Sandeman’s New Edinburgh Tours

I took this tour with Johnny, and he was a terrific guide. A true Scotchman, proud of his city and knowledgeable about it (he has a degree in English history). He had a great, self-​deprecating sense of humor, making us laugh all the way while we learned funny stories about the history of the city. I would recommend the tour with him.
A piece of advice. Do not take this tour if you aren’t able or willing to spend 17 – 20 pounds per person, 10 at the very least if you are a student or have a very disadvantageous exchange rate. I say this as a budget traveler with a disadvantageous exchange rate who finds the UK expensive.
The logic. The guides don’t get paid, and what you give them is what they get. If your guide is mediocre or average, you will do what you must, but some guides are excellent and you have to be prepared to have a very good guide who will deserve 20, at the very least 10 pounds if you are a student, for the tour. If you don’t, in addition to depriving the guide from a reasonable pay from someone else (see below) you will also feel uncomfortable at not doing the right thing.
Our guide worked hard, was very good, and there were around 60 people who wanted to sign up when he could only take 30 –contrary to his financial interests– to give the group a more personalized experience. He took 30, it was clear to the 60 that he was very good, and there was visible frustration and disappointment in the faces of the 30 left behind that they couldn’t have him as a guide. If you aren’t willing to spend around 15 – 20 per person, at the very least 10, for the tour (a 2.5-hour tour no less), do not deprive someone else from the opportunity to partake and to pay a great tour guide what he deserves. People are paying 17 pounds to get into the castle, a more massive and anonymous experience, and an equivalent or somewhat higher amount for a more personalized and equally insightful experience is a reasonable minimum. At least, in high season, where the groups may be oversubscribed not just for being tip-​only but for having high-​quality guides.

This was our second Sandeman’s tour and we enjoyed it just as much as the first (London). Our tour guide was Paula and she was very good. She spoke loud and clear and was great at story-​telling. It’s nice to get a walk through the city as our first activity with a guide and then branch out on your own.
I think Stephanie O. is referring to Paula in her review… And I have to agree that she was funny and made the tour interesting.
It is nice that you set your own price (a.k.a. Tip). I typically tipped what I thought a regular tour would cost on average – comparing with other walking tours. These guys do a great job so tip them accordingly!
I would definitely recommend these tours. In fact, I think it’s the first thing you should do when you get to a city where they are available!

Start point: Starbucks Coffee on High Street.
Vor eineinhalb Jahren haben wir die Sandemans Free Tour in Edinburgh ausprobiert und waren sehr begeistert. Der dreistündigen Stadtrundgang in der Innenstadt von Edinburgh ist sehr informativ und kurzweilig! Das (großzügige) Trinkgeld am Ende der Tour hat sich unser Sandeman Stadtführer verdient.
Sehr zu empfehlen. 11:00 Uhr oder 14:00 Uhr vor dem Starbucks

This was our second Sandeman’s Tour and it was as good as the first one (in Prague). The concept is easy: they market the tour as free but at the end you tip your guide as much as you think the tour was worth.
Our guide, I have forgotten her name — I’m so sorry! She was American with an unpronounceable surname and very loud (her words not mine!) Anyway, she was a really good guide. Half American, half Scottish and really knew her stuff. She made the tour interesting, funny and before we knew it we had walked around a large part of the old city.
The sites that are visited are in the old city, and she took us to some places you wouldn’t naturally come across (she took us down certain «closes» — the alleyways with stairs that you see so many of in Edinburgh — to show us courtyards with interesting stories etc).
The group was a decent size — not too many so we couldn’t hear (she spoke loud enough and clear enough for us all to hear).
The thing with Sandeman’s is that you WANT to pay them at the end. The tour lasted about 2.5 hours and is an excellent way to start your trip: you get a brief idea of your surroundings and can pick things to go back to and visit in more detail.
5 out of 5!

I’m going to average this to four stars.
The free tour — 5 stars! Tour guide was Alan (Who looked like a pirate, no joke) and was a great storyteller. He went through all of the big attractions of Edinburgh and their history, making it all very fun and exciting.
The paid Dark Side tour — 3 stars. This one was of the dark side of Edinburgh’s history. The tour itself was fine but the tour guide was not that good. He simply had a loud voice (He was Aussie) rather than being a great tour guide or storyteller. It sounded like he was reading from a script and somehow even his jokes sounded like they were from the script.
So average of 4 stars. Do the free tour definitely and then ask who the tour guide is for the Dark Side.

