Is Edinburgh expensive?
The honest answer: somewhere in the middle
Edinburgh is cheaper than London, comparable to Dublin and Amsterdam, and noticeably more expensive than most northern English cities. Whether it feels expensive depends almost entirely on where you choose to eat, drink, and sleep — and on whether you visit in August, when prices across every category spike dramatically.
The good news is that some of Edinburgh’s best experiences are free: the National Museum of Scotland, Calton Hill, Arthur’s Seat, the Royal Botanic Garden, the city’s countless closes and courtyards. The bad news is that staying in the Old Town, eating on the Royal Mile, and visiting every major attraction in a single trip will add up quickly.
Here is an honest breakdown of what things actually cost.
Accommodation costs
Budget (hostels, basic B&Bs): £25-50 per person per night outside August. Expect dormitory beds in central hostels at the lower end and private rooms in budget guesthouses at the upper end. Budget Hostel areas: Grassmarket, Southside.
Mid-range (3-star hotels, guesthouses): £90-160 per room per night. The sweet spot for most couples, with comfortable rooms and a reasonable location. The New Town and Leith offer better value than the Old Town for this category.
Upmarket (4-star hotels): £180-300 per room per night. The Balmoral, The Witchery, Nira Caledonia — Edinburgh has genuinely excellent high-end hotels.
August premium: Add 50-150% to all of the above during the festival (roughly the last two weeks of July through the last week of August). A hostel dorm that costs £30 in April may cost £75 in August. Mid-range hotels that were £120 become £250-300. Book months in advance if you’re visiting then.
Food and drink
Edinburgh’s food scene split sharply by area. On the Royal Mile, you’ll pay tourist prices for food that does not justify them — expect £14-18 for a main course at an average restaurant, often alongside coach-party menus and upselling pressure.
A five-minute walk in any direction changes things. In Stockbridge, Bruntsfield, Leith, and Newington, you can eat very well for £12-15 a main course at proper restaurants, or even less at the city’s growing ranks of excellent independent cafés.
Coffee: Independent cafés charge £3-3.80 for a flat white or cappuccino. Chains slightly less.
Lunch: A sandwich or baked potato from a decent café is £6-9. A proper sit-down lunch with a soft drink is £12-18 depending on where you are.
Dinner: Mid-range restaurant dinner with a glass of wine is £25-45 per person. The Leith waterfront is the best place to spend that money.
Pint of beer: £4.50-6 in a pub outside the tourist zone; £5.50-7.50 on the Royal Mile or in a festival bar.
Haggis, neeps, and tatties at a proper pub: £10-13. Worth every penny for a first visit.
Major attractions
Edinburgh Castle: £18 adults, £10.80 children, under-5s free. Historic Environment Scotland members free. A guided tour with entry runs £28-36 and is better value than self-guided if it’s your first visit.
Palace of Holyroodhouse: £15 adults, £9 children.
The Real Mary King’s Close: £16.50 adults, £9.50 children.
Camera Obscura: £15.50 adults, £11 children.
The Edinburgh Dungeon: £18-22 depending on when you book.
Royal Yacht Britannia: £17 adults, £9.50 children.
National Museum of Scotland: Free.
Scottish National Gallery: Free.
Greyfriars Kirkyard: Free.
Arthur’s Seat: Free.
Calton Hill: Free.
The genuinely free attractions — the museum, the gallery, the viewpoints, the walks — are among the best Edinburgh has to offer. A visitor who spends two days doing only free things, eats in Leith, and stays in a mid-range Southside guesthouse can have an excellent Edinburgh experience for £50-70 per day excluding accommodation.
Day trips and tours
Organised day trips from Edinburgh range from £35-55 for a shared minibus tour to the Highlands, up to £120-180 for a private tour. The per-person price on a good shared Loch Ness tour (around £55-65) is broadly comparable to hiring a car and driving yourself, without the stress of navigating single-track Highland roads.
The Edinburgh and Highlands itinerary covers how to structure a trip that includes both the city and the countryside at reasonable cost.
Transport
Edinburgh tram (airport to city centre): £5.50 single.
Lothian Buses (single journey): £2.00. Day ticket: £4.50. These cover the whole city and are genuinely good.
Taxis: A journey across the city centre costs £6-12. Airport taxi is £25-35.
Train (London to Edinburgh): Booked in advance, from £30-50 each way on LNER or Avanti. Walk-up prices can be £80-150+. The trains from London guide covers booking strategy.
The honest verdict
Three days in Edinburgh, staying in a mid-range hotel outside the Old Town, eating one restaurant dinner per day and visiting two or three paid attractions, costs a couple roughly £250-350 per day all-in (accommodation, food, attractions, local transport). At the budget end — hostel, self-catering lunch, careful attraction choices — a solo traveller can manage £60-80 per day.
