Edinburgh's underground network of vaults, which dates from the 1700s, is one of the most fascinating parts of the city to explore. To truly understand these former slum dwellings, and their dark histories, you need to explore them in the company of a guide who can provide all of the necessary context, background information and spooky stories.

Guided tours of Edinburgh's underground network of vaults
Go underground and explore one of Edinburgh's most fascinating locations
Learn all about the history of the vaults from your guide
Hear stories of the unfortunate inhabitants of the vaults

What's Included

Admission Ticket

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

300 Lawnmarket
300 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PH, UK
Tours starts from the Tourist Information Police Box outside of 300 Lawnmarket. It is on the opposite side of the road to Deacon Brodies Tavern. Please be there at least 5-10 minutes early as we depart promptly at the tour time and we will not wait for latecomers.

End point

45 Niddry St
45 Niddry St, Edinburgh EH1 1LG, UK
The tour ends next tour office at 45 Niddry Street.

What To Expect

Royal Mile

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Edinburgh Vaults

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Vaults are accessed via a 2ft stair with further average size stairs inside the vaults.
Not recommended for children under 12 years of age.
Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by a Parent or Guardian

Anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be turned away.
Alcohol and Drugs strictly forbidden on the tour.
Filming or live streaming of the tour is strictly forbidden. You may be ejected from the tour.
Office hours are 10am-5pm for all calls & emails
• Some historical content may be of a distressing nature with regards but not exclusively to Torture, Hangings, Death
• Children under 2 years of age not allowed on tour.
The walking pace and terrain may not be suitable for those with any difficulty walking.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 36 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

1,551 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 1,551 reviews

Value for money walk tour

Rahul_A, Sep 2023

Quite an experience. Very well orated by the officer in charge. Value for money . Quite knowledgeable and well explained

Ouch!!!

Daniel_N, Sep 2023

Room with torture instruments. Very scary. I don't have anything else to add. One, two, three, four, five, six. Is that enough?

The underground vaults...

Raman_D, Sep 2023

The underground vaults were super creepy. We enjoyed the eerie vibe. Our guide Ally was a great story teller.

Excellent

Melisa_P, Sep 2023

What a hauntingly fabulous tour! Our guide Ally was most informative about the history of the vaults and surrounding areas.

Very interesting slice of history

Stephen_L, Sep 2023

Not a scary experience unless you're afraid of the dark (it's not dark, just dimly lit at times) or you consider hearing how people lived back then as horrifying. The guide was fantastic. Knowledgeable and witty, she made the stories entertaining. The passages and structures you see are amazing.

Want something different?

Levi_P, Sep 2023

Stew was great! It was great seeing a different side of Edinburg! The operator was kind enough for us to reschedule!

Interesting and knowledgeable

Mitchel_W, Sep 2023

Really interesting cool atmosphere energetic guide lots of cool facts about Edinburgh. Really enjoyed the tour was lots of fun

Awesome

Annette_M, Sep 2023

A very good tour, good balance between education and entertainment. Darren the tour guide was awesome.

Tour good, guide needs improvement

Kandee_W, Sep 2023

The tour was good, the guide needs improvement. He didn't wait for the entire group to get close before beginning his commentary, nor did he encourage people to move in closer so all could hear. His voice needs to project more. We missed half of the tour because of this. The tour only lasted 3/4 of what it should have so there was time to have allowed all to hear. I would rather have meet at the vaults since I missed most of the tour guided experience walking there. You must be able to step up a step that is two feet high. There is a handrail to help but a block, to act like a step, stored inside the locked gate that could be pulled out would be better. The guides tip is me not using his name in this review.

Do the vaults

John_B, Sep 2023

Very interesting presentation on Edinburgh history. Sophie was a very energetic guide. Great presentation & very knowledgeable.

Walking tour

Russell_D, Sep 2023

Good way to spend an hour or so learning a bit about Edinburgh. James made it fun and enjoyable whilst showing everyone around.

Stew was a brill guide!

Rebecca_S, Aug 2023

A really fun, gruesome and interesting tour, that gives you the jump scares. Me and my 15 year old son loved it. We had Stew and he was ace.

Short tour and worked...

Max_M, Aug 2023

Short tour and worked very well for us since we had just arrived. Was great to see inside the vaults and our. guide was great, and we learned later exploring bars that even some of them work out of there as well!

Very Good. Highly recommend.

Stuart_M, Aug 2023

Great guide and great delivery. I enjoyed the history and the different perspective of a night tour / underground tour.

The story of the vaults...

Attila_R, Aug 2023

The story of the vaults (their building and their rediscovery) was interesting. Also the Wicca-stuff was surprising.

Great tour guide and fun tour!

Kris, Aug 2023

Great tour guide and fun tour! We heard some great history of the city and went into some of the vaults that exist under the city. Our tour guide was very funny and did a great job with the spooky part of the tour as well. I would definitely recommend it.

Darren was an amazing...

Susan_B, Aug 2023

Darren was an amazing storyteller and had us all captivated. I highly recommend this tour. Thank you Darren.

Scary and entertaining

Rosalind_F, Jul 2023

Jordan made the tour funny and scary at the same time! So enjoyable and we learnt a lot about the history of Edinburgh.

Fun, scary, interesting and an experience you'll never forget!

maya_j, Jul 2023

What an amazing tour!! We booked it for an amazing price, and got such an enjoyable and fun experience but of it. Our tourguide Jordan was very good at sharing information about the vaults and answering questions afterwards. The vaults themselves were super interesting as well, and if you're a fan of history but also the paranormal, this is definitely the tour for you as the guide is excellent at adding a mysterious vibe to the tour. All in all, we were a group of history buffs and paranormal activity lovers who were very big fans of this trip and our guide. Can only recommend! :)

A must do in Edinburgh

Chantal_J, Jul 2023

Sid was a great tour guide despite us being his last group of the day and I'm sure he was exhausted. Sid did a great job explaining things, engaging the crowd and putting on a character . I have already recommended this tour to some friends. I was exhausted and wasn't sure if I should make the 9pm tour but am really glad I did!

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