Edinburgh

Family-friendly Activities

Embark on an interactive chocolate experience, from chocolate tree to Scottish chocolate bar with an expert guide. Smell the roasting chocolate and see how chocolate is transformed from bitter beans to sweet, smooth chocolate. See real chocolate fruit and taste chocolate samples at different stages of the production process. In the Chocolate Kitchen, choose your own bar design, select your favorite flavors and create your own personalized bar, ready to collect at the end of your tour. While you are waiting for your chocolate bar to cool, take a seat in the Tasting Room. Here, learn about Scottish chocolate makers, sample fine single-origin chocolate, have a cup of hot cacao tea and choose your favorite chocolates to try from rows of chocolate tasting jars.

Take a guided whisky tour and learn the story of Scotland’s most famous product. Visit the Diageo Claive Vidiz Scotch Whisky Collection, which is the world’s largest collection of Scotch whisky, encompassing almost 3,500 individual bottles. Begin the tour with the whisky barrel car ride, which takes guests through the production and maturation process of Scotch whisky. Then enjoy a sensory journey of Scotland including an introduction to Scotch whisky aromas. Next, taste Scotch whisky and see the world’s largest collection of Scotch Whisky (guests under 18 years of age will be given Irn Bru, a Scottish soft drink). Take home your crystal tasting glass as a souvenir. If you select the option, after enjoying a full guided tour, you'll compare and contrast 4 regional single malts while relaxing in the McIntyre Gallery. Assisted by experienced guides, and provided with tasting notes, you'll be able to sip like a true connoisseur.

Enjoy a Harry Potter themed walking tour across Edinburgh. See the city where JK Rowling found inspiration for Hogwarts, her famous characters, and discover the place where she wrote the books. Have your Harry Potter trivia tested with an audio-visual quiz, and earn points for your house. Find out which Hogwarts House you’re in, and whether you’re a pure blood, a muggle, or a squib. Visit the Grave of Tom Riddle in Greyfriars Kirkyard, and pass JK Rowling’s golden handprints outside City Chambers. See all this and more on a magical 2-hour guided tour.

The Firth of Forth is simply overflowing with myths, turbulent history, and fascinating marine wildlife. Join this boat tour on a 90-minute cruise onboard a superb vessel. Depart from South Queensferry, which is only a short distance from Scotland's bustling capital city of Edinburgh. Take in views of Blackness Castle, the ship that never sails and featured in Outlander and the Outlaw King. There are also views of Limekilns village, mentioned in Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Kidnapped'. It was from Limekilns that David Balfour and Alan Breck were carried across the Forth in a rowing boat. You will also see the Three Bridges as you have never seen them before including the UNESCO World Heritage Forth Bridge. For your comfort relax onboard with friends and family in the observation lounge or on the outside decks and listen to the guided commentary while you enjoy your complimentary cream tea. Spot the marine wildlife, during your tour, you will find plenty of opportunities to see a wide variety of marine wildlife including seabirds and seals.

Experience a little magic on a 2-hour walking tour of Edinburgh that is perfect for all fans of Harry Potter. Learn all the stories and secrets behind the best selling books by J.K. Rowling in the city where she wrote them. Visit the original sites that provided the inspiration for Hogwarts and the characters who dwelled within its magical walls. Stroll along the High Street to see where Diagon Alley came to life and where Lord Voldemort is buried. See the original Hogwarts School, and look at a virtual school assembly of its characters! Learn how Edinburgh’s own dark history of witches and wizards played a role in inspiring J.K. Rowling along the way. 

Learn all about the witches of Edinburgh on an immersive tour that explores how witchcraft was used in the city from 1590 until 1690. Follow your guide to some of Edinburgh's most mysterious sites and learn more about the city's most famous witches. Hear how and why they become witches and how they were treated by others. Journey through the supernatural and discover how they practiced their craft. Visit the site where most of them met their fate, see the city's oldest wicca shop and encounter some of the spooky wynds (alleys) off the Royal Mile.

Pass some of the key film locations from all 8 Harry Potter movies as you lose yourself in the wilderness of Rannoch Moor. Discover the volcanic glen from "The Prisoner of Azkaban" en route to Fort William, where you will board the Hogwarts Express steam train. Cross the Victorian-era Glenfinnan Viaduct and get views of Loch Shiel from the "Chamber of Secrets." See the site of the Triwizard Tournament from "The Goblet of Fire" and continue to the fishing village of Mallaig to get some time for lunch.  From Mallaig, you will again board the train to enjoy the return journey back to Fort William where your driver and guide will be waiting for you to take you back to Edinburgh.

Book this tour and your hosts will contact you within 24 hours and ask you questions about your preferences and interests, so they can match you with the right profile and assign a like-minded local Edinburgher. He or she who will become your guide. You'll be paired with guides that are passionate about the place they call home and who choose to spend their free time sharing it with like-minded travelers matched to them. Keeping in mind your personal answers they will put together a bespoke itinerary, just for you. Please note that this will be outlined but flexible. They will arrange a meeting with your guide in the most convenient place for you. If during the tour you feel like changing direction, or your guide believes that you'd enjoy a sight or different experience, they will suggest and discuss with you changes to the itinerary. Enjoy discovering amazing spots in Edinburgh that you don't know about and are difficult to find in any guidebook or on the Internet, because they are lesser known to the crowd but beloved by locals. The day revolves around your wishes so enjoy your private tour and let your local show you the Edinburgh you will love.

The success of Harry Potter put Edinburgh on the map. Indeed JK Rowling moved to Edinburgh in the 90s with a few chapters of Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone in hand, but it is in Edinburgh that her novels evolved. Discover the city that saw the wizarding world of Harry Potter come to light, as you follow the footsteps of JK Rowling during a guided tour of Edinburgh in French. You will not only learn anecdotes about Harry Potter, but also the life of the author whilst visiting little hidden corners of Edinburgh that strongly resemble the world imagined by JK Rowling. With your passionate French tour guide, the tour will take you to the Old Town where the author spent a lot of time in cafes, walking in the local graveyard, and traversing the narrow winding cobbled streets to seek inspiration from objects and the surrounding atmosphere. You will find out the origins and symbolism of some characters' names, and even see the hand prints of JK Rowling.

Discover Edinburgh's history and main locations from a pirate's perspective on this treasure hunt. Meet your guide at Calton Island, where your game will begin. After a short introduction, get kitted out with all the tools you will need to complete the game. The kit comes in a bag that has all the clues and tools you need to work through and a treasure map with a route to follow. Once the game begins, use the tools provided along with elements of the city to crack codes, open padlocks, and move forward in the pirate-themed game. Wander around Calton Island and Regent River to solve clues and discover landmarks such as the Royal Observatory, Nelson Monument, Burns Monument, and some other off-the-beaten-track locations. At the top of the hill, enjoy panoramic views of the entire city.