The worst-value version of Edinburgh is the Royal Mile tourist bubble: overpriced accommodation, overpriced food, full-price admission everywhere, and the stress of August crowds. The best-value version is the real city that Edinburghers inhabit, which sits just a few minutes’ walk from the main tourist drag and is significantly more enjoyable as well as cheaper.
See the Edinburgh on a budget guide for specific free-and-cheap recommendations across every category.
Budgeting for specific trip types
The first-time couple (3 days, mid-range)
Accommodation at a mid-range New Town or Leith hotel (£110-140 per room per night) comes to roughly £330-420 for three nights. Three restaurant dinners at £25-40 per person totals £150-240 for two. Edinburgh Castle plus one or two other paid attractions adds £50-70 per person. Local transport is minimal — the city is walkable and a £4.50 Lothian day ticket covers bus needs. Total for a couple, three days: approximately £800-1,200, or £400-600 per person.
This can be reduced significantly by eating one or two meals in supermarkets or delis (Marks & Spencer and Waitrose both have accessible city-centre food halls), visiting only two paid attractions, and choosing guesthouse accommodation over boutique hotels.
The budget solo traveller (3 days)
Hostel dorm bed: £30-40 per night. Self-catering lunch from a market stall or supermarket: £5-8. Budget dinner at a pub or neighbourhood restaurant: £14-18. One paid attraction (the National Museum is free; Edinburgh Castle is the main cost at £18). Transport: mostly on foot. Total: approximately £60-80 per day, or £180-240 for three days excluding flights.
The family with two children (4 days)
Family accommodation in a rental apartment or budget hotel: £100-160 per night. Edinburgh Castle family ticket (2 adults, 2 children under 15): approximately £50. Edinburgh Zoo: £20 adults x2, £13 children x2 = £66. Camera Obscura: £15.50 adults x2, £11 children x2 = £53. National Museum, Calton Hill, Holyrood Park: free. Daily food budget for a family: £80-120. Total four-day family trip: approximately £900-1,300 for four people.
The hidden costs to account for
Luggage storage: Waverley Station and various operators in the Old Town charge £6-10 per bag per day. If you are catching a late train, this cost is worth factoring in.
Tours: The per-person cost of organised walking tours (free to £18), ghost tours (£12-18), underground vaults tours (£12-16), and whisky experiences (£18-35) adds up faster than expected if you book multiple activities.
The souvenir trap: The Royal Mile gift shops sell tartan, whisky, and shortbread at prices that have no relationship to what the same items cost in a supermarket. Whisky from a Royal Mile shop can be 30-50% more expensive than the same bottle in a Tesco on Princes Street. Shop at Jenners (now Frasers House of Fraser), IJ Mellis for cheese, or the various independent food shops in Stockbridge and Leith for better quality at fairer prices.
Booking fees: Some attraction booking platforms add booking fees of £1-3 per transaction. These are not always signalled clearly. Where possible, book directly through Historic Environment Scotland or the attraction’s own website.
Is Edinburgh more expensive than other UK cities?
Edinburgh is broadly comparable to Bristol, Leeds, and Manchester for accommodation and restaurant prices — cheaper than London by a meaningful margin, more expensive than Glasgow. The main exception is August, when Edinburgh’s prices are effectively London prices and in some categories (boutique hotels, Airbnb in the Old Town) exceed them.
The currency is British pounds sterling — identical to England. There is no exchange rate consideration; Scotland is not in the eurozone. The currency guide covers the practical notes on using money in Edinburgh, including the Scottish banknote situation.
Frequently asked questions about Edinburgh costs
How much spending money do I need for a day in Edinburgh?
A comfortable day in Edinburgh — one paid attraction, lunch at a café, dinner at a neighbourhood restaurant, and a couple of drinks — costs roughly £60-80 per person. A more austere day using only free attractions and eating cheaply is achievable for £25-35 per person. A full-spend day including Edinburgh Castle, a food tour, and dinner at a Leith restaurant could reach £120-160.
Is Edinburgh cheaper in winter?
Significantly so. January and February hotel prices are often 40-50% below August levels. Restaurant prices are the same year-round, but the demand pressure that pushes Royal Mile restaurants to tourist pricing is reduced. The major free attractions (museums, galleries, viewpoints) are open throughout winter with no price change.
How much does a good Edinburgh restaurant meal cost?
At the Leith dining establishments that represent Edinburgh’s best current food scene, a main course typically costs £18-28. A three-course dinner with a bottle of wine for two at a good but not fine-dining Leith restaurant costs approximately £90-130. At The Kitchin (Michelin starred), a tasting menu is £90-110 per person. At a good neighbourhood pub, a pub main with a drink runs £18-25 per person.
