Address: Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8DX, United Kingdom
Phone: +443031237306
Rating: 4.6
based on 518 reviews.
Audio Guide
Pros:
"The audio guide is perfect to make your tour run smoothly, and you will learn a lot in a short period of time about the Royal life."
"This self-guided audio tour was very well set up."
"The audio-guide is free and very informative."
"Audio guide was not too long for each section or too slow, but left me wanting more information about some of the unique items and paintings in the rooms."
"With your ticket you will get an audio guide that provides wonderful information as you make your way through the castle."
"The audio-visual tour guide thing was absolutely fantastic."
"The audio guide is one of the better ones we've experienced, it's engaging and informative whilst not being draining."
Cons:
"Wonderful palace, but too crowded."
"The audio guide experience isn't that great and needs improvement."
"The audio equipment itself is a little clunky."
"Could use with a bit of quality control as parts of the tour were missing from my guide and couldn’t be downloaded."
"Just don't always expect your audio tablet to work, mine was low battery."
"We had the audio tour and it took a bit to figure out how to operate it."
"Nice that the tour comes with an audio visual guide with extra pictures and information but it lacks info on a lot of extras around the rooms."
Staff and Accessibility
Pros:
"Most of the palace is easy to negotiate and you have the ability to skip certain audio portions if you choose not to climb stairs, etc."
"Mum on a mobility scooter was accommodated very well."
"The staff were very kind."
"The staff manages the crowd very well, making the experience safe and pleasant."
"A brilliant experience. Friendly, knowledgeable staff."
"Staff very helpful and friendly, from the cheerful french ticket attendant to the lady at the front."
"Staff were courteous and helpful, entry was simple and straight forward."
Cons:
"The entry price is absurd in my opinion."
"Shame really, as the guy who made them available on entry, wasn’t the most welcoming."
"The experience itself was nice, however the lady who stamped our tickets on our way out the Wynds gate was extremely racist."
"However, there was a staff at bedroom staring at me and followed me all the way through the corridor. That made me feel really uncomfortable."
"Just a shame about the long wait for my panini plus the brash assistant when I asked her a question, she hardly looked up at me and seemed quite snappy."
"An extremely unfriendly gentleman behind the counter."
"Cafe however would only serve drinks in take away cups and all cakes etc had been cleared away half an hour before the venue closed!"
Value and Pricing
Pros:
"The tour roughly lasts around an hour and a half. It is value for money, in my opinion, and I would recommend visiting."
"If you want, by the end of the tour, you can ask the staff to stamp your ticket by treating it as a donation. This will mean that you can visit the palace free for 1 year."
"Tickets were fairly priced and could be purchased on the day."
"The tickets are affordable, and the place itself has lots of history to show."
"Entry is reasonably priced - The Queen’s Gallery is extra, but was closed when I visited - Entry to the Palace only is 12.00 full price or £8.70 for under 17 or disabled."
"We booked the night before online (slightly cheaper)."
"£ 19.50 entry at the door, cheaper to prepay online."
Cons:
"However, I don't think it's worth £16 per person."
"However, I'll give 3 starts because they charged for the entire fee price and you are not able to see the church ruins and some place in the garden were under construction which made uncomfortable to walk."
"The cost of entry is high."
"One of the most important historical sites in Scotland, as well as a working palace, so it's a shame it is so dramatically overpriced."
"It's not really worth the hefty admission fee."
"The entrance price is a little steep, but revel in the elegance and the lush vitality of the architecture."
"I would have given 5 stars but I feel it's a little overpriced and don't get me started on the gift shop!"
Gardens and Abbey
Pros:
"We walked around the entire garden area, which was a beautiful oasis with the Palace on one side and Arthur’s Seat on the other."
"The ruins of the abbey and the gardens are well worth a visit, beautiful to sit in and so peaceful."
"The architecture is stunning, and the beautifully maintained gardens are a treat for the eyes."
"The highlight far and away is Holyrood Abbey, which dates from 1128 and is jaw-droppingly exquisite in its architecture from the Romanesque period."
"The gardens that I walked round were easy for wheelchairs."
"The grounds and house are exceptional and well kept and managed."
"The garden adds beauty."
Cons:
"A shame that the abbey isn’t completely open to the public."
"After walking around the house, we eventually walked outside. We exited next to the abbey ruins, and were not able to walk around and view them."
"The gardens were closed (due to weather) and the abbey is still undergoing repairs."
"The garden was not impressive. Well, what can we take from us? Although the garden is cute, it doesn’t inspire delight."
"The garden at the back is very plain."
"The gardens were a huge disappointment. Works ongoing and only partially accessible."
"Too bad that the abbey is under construction."
Photography and Experience
Pros:
"No photos allowed inside the palace, but outside on the grounds, you are free to take photos."
"You can also access the hiking path of Arthur’s seat from here."
"The audio guide is fantastic and is more of a multi-media guide the likes of which I haven’t seen before!"
"The device provides closeup views of various artwork that are hard to see since the lighting in the palace must be dim to preserve the artifacts."
"No photography is allowed in the palace, but you can snap away outside, in the gardens, and ruins of the abbey."
"You are not allowed to take photos inside the palace as many of the furnishings are centuries old."
"Wish there were more places to take photos, but it is understandable why photos aren't allowed inside the palace."
Cons:
"Unfortunately you can't enter the garden to take photos from the outside, you can only go near the fence."
"Unfortunately photos are not allowed inside the palace."
"Almost all areas inside the palace are restricted for photography."
"Really disappointed that you couldn't take photos, and you had to stick to a set route, no explanation was given to the exhibits you had to buy a very expensive picture book that only showed 'snippets."
"The fencing and scaffolding make pictures less than grand."
"You can't take photos inside, what is a pity and a bit nonsense as today most of us make our tourist choices based on the others photos and reviews."
"Sadly, you can not take pictures inside the Palace."