The verdict
Twelve tours, three different undergrounds and a set of listings that all say roughly the same thing. Here is a straight recommendation for each kind of visitor, and the reasoning behind each one, so you can disagree with it usefully.
Quick answer
For a first underground hour in Edinburgh, book the standard vaults tour at $25: 12,500 reviews, genuine 1788 chambers, and the clearest look at them. If you would rather see a preserved street than empty rooms, book Mary King’s Close at $36, which rates highest here at 4.7. For teenagers, the Edinburgh Dungeon at $24 — an attraction, not a historical site.
Book direct
Twelve tours, cheapest first, with which underground each one enters.
★ 4.4 · 1,871 reviews
★ 4.6 · 1,716 reviews
★ 4.4 · 4,063 reviews
★ 4.4 · 2,068 reviews
★ 4.5 · 12,500 reviews
★ 4.6 · 7,277 reviews
★ 4.6 · 4,571 reviews
★ 4.3 · 885 reviews
★ 4.5 · 2,754 reviews
★ 4.7 · 614 reviews
★ 4.7 · 4,457 reviews
★ 4.7 · 2,798 reviews
The reasoning
If you disagree with a verdict, this is the part to argue with.
It carries more reviews than the other nine listings combined, it is an hour rather than ninety minutes of walking, and it puts you in the chambers rather than near them. At $25 it is also not the dearest.
It is the only underground site in the city that still looks like a place people lived. That is why it rates 4.7 and why it costs $36.
At $20 it is a genuine vaults tour, not a compromise. You get less time and a bigger group, and you go under the same bridge.
Ninety minutes with the 1788 viaduct as the actual subject. The one to book if you find yourself reading about arches rather than about ghosts.
Same chambers, eleven at night, higher age limit, and pitched deliberately. It is honest about being a performance.
An attraction with actors and rides on Market Street. Excellent for teenagers, and not a historical site. Booking it by accident is the commonest mistake in this niche.
The one decision that matters more than any ranking is which underground you meant.
The vaults against the close→Every trip, current fare
Cheapest first, with cost per hour and which underground each one enters.
| Tour | Length | Price | Which underground | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Town & Underground Ghost TourThe cheapest hour under the bridge | 1 h | $20 | The vaults | $20.00 | 4.4 · 1,871 |
| The Edinburgh DungeonAn attraction with actors, not a historical site | 80 min | $24 | None — an attraction | $18.00 | 4.6 · 1,716 |
| Evening Underground Ghost TourThe evening slot in the South Bridge vaults | 75 min | $24 | The vaults | $19.20 | 4.4 · 4,063 |
| Old Town & Underground Historical TourThe bridge and the chambers as the actual subject | 1.5 h | $25 | The vaults | $16.67 | 4.4 · 2,068 |
| Underground Vaults TourThe standard vaults tour, most reviewed in the city | 1 h | $25 | The vaults | $25.00 | 4.5 · 12,500 |
| Haunted Vaults & Graveyard TourA kirkyard and the vaults in one evening | 1.5 h | $27 | The vaults | $18.00 | 4.6 · 7,277 |
| Late-Night Vaults Terror TourThe late slot, run harder | 75 min | $27 | The vaults | $21.60 | 4.6 · 4,571 |
| Extreme Paranormal Underground Ghost TourThe vaults and a kirkyard, played for fright | 75 min | $27 | Vaults + kirkyard | $21.60 | 4.3 · 885 |
| Multi-Sensory Haunted UndergroundThe original Blair Street vaults tour | 75 min | $34 | Blair Street vaults | $27.20 | 4.5 · 2,754 |
| Small-Group Historic Vaults TourThe Blair Street chambers, in a small group | 75 min | $34 | Blair Street vaults | $27.20 | 4.7 · 614 |
| Real Mary King's CloseA street the city built over in 1753 | 1 h | $36 | Mary King's Close | $36.00 | 4.7 · 4,457 |
| Vaults Evening Tour with WhiskyTwo hours, ending with a dram underground | 2 h | $39 | The vaults | $19.50 | 4.7 · 2,798 |
Common questions
The standard vaults tour at $25 for a first visit — genuine 1788 chambers and 12,500 reviews, more than the other nine listings combined. If you would rather see a preserved street, Mary King’s Close at $36.
By score, Mary King’s Close and the two-hour vaults tour with whisky, both at 4.7. By weight of evidence, the standard vaults tour, whose 4.5 rests on 12,500 ratings.
$20 for an hour that covers the Old Town above and then goes into the vaults. It is a genuine vaults tour rather than a walking tour that passes a doorway.
Only if the second is a different underground. Two vaults tours from the same operator will show you overlapping rooms. The vaults and then Mary King’s Close, on different days, is the pairing that works.
No. The dearest here is the two-hour tour with a dram at $39, and what the money buys is time rather than better chambers. The most-booked tour costs $25.
Go deeper
Built in 1788, used for thirty years, abandoned, and dug out again.
The closeA street built over in 1753 and lived in until 1902.
The bridgeNineteen arches, one of them visible, and 120 chambers inside.
The whole thingWhat is actually beneath the Old Town, and what is only a story.
Which vaultsDifferent chambers under the same bridge, and who runs which.
Side by sideThe comparison everybody makes, with a straight verdict.