Every Sandeman New Europe Tour operation is a classy act, and this one is no different. The free walking tour was great, full of knowledge, the tour guides welcome your challenging questions and takes you to the nooks and cranny that most tours don’t.
The pub crawl was basically pays for itself with all of the free drinks and drink specials but be warned if you drink every drink special and have a drink at every location you will be feeling it by the last stop.
The Ghost tour was well done, but it was more of a bloody journey of Edinburgh, still fun though since it comes with a free drink at the end of the tour. You will be walking up Calton Hill so bring your walking shoes.
If you plan of doing the Ghost tour and the Pub Crawl, buy the combo ticket, you save money and know what you are doing for two nights you are in town.

Great tour. Took the hassle out of deciding what to do. Neale was a really good guide. Took us to nice bar after

Not only was this fun tour free it was, duh, fun! I had no history knowledge of Scotland other than Mary queen of Scots, and our tour guide was funny, helpful, patient, answered my questions and helps to not make the history so boring. I would definitely recommend this tour and they also do a fee tour and over many others, which happen go be all over Europe! Look up their website and definitely incorporate Sandeman into your adventure!

My friend and I had a tour with Allen (might have spelled that wrong… sorry man!) and it was fantastic. He’s lively and energetic and pretended to nail my ear to a wall. I have travelled all over the world and taken too many tours to remember. This tour is above average. Way way far beyond average. Our guides enthusiasm was great and just made everything that much more enjoyable. It isn’t a short tour for free either. I didn’t have enough time to take any of the evening tours but I most likely would have.
Edinburgh is a pretty large place and this tour really takes you through the heart of the old city and through its hi lights. What a great introduction to a place with so much history. Thanks!!!

I hate walking tours. I think they are lame and only show you the touristy spots — which we all know are over priced and rarely show you the real city. Well, this tour does show you the touristy spots, but they make it really cool. This is my 2^nd city where I’ve done the free walking tour by Sanemans and I cannot recommend this company enough. The guides are so passionate about their cities and you can tell they love their jobs. A great way to spend a few hours. And they even got me to finally try haggis — which was awesome.

Shows you all of Edinburgh (or any city) for free (whatever you decide to leave for a tip) in 3 hours. You find out things you would probably not find out by walking around on your own too – and if you have any additional questions the tour guide is happy to tell you the answer, or make up something awesome!

The hostel I stayed at recommended this free walking tour of Edinburgh and it was fantastic.
Alan was our tour guide and he was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and my friend and I both really enjoyed the tour of Edinburgh. I would highly recommend Alan as a tour guide. He definitely knew the city like the back of his hand and is genuinely passionate about Scottish history and culture.
The cost is unbeatable. Even though the tour is technically free, everyone should tip generously!

If you’re looking for a good lengthy review, there are quite a few others on here that say essentially what I would say. The tour is ‘free’ and fun (more fun than any I’ve been forced to pay for).
Our guide was Ronnie and he knew his shite and was very entertaining. If any of the other guides are anywhere near as good, the tour is well worth your time and any spare quid that you may have.

Meh.
This tour takes you pretty much to the main attractions. It didn’t leave me breathless, but it was alright. It was free, so I suppose I had built up a great image in my head but wasn’t especially impressed. It was alright!!! Good value!

Free? Yes, it’s free. So the thing I wondered about a free tour was if it was worth my time and effort. So I showed up a little cynical and figured I would only stick around for a few minutes. Even for a Saturday morning, the crowd was pretty big. At least 150 or so people waiting. They quickly spun off the Spanish-​speakers into one group and then passed out numbered tickets to everyone. These were used to cut down the large crowd into smaller groups of 25 or so for each tour guide. When my number was called, I followed Matt and a crowd of other people to a nearby spot.
Matt kept up a great patter with lots of interesting tidbits about the tour. He wasn’t obvious about the money thing other than a brief explanation at the beginning and then we were off on our tour. We stopped at a dozen or so spots, where Matt would speak in a loud voice to the group, interspersing facts with his own stories about Edinburgh. He was friendly and engaging, and before I knew it, our three hour tour was complete. We’d stopped in a bunch of great places — Grassmarket, Victoria Terrace, the Greyfriars Kirk and more — each time with a good amount of detail and history.
Matt did a great job and since each of the tour guides was wearing a bright red t-​shirt and followed mostly the same path and found the same ending — Princes Garden. I could see that most of the groups finished with the same 25 or so, which means that they too were enjoying the tour.
I wished I had done this on the first day that I arrived as opposed to waiting until the third day. I would have liked to take the Ghost tour with them or Saturday night’s pub crawl, both of which sounded really interesting. Next time.
At the end, Matt made another brief mention about him not being paid by Sandeman’s, but by us tourists as tips. I had no problem handing him some money — he earned it!
So a big thumbs up for the Sandeman’s tour. If I’m in another city where they offer these tours, I’ll absolutely use them. And also a big shout out to my boy Matt. Great job, man! Freedom!

