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Edinburgh Tour Help/Advice


Worldtraveler 4727
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Hello All~

I posted this on the British Isles site, 43 views so far, but no responses😢

I'm re-posting here hoping for some help.

We are two couples looking for a recommended SMALL tour company --or individual person--to show us Edinburgh and area.

We are not interested in visiting Stirling Castle or Loch Lomand since we will have done that already, so possibly Trossachs Natl Park, and touring the highlights of the city of Edinburgh a bit. 

Is there any other particular places/areas that we should consider visiting in and around Edinburgh?

Most importantly: Is there a particular company or individual that someone can recommend for the four of us?

Thanks in advance!

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1 hour ago, Worldtraveler 4727 said:

Hello All~

I posted this on the British Isles site, 43 views so far, but no responses😢

I'm re-posting here hoping for some help.

We are two couples looking for a recommended SMALL tour company --or individual person--to show us Edinburgh and area.

We are not interested in visiting Stirling Castle or Loch Lomand since we will have done that already, so possibly Trossachs Natl Park, and touring the highlights of the city of Edinburgh a bit. 

Is there any other particular places/areas that we should consider visiting in and around Edinburgh?

Most importantly: Is there a particular company or individual that someone can recommend for the four of us?

Thanks in advance!

We were on the Pacific BI cruise this past August.  We hired Tony Beattie in Edinburgh and he did a great job.   He answered all of my emails promptly.    We hired him to take 5 of us from the ship to the Tattoo and then pick us up.  All went very smoothly.  We also hired him to take us around Dumfries on a private tour the 2nd day we were there.  He did a great job and was on time, very knowledgable, honest and fair priced.  I would use him again in a heart beat.  

 

His name is Tony and his email is tonybeattie79@hotmail.co.uk

 

Tell him Debbie sent you!! 

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21 minutes ago, Worldtraveler 4727 said:

Thank you, Debbie!

How did you find him?

I did some searching on here and also i think on trip advisor.  He was awesome for sure.  Would use him again with no problems.   

 

We were not going to do a tour on the 2nd day.  That changed.  We took the free bus into the city and then walked around quite a bit.  Then we were going to taxi back but decided to call Tony and he was not busy so came right over and got us.  Took us on a great tour around the country side and we stopped at lots of little towns.  Wonderful day!

 

like i said a nice young man with his own van.   Honest and fair!!!

 

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I heard back from them:


The price is £52 per person.

The size of our coaches depends on the number of people that book the tour with us. We have a range of buses from 16 to 51 seaters but we are not able to confirm the exact size of the bus for your tour at the current moment.
 

This is not what I am looking for at all. I don't want more than 8 on a tour. I've had to cross TImberbush Tours off my list of possibilities. They did not indicate at all that they would accommodate a smaller group nor tailor a tour to our specific needs. 

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I did this cruise 3.5 years ago. I wrote a blog for it. Here is the link:

 

Edinburgh is addressed in post #126. We hired a private guide named Peter Milne. He was superb!

 

It was one of the best and saddest cruises I have done. It may be some time, but I will repeat it again some day.

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Edinburgh in August will be very busy, the Fringe is on.  Its an annual arts/ performance event.  

There are  guided walking tours as art of the Fringe, often with a theme (Ghosts, history,  comedy, art etc) and can be very unique! 

Make sure your camera is at the ready as you never know what you may see!

 If you want to see a particular show you need to book in advance, many hotels are fully booked a months in advance.

 

Take into account that travel times in and around the city can be greatly increased due to the Fringe.

 

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21 hours ago, Worldtraveler 4727 said:

Hello All~

I posted this on the British Isles site, 43 views so far, but no responses😢

I'm re-posting here hoping for some help.

We are two couples looking for a recommended SMALL tour company --or individual person--to show us Edinburgh and area.

We are not interested in visiting Stirling Castle or Loch Lomand since we will have done that already, so possibly Trossachs Natl Park, and touring the highlights of the city of Edinburgh a bit. 

Is there any other particular places/areas that we should consider visiting in and around Edinburgh?

Most importantly: Is there a particular company or individual that someone can recommend for the four of us?

Thanks in advance!

