Edinburgh Bus Tours Tours Compare Tours Discover Edinburgh Ticket Offers News About Careers FAQs About Edinburgh Bus Tours is Scotland’s third most popular paid for visitor attraction, and offers a five star visitor experience. Open-top tour buses have been popular in Edinburgh since the 1920s, but Edinburgh Bus Tours’ history began in May 1989 when Guide Friday launched the Edinburgh Tour. It proved an immediate success with 1000 visitors on day one. In summer 1989 Lothian Region Transport (as Lothian Buses was then known) launched the Edinburgh Classic Tour - a direct competitor to the Edinburgh Tour. Both companies continued to develop their tours, offering new products and taking their bus tours all over the UK. In summer 1998 a third tour operator, MacTours came to Edinburgh. MacTours was consolidated with Lothian Buses in April 2002. City Sightseeing came to Edinburgh in 2000 when Lothian Buses obtained the franchise to operate the branded tour. City Sightseeing replaced the Classic Tour. In May 2002, all city tours came into Lothian Buses ownership. Edinburgh Bus Tours as we know it today was born. Our newer tours Since the merge in 2002, Lothian Buses has been committed to developing Edinburgh Bus Tours’ portfolio. The Majestic Tour was launched in 2004 after a staff competition to name our service linking Royal Yacht Britannia with the city centre, and Forth Bridges Bus & Boat Tour was introduced in 2007. In 2012 the Edinburgh World Heritage Tour was launched to highlight the landmarks in Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage Site. This tour finished in August, 2014 due to operational reasons. In 2013 we were pleased to introduce the Grand 48 ticket offering visitors 48 hours unlimited access to all city tours. Edinburgh Bus Tours is committed to developing its tour portfolio. Awards and environment As part of Lothian Buses we take our environmental responsibilities seriously and adhere to its Environmental Policy. We are proud holders of a Gold badge in the Green Tourism Business Scheme. This year we have also been awarded a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, and a Regional Thistle Award from VisitScotland for our partnership work with the charity Edinburgh World Heritage. We are proud to be Scotland’s third most popular paid for visitor attraction. Read our Visitors Charter to see our recommended tips on how you can help Edinburgh during your visit. We are always keen to hear your feedback to help us grow, and improve our business. We take our five star status very seriously - if you’ve already visited we would love to hear how you got on either via TripAdvisor or via our contact form. Want to work with Edinburgh Bus Tours? Apply now Latest Tweets edinburghtour Follow us on Facebook Like us on Facebook to get our latest tour news and updates. Follow us › Review us on Tripadvisor Taken a tour with us? Let us know what you thought of it at Tripadvisor. Read the reviews › Lothian Buses Awards Site Accessibility Contact Privacy and cookie policy Terms and conditions Sitemap Freedom of Information Please note our tours are subject to diversions and possible delays around Edinburgh City Centre. Wherever we go, please sit back, relax and enjoy the tour. Copyright © 2013 Lothian Buses Plc.