The Real Mary King's Close Reviews 

Had a great experience with Nell she was amazing, got in to her character and her story telling was brilliant 👏

Interesting but a bit of an overpriced tourist trap and we were disappointed considering it cost us £93.00 for only one hour's entertainment for our family. We did the evening tour expecting it to be eerie and exciting for the kids but it was no different to what it would have been by day. We were guided round lots of empty old stone basement rooms and told historical information and stories of how people lived. The guide was enthusiastic but I could see the kids interest waning towards the end as it was quite repetitive. Of all the things we saw and did in Edinburgh this was the worst value and enjoyed the least by the children so we wouldn't really recommend it to families. It would have more appeal for adult tourists.

My tour started at 1015. The information from their office said to get there ten minutes early to get checked in with audio devises and such. Once getting there ten minutes early, we checked in and were sent to another room to meet our tour guide, Becca. Becca did an amazing job and did her best working around the interruptions. I didn’t do as well. At 1025, after the tour started, the office personnel interrupted our tour with a group of eight that were late, even though the email they sent out said “don’t be late! If you’re late, you will miss the tour and forfeit your money.” This group of 8 came in loud, talking and caused a major interruption to our tour. They disrespectfully talked over our tour guide and made me want to just leave immediately. I kept thinking it would get better, but it didn’t until 1045. The staff came in three times, interrupting Becca, by bringing more audio devices into the room for the late group. Had they gotten there on time, they would have received their audio devices before the tour started. Finally at 1045, thirty minutes into the hour tour, the tour ran smoothly. The staff should stand behind their own rules. The rules are there for a reason. The interruption/disruption was completely avoidable, but the staff chose to break their own rules and punish the ones that showed up on time for the tour. Again, Becca was great. She adapted the best she could to the inconveniences. The staff that broke the rules should look for another job or get some retraining

We went on Sunday 31st March to try the experience and it was delightful.
What made it special was the fact it wasn't fake or replicated just get tourists. It was real! Real streets, houses, rooms which gave us an actual sense of how people lived back then.
The tour guide, dressed in period costume was very knowledgeable of the tour, she was a delight to listen to, made the tour very interesting and we all loved her humour that she slipped in during her presentation.
Great health and safety video before we entered the street as it can be tight and steep in places, but someone always on hand to assist if needed with health issues.
I feel it was the best guided tour I have ever done, having left with sensing real history.
Loved the gift shop at the end. Well, every good time travel journey needs a gift shop at the end.🙂
Definitely doing it again and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants the feel for real history.

Really informative, interesting and entertaining! Thank you Amber we really enjoyed our visit. Would recommend this atmospheric tour, you can feel the true history, amazing.

Really enjoyed the tour. Very interesting. Robyn was very informative with a splash of humour.
Thanks Robyn & well done, you was excellent 🙏👍

Our guide, Sam, was great. The experience really brought to life what life was like in the 17th Century. It also gave me a good understanding of the layout of Edinburgh and how the city has evolved over the years.

Eden really was a fantastic guide, funny, and very knowledgeable in regard to questions posed. Booked tour as part of gift for family members who were visiting as part of birthday celebrations, had booked tour guide book and plague mask, but was given wrong one when I went to collect, but this was quickly resolved when I pointed out I’d bought a more expensive one than the plastic one I had been given. Overall it was a great experience and the staff were brilliant in helping me with the order issues.

Beth really made the tour for us. she was informative, funny and entertaining.

Not scarey - nor intended to be. Steeped with real stories, real habitants re told by ‘real’ locals. Intro sets the structural history. Room after room is explained in a whirlwind tour ( though photography not allowed for very real reasons) Done the cheapest, but tried that and was seriously disappointed. For your money you get a reasonable sized group and a person (Zander in our case) who entertains you for an hour - no mean feat,- incorporating members of the group where appropriate and very capable of adapting delivery to the audience. Varied media used to bring history to life. 4* as enjoyed but not moved. You will not see the likes elsewhere and a valuable insight into the history and social aspects of old Edinburgh, How many drinks in an hour? For the same price you come out much wiser and see an underground labyrinth delivered by a real actor. Safe, but some steps & ground conditions vary. Options to be guided out early if necessary,

We decided to take the tour today, being close to halloween, and looking for some spooky Edinburgh history. A couple of us having been several times over the years, but introducing our kids for the first time! The tour guide Tom, was absolutely fantastic, really informative, quirky and really funny, he made our day what it was, thanks Tom. And hey, the backflips were fantastic 😉. Always a great place to visit. The history of the area is incredible, disturbing and endearing. Aust visit for anyone.

It was very interesting and our guide Tom did a very Good job explaining it.

Tom was our guide, and he really made the tour very good. He has a lovely way about him, he is entertaining with it, and he seems very clued up on all the history 😊
Greetings from Denmark 🇩🇰

Bought an advanced ticket, showed up 25 minutes early, they had closed several hours early with no notice. Attempted to reach them, no response. They took our money, did not provide the service and completely ignored any attempt to remedy the situation.
UPDATE: they did respond, finally. They were unprofessional and dishonest in their response.

Worth a visit. Mat took us round and really got into the role. Something I did not know about and have been to Edinburgh lots of times. Really interesting and out of the ordinary.

Really enjoyed the tour, Becky was a great guide. It was very interesting to hear some history and envision how people used to live. Wish it had been longer but would definitely recommend.

Over priced and wasn’t even scary as they make it out to be tour guide ewan was great tho

We enjoyed our tour of the Real Mary Kings Close, however I do think it was steeply priced for what it was. You aren’t allowed to take photos, so if you want a memory of the experience the one they take of you, is £10 if you want to purchase it! Making it a total of £48.00 for a 1 hour tour for 2 people with a photo!

I would have been more pleased with this tour if the photo had just been included with the tour price. It was OK.

Our tour guide Ben was very friendly, funny and knowledgeable.

Not really worth the money. The tour is based on what used to be there rather than what is there. This could be represented by a 5 minute youtube video chat with a few pictures to support the audio.

Really enjoyed our tour with Katie as our tour guide. Very informative, funny and approachable.
Katie was very understanding when our daughter became a bit whoosey and quick to get help.