A little secret for all your travellers going on the cheap: there is an official Free Tour being set up in many big European cities. Don’t be fooled by other proclaiming «free tours». This one is official and professional, the guides are trained very well and take you on very long entertaining but also educational walks through the city. And yes it is free. So how does it work? Tips! At the end of the tour if you are satisfied you tip your guide. Be warned at high peak tourist seasons these tours tend to be a lot of people. You can also book a private tour as well (check out their website for more details).
After living in Edinburgh for three years I decided to take the opportunity of a friend’s visit to try out this tour. I was so amazed by how well organised it was, how lovely our guide was and all the stuff I learnt on Edinburgh!
Be warned though: this is not a free ride for all. At the beginning of each tour, other than your guide, there is another person from their office counting heads of attendants. For each tour participants your guide has to give a certain amount of money back to the company, and whatever is left he or she gets to keep. The tour is long and well worth it, and surely you can part a few pounds for your guide instead of buying another latte later.
Would recommend this tour to anyone visiting or living in the City and wants a good tour of all the highlights.

This company run tours in most of Europe’s capitals, with the unique selling point of making them entirely free (sort of). I have particularly fond memories of being on their New Berlin Tour a year or two ago, and trying to find a suitable place to sneak off after 3 hours of cold, rain, and the guide’s dulcet tones got just a bit too much.
Being a less sprawling metropolis, Edinburgh’s version is thankfully a bit shorter, yet the cold, rain and dulcet tones are now joined by the biting coastal wind that’s a permanent feature of the city, so you’ll still spend most of the tour in appalling discomfort. As for content, it’s basically just all the usual tourist stops, which are fascinating for actual tourists but less so when you see them every day. It’s still nice to learn a bit more about the history of the city and it’s landmarks though, and while the guides lack the humour and showmanship of their ghost walk competitors, I have to admire their knowledge and interest in their work.
It gets a bit awkward at the end when the guide goes cap in hand and sacrifices their dignity to beg for tips. A fiver is fair enough, but I literally couldn’t believe the nerve of a few charlatans who tossed shrapnel at the poor girl as if she were a beggar. She sort of was, but that isn’t the point. I seriously hope this isn’t the only money these people get, as a few coins a day doesn’t go too far round about here.

Quite a lot of things to do in Edinburgh can be complete tourist traps and if you don’t know the city you might find yourself paying more than you expect for a guided tour, that’s why Sandeman’s New Edinburgh Tours are fantastic to know about. This tour will lead you through Edinburgh’s meandering streets and tell you a lot about the history that you might not know if you’re just walking around yourself. There are stacks of stops on the tour including Edinburgh Castle, Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh University, Tron Kirk and much more plus you will find out information about grave diggers Burke and Hare and witch burnings too.
The best thing about this tour is that it’s absolutely FREE, that’s right, you don’t have to pay a penny. Well… at least not until the end when you’re obliged to leave a tip for the tour guide. Leave as much as you want to and even if you give £5 it’s still so much less than other tours in the city and for three hours it fills a whole afternoon too that you would probably have spent on some other tourist attraction or drinking coffee and eating cake in Starbucks.
Whether you’re a tourist or a local this tour is great and even if you do feel that you know the city pretty well you might find out some interesting facts and if you’ve got nothing better to do for three hours it’s a great way to spend an afternoon.
The tour guides are very knowledgeable and very enthusiastic so this tour will never be dull, just make sure you wear comfortable shoes as there’s three hours worth of walking/​standing involved.
The free tour meets everyday at the Starbucks by the Tron Kirk on High Street. There are three tours per day and the meeting times are 11am, 1pm and 3pm. The tour ends in Princes Street Gardens so it’s a good location to browse after the tour.
These tours really are fab and they’re not just in Edinburgh either, I’ve also been on these free tours in Berlin and Munich so whatever city you find yourself look up Sandeman’s New Europe Tours as there may be one in the city you’re visiting and who can resist a freebie?