 

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15 hours ago, TracieABD said:

I did this cruise 3.5 years ago. I wrote a blog for it. Here is the link:

 

Edinburgh is addressed in post #126. We hired a private guide named Peter Milne. He was superb!

 

It was one of the best and saddest cruises I have done. It may be some time, but I will repeat it again some day.

Thanks for the link. I read through your review and took some notes. 

I was sorry, however, that I read all the way to the end....I was so sorry to hear of your mother's passing. 😢Since it's been a few years, I hope your heart has healed a bit and you are content with all your happy memories, Tracie. 

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1 hour ago, Worldtraveler 4727 said:

Thanks for the link. I read through your review and took some notes. 

I was sorry, however, that I read all the way to the end....I was so sorry to hear of your mother's passing. 😢Since it's been a few years, I hope your heart has healed a bit and you are content with all your happy memories, Tracie. 

Thank you very much for your kind words. It has been an adventure, for sure.

 

I made a spreadsheet with all of the contact info, tour groups, costs, etc. I am pretty sure I still have it somewhere. If you email me at Tracie <@> Carolina <.> rr <.> com, I will be happy to send it to you. I make one for every cruise/ trip. I find them to be very helpful.

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We have been to Edinburgh several times and have done a few tours, but through the ship so I cannot recommend a private tour company.

 

Nearby is the Falkirk Wheel which is used to raise and lower boats from one canal to another instead of usong a lock system.  It is difficult to discribe, but you could check it out on line.  In the same area are the statues of the Kelpies, which are mythical sea creatures.

 

Another interesting place close to the port is St. Andrews and the Old Course.  It was interesting even though we are not golfers.  

 

Have you considered a stop to see the Britannia?  We got there by bus from Waverly Stsation in Edinburgh.

 

Whatever you do, you will enjoy Edinburgh and the area.

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We did a long tour day with Clyde Coast Tours from Greenock to Edinburgh.  We saw the evening show of the Tattoo, but it included other sites along the way.  Check their website; I believe they have several tours.  I thought they were the best tour operators of all that we did.  We really enjoyed that day, not just the Tattoo part.

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Edinburgh is easy to DIY, not saying a tour isn’t good, just letting you know in case you’re interested. You can easily take the X99 bus direct from the tender port to/from Edinburgh for about 6 pounds each. We had originally planned on taking a taxi, but we waited a long time, and none came to the port. The X99 drops you off at the square by Harvey Nichols. From there, you can grab a taxi or Uber to the Royal Mile where you can tour Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, and all the other main sites. It’s best to be dropped off at the top of the hill where Edinburgh Castle is and make your way downhill to Holyrood. Along the walk are tons of cashmere shops, cafes, and Harry Potter places of significance. At the end, we took an Uber back to the square to catch the return bus. Hope that helps!

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17 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

We have been to Edinburgh several times and have done a few tours, but through the ship so I cannot recommend a private tour company.

 

Nearby is the Falkirk Wheel which is used to raise and lower boats from one canal to another instead of usong a lock system.  It is difficult to discribe, but you could check it out on line.  In the same area are the statues of the Kelpies, which are mythical sea creatures.

 

Another interesting place close to the port is St. Andrews and the Old Course.  It was interesting even though we are not golfers.  

 

Have you considered a stop to see the Britannia?  We got there by bus from Waverly Stsation in Edinburgh.

 

Whatever you do, you will enjoy Edinburgh and the area.

Thank you for your thoughts.

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17 hours ago, georgiacat said:

We did a long tour day with Clyde Coast Tours from Greenock to Edinburgh.  We saw the evening show of the Tattoo, but it included other sites along the way.  Check their website; I believe they have several tours.  I thought they were the best tour operators of all that we did.  We really enjoyed that day, not just the Tattoo part.

 

We are taking this same tour from Greenock. I am very happy to hear you had a great time!

The itinerary says we will get to Edinburgh about 4 - 5 pm and have time to find dinner before the Tattoo. I have read that Edinburgh is mobbed and it is difficult to find a place to eat. Can you tell me about your experience with that? Someone suggested we get reservations somewhere. I don't think we are looking for anything too fancy, just a good meal. 

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