Edinburgh is hip and vibrant. I would have loved to have stayed a few days in this city. Not only is Edinburgh the capital of Scotland, it is also the leading festival city in the world, home to phenomenal summer festivals, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
When docking, the ship is actually at Queensferry which is approximately 45 minutes from Edinburgh. Because of the popularity of cruises to the city, there is a bus dedicated to bring cruisers from port to the city and back again from May until September. At the time we went, it was L6 per adult return and L3 per child. Here is the link to the service: https://www.lothianbuses.com/timetables/cruiselink-x99/ The buses run every 20 minutes throughout the day.
The buses drop off at St Andrew Square - right in the heart of tourist attractions and shopping district. Everything is very accessible.
There are so many sites to see in Edinburgh. In addition, there is shopping, and live entertainment. We saw posters for many recognizable acts that we would have gladly gone to. At the time we visited, the Fringe Festival was on.
We started at the end of the Royal Mile and made our way up to Edinburgh Castle. Along the way there are shops,pubs, restaurants, small museums, tiny passageways, and in the middle of the roadway entertainers every few feet.
A word of warning - Edinburgh Castle is a mecca for tourists and it becomes overwhelmed. More than 10,000 visitors were recorded on
20 separate occasions in August 2017. It attracted nearly 1.8
million visitors that same year.
As a result, Historic Environment Scotland actually closed the Castle to any visitors without a ticket on the day we were there. That meant, if you arrived at Port that day, and did not have an advance timed ticket, you were not able to get into the castle.
Because we had purchased the Explorer Pass, we were able to enter. Again, as noted in previous posts, I highly recommend getting the Explore Pass! What is fabulous about the pass is that it works at any time, where as if you had booked a timed ticket, you had to show up at that exact time.
