48-hour bus ticket.
from £81
Get the Royal Edinburgh Ticket- Castle time slot reserved for you
- Voucher by email, redeem at Stop GG
Table of Contents
The short answer
For an adult who visits all three royal attractions and uses the bus, the Royal Edinburgh Ticket at £ 81 beats the single tickets bought online by about £ 15 - and by £ 27 against the prices at the ticket desks. The child ticket at £ 43 saves about £ 7 for children aged 7 to 15. The senior rate of £ 76 saves between £ 14 and £ 19, depending on age. Skip one attraction and the single tickets are cheaper; skip the bus as well and the gap widens.
The bigger argument is not the money: Edinburgh Castle sells its online tickets out regularly in summer, and once they are gone there are none at the gate. With the ticket, the Edinburgh Bus Tours staff reserve your Castle time slot when you exchange the voucher at Stop GG on George Street.
The calculation per person
Online prices of the attractions and of the 48-hour bus ticket in September 2026, against the three rates of the Royal Edinburgh Ticket:
| Adult | Child 7-15 | Senior 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh Castle, online ticket | £ 23.50 | £ 14.00 | £ 19.00 |
| Palace of Holyroodhouse, advance ticket | £ 22.00 | £ 11.00 | £ 22.00 |
| Royal Yacht Britannia, online ticket | £ 23.00 | £ 11.50 | £ 23.00 |
| Grand 48 hop-on hop-off ticket, online | £ 27.90 | £ 13.95 | £ 26.10 |
| Single tickets in total | £ 96.40 | £ 50.45 | £ 90.10 |
| Royal Edinburgh Ticket | £ 81.00 | £ 43.00 | £ 76.00 |
| Your advantage with the ticket | £ 15.40 | £ 7.45 | £ 14.10 |
At the ticket desks the picture is clearer still: on the day the Castle costs £ 26, the Palace £ 26, Britannia £ 25 and the Grand 48 £ 31 - £ 108 for an adult against £ 81, which is the £ 27 saving Edinburgh Bus Tours advertise. Seniors aged 60 to 64 pay the adult rate at the Castle and therefore save £ 18.60 with the ticket instead of £ 14.10.
Where the ticket does not pay off
- Children aged 5 and 6. Edinburgh Castle and Britannia admit children under 7 free of charge, the Palace charges £ 11 from age 5 and the bus £ 13.95. About £ 25 in single tickets against £ 43 for the child ticket - book the ticket for the adults only and buy the two single tickets for the little ones.
- Teenagers aged 16 and 17. They pay the adult rate of £ 81 on the ticket, but still count as young persons at the Palace (£ 11) and at Britannia (£ 11.50): about £ 74 in single tickets. The gap is small, and the Castle slot guarantee may still be worth it in July and August.
- Only one or two attractions. Castle plus Palace plus bus comes to £ 73.40 online. If Leith is not on your plan, buy the single tickets.
- Rainy days on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. From 15 September 2026 to 31 May 2027 the Palace of Holyroodhouse is closed on those two days. Put the Palace on the other day of your 48 hours; if you only have a Tuesday and a Wednesday, the ticket loses its second pillar.
How to get the full value
Redeem the voucher in the morning of day one at Stop GG on George Street, take the Castle slot for the same morning and continue to the Palace with the City Sightseeing bus in the afternoon. Day two belongs to Leith: the Regal Tour stops at Ocean Terminal, where Britannia is berthed. The 48 hours of bus travel run from your first ride, so two full days fit comfortably. All stops and frequencies are on the page Bus routes; the three rates are explained on the page Prices.
Quick check
Which Edinburgh plan fits your 48 hours?
Start from a realistic plan for the ticket. Remove or add attractions with one click; the result updates immediately. Values are the online prices per adult.
Castle and Palace on day one, Britannia in Leith by Regal Tour on day two - the plan the ticket was made for.
Your result
For this plan, the pass is likely worth it.
- Individual tickets
- £96.40
- City Pass
- £81.00
Price advantage with the pass: £15.40 (16 %)
See all tariffsView and adjust your plan 4 selected attractions
Plus the comfort advantage
The ticket is more than a price bundle: one voucher instead of four bookings, the Castle time slot reserved at the counter, and the bus timed to the three sights.
- One voucher instead of four separate bookings
- Castle time slot reserved for you, even when online tickets are sold out
- Three bus routes linking the Old Town, Holyrood and Leith
Questions about the calculation
What the numbers mean for your group. All answers are on the FAQ page.
Is the ticket worth it for children? +
For children aged 7 to 15 yes: the single tickets add up to about £ 50 against £ 43 for the child ticket. For children aged 5 and 6 no: Edinburgh Castle and Britannia admit them free, so single tickets come to about £ 25.
Which concession rate applies? +
The £ 76 rate is the senior rate from age 60. Edinburgh Castle grants its own concession only from 65, the Palace and Britannia have no senior rate - so a 60-year-old saves more with the ticket than a 70-year-old.
What if I only want to see the Castle? +
Then buy a single Castle ticket online and in good time - in summer the online quota regularly sells out. The ticket pays off from two of the three attractions plus the bus.
Your plan fits the ticket?
Get the Royal Edinburgh Ticket now - the voucher arrives by email and your Castle slot is reserved when you redeem it.