Practical
Edinburgh underground tour: what to expect down there
Everything on this page is genuinely underground, which means a set of practical facts that no listing states plainly: how cold it is, how many stairs there are, how low the ceilings go and how dark dark actually is. None of it is difficult. All of it is easier if somebody tells you first.
Quick answer
Expect about 10°C all year, stone stairs, low ceilings in places, and total darkness apart from what your guide carries. A vaults tour runs 60 to 90 minutes, of which 45 to 60 are underground. None of the underground tours are wheelchair accessible, most set a minimum age, and photography is usually allowed without flash.
What to expect, at a glance
- Temperature
- ~10°Call year, August included
- Tour length
- 60–120 minof which 45–60 underground
- Stairs
- Yesstone, sometimes steep, sometimes damp
- Ceilings
- Low in placesenough that tall visitors duck
- Light
- Whatever the guide hasno daylight, no residual light at all
- Wheelchair access
- Noneon any underground tour here
- Minimum age
- Usually yeshigher on the late-night slots
- Photography
- Usually allowedno flash on most tours
- Toilets
- Not undergroundgo before you start
- What to wear
- A layer and closed shoesthe single most useful sentence here
The cold
How cold is it in the Edinburgh underground?
Ten degrees, damp, and a bigger shock in August than in January.
About ten degrees Celsius, and it does not vary much across the year. There is no daylight reaching the chambers and effectively no ventilation, so they sit at the temperature of the surrounding stone and stay there.
In January that is barely a change from the street. In August, coming down from a warm afternoon in a T-shirt, the drop of eight or ten degrees in the twenty seconds it takes to descend the stair is genuinely startling, and it is the single most common thing people say they wish they had taken seriously.
It is also damp. Not wet underfoot on the toured routes, but the air carries moisture and that makes ten degrees feel colder than ten degrees on a dry street. A layer you can put on at the bottom of the stair solves the whole problem and weighs nothing.
Mary King’s Close is milder than the vaults — it is a maintained site under a heated building — but it is still cooler than the street and the same advice applies.
Before you go
Six practical things nobody tells you
All six come from the reviews rather than from the listings.
- Wear closed shoes with a sole
Stone stairs, worn smooth in places, occasionally damp. Nothing about the route is difficult, but this is not the day for smooth soles.
- Bring a layer you can carry
You will not want it on the street and you will want it within a minute of going down.
- Eat first if the tour is late
The evening and late-night slots run through dinner time and there is nothing underground.
- Use the toilet before you start
There are none in the chambers, and the tours run an hour or more without an exit point.
- Expect the dark to be complete
No windows, no gaps, no light under a door. If a guide turns the lamp off, that is total darkness rather than dimness, and it is deliberate.
- Tell the guide if enclosed spaces bother you
They will keep you near the front and near the doorways, and they would rather know at the start than halfway down. If it bothers you a lot, take an above-ground Old Town tour instead.
If the tight spaces are the concern, the other underground is roomier and better lit.
Mary King's Close, in full→Every trip, current fare
Every tour, with its length
Twelve tours, cheapest first. The length column includes the time above ground, so read forty-five to sixty minutes of any vaults tour as the underground part.
| 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
What to expect, answered
How cold are the Edinburgh vaults?
About ten degrees Celsius all year. There is no daylight and no ventilation, so the chambers sit at the temperature of the stone. Bring a layer, especially in summer.
Are Edinburgh underground tours claustrophobic?
The vaults are genuinely enclosed — low ceilings in places, no daylight, and rooms that open into one another rather than onto anything. Mary King’s Close is roomier. If tight spaces are a real problem, an Old Town walking tour covers the same history from the street.
Are Edinburgh underground tours wheelchair accessible?
No. Every underground site here is reached by stone stairs, and none of them are accessible. Operators state this on the listing.
How many stairs are there?
It varies by entrance, but expect one flight of stone steps down and the same back up. They are sometimes steep and occasionally damp.
Can you take photos on an Edinburgh underground tour?
On most tours, without flash. It is very dark, so a phone camera will struggle regardless of permission.
Is there an age limit for underground tours?
Most operators set a minimum age, and the late-night slots set a higher one. It is on the listing, and it is worth checking before booking for a family.
How long are you actually underground?
Forty-five to sixty minutes on most vaults tours. The rest of the advertised length is spent above ground, which is where the guide explains what you are about to stand inside.
Go deeper
More on the Edinburgh underground
The Edinburgh vaults
Built in 1788, used for thirty years, abandoned, and dug out again.
The closeReal Mary King's Close
A street built over in 1753 and lived in until 1902.
The bridgeThe South Bridge
Nineteen arches, one of them visible, and 120 chambers inside.
The whole thingThe underground city
What is actually beneath the Old Town, and what is only a story.
Which vaultsBlair Street or Niddry Street
Different chambers under the same bridge, and who runs which.
Side by sideVaults or the close?
The comparison everybody makes, with a straight verdict.
