Edinburgh Self-Guided City Walking Tour & Scavenger Hunt

Duration2h

Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before

Instant confirmationYour booking is confirmed right away

TicketMobile or paper ticket accepted

LanguagesNorwegian, German, Hindi, Swedish, Finnish, Russian, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese, Greek, Cantonese, English, Italian, French, Hungarian, Spanish, Czech, Ukrainian, Japanese, Chinese, Polish, Danish, Romanian, Dutch, Turkish

Private tourOnly your group will participate

Overview

Edinburgh built a castle on a volcano and a city around it — this tour connects the old stones to the stories behind them.

This app-led scavenger hunt takes you through Edinburgh on foot, using phone-based riddles to guide you from one landmark to the next. No guide, no fixed start time.

• Follow clues along the Royal Mile past Edinburgh Castle and John Knox House, finishing at the Palace of Holyroodhouse — nearly a thousand years of Scottish history on one walk
• Set off whenever you're ready and go at whatever speed suits the weather (it's Edinburgh, plan for variety)
• Riddles, photo tasks, and a group leaderboard make this a great day out for families, couples, and groups

Available in 24 languages including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian — see the full list when booking and choose yours when you start the game in the app.
Around 2 hours - any group size.

Spot a ghost, solve a riddle, or just blame the weather — Edinburgh always delivers.

What's included

Free download of the Explorial App from your appstore (iOS or Android smartphone required)
Points and scoring system: Compete between players of your group and beat the cities high score.
Live Location: navigate within the map with marked locations. Always know where you are.
Learn about the cities stories, history, and local legends
Total flexibility: no waiting, start anytime, walk at own pace and do as many breaks as you want.
Self-guided walking tour with interactive riddles, trivia challenges and photo tasks.

Live-Guide: 100% self-guided; no one will meet you or join your group. Start anytime you want.
Entrance fees are not required for this game. All puzzles relate to the public areas of the sights
This is not an audio guide but an sightseeing, gaming and learning experience

What to expect

Starting at Princes Street Gardens Playground, West End, Edinburgh EH2 3AA, open the Explorial app and enter the 6-digit game code that you received by text and Viator chat message to begin.

From Princes Street Gardens — with the castle looming above and the city buzzing below — the route heads into the Old Town and up the Royal Mile. The first riddles explore the towering Edinburgh Castle, built on an extinct volcano and commanding views across the city and far beyond.

The trail then winds down into the medieval closes and wynds of the High Street to John Knox House, one of Edinburgh's oldest surviving buildings and home to the reformer who helped shape Scottish Protestantism.

From here, the app guides you down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official Scottish residence of the British monarch, where centuries of turbulent royal history play out in stone and tapestry.

Around 2 hours of walking, any group size. A fully charged smartphone with mobile data is required.

Edinburgh Castle

Meeting and pickup

Meeting point

Book your Explorial tour today. Start whenever you want.

*** After booking, you’ll receive your game code via text message and a Viator message.

*** Download the Explorial app for free.

*** Head to the meeting point and enter the game code provided (6 digits) to start the tour.

End point

Book your Explorial tour today. Start whenever you want.

*** After booking, you’ll receive your game code via text message and a Viator message.

*** Download the Explorial app for free.

*** Head to the meeting point and enter the game code provided (6 digits) to start the tour.

Additional information

Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Max 15 people per booking. For larger groups, make multiple bookings.
After booking you receive a text message and a Viator message with your game code. Download the Explorial app from your appstore. Open the app, enter your 6 digit game code
Weather & Health Guarantee: If bad weather or illness prevents you from starting the tour, you can simply reschedule it for another day. You can also rebook to a different city or request a refund
Smartphone required: Bring your own fully charged smartphone with an active mobile data connection to the start of the tour. Please disable any VPN and avoid city Wi-Fi, as these will cause the app to malfunction or disconnect.
Recommended attire: It’s best to wear weather-appropriate clothing and comfortable walking shoes — approx. 2 hours of light walking

Cancellation policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Reviews

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