Late May 2018, Underground Haunted Vault Tour 7pm: Anna our guide was funny, friendly and did her best, but the outdoor stories and theatrics would probably work better when it's dark (so would recommend a later tour). The underground vault portion of the tour was a bit underwhelming...and (oh the irony) way too dark to see anything of the spaces we were in. It could have been someone's empty basement (a little theatrical lighting would go a long way). read more

Ok, let us sum up what you get from the 11£ you pay for this tour: a tedious short walk in boring roads of the old town with loads of stops in which you have to listen to tacky stories with the guide shouting every now and then trying to scare you (if I lived in the old town I'd report this to the police), then you enter in the so called vaults, and what you get to see are: 1) A narrow and rotting staircase 2) Two cellar rooms with a bumpy floor 2) a corridor 3) a narrow cellar room in which you are told about a lady on a tour who heard whispers coming from the backwall. Not much indeed. The time is filled up by the awkwardly tacky story-telling The underground rooms are but a cellar. I am from Italy and most italian buildings have cellars which look complitely identical, with the sole exception of salami and wine which here were absent. They spend some time telling you that people used to spend time there and that they found oyster shells which might indicate that the room was a tavern of some sort, but the whole thing is rather pathetic. 3 minutes would be too much to take a look at what is there to see. They show many stories underground in boards and posters giving the impression that you actually get to explore a complex system of underground tunnels and rooms, but then you only get to see three rooms and a corridor. Obviously we complained and the manager was hiding behind the good reviews. Oh dear, a bunch of hyped-up tourists giving 5 stars to everything they've done is hardly an excuse to rip people off in this way. £2.50 would be an adequate price, and without the time-filler, I mean the tacky storytelling. Strongly advise you not to go on ANY tour of this kind. read more

BOO!!! Did I scare you?! If I did, this company is probably not for you. If not, Amandine and her knack for weaving eerie stories on the Hidden and Haunted tour will surely make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and send shivers down your spine. We four poor souls ventured into the dark abyss beneath our feet with Amandine as our fearless captain to get an up close look at the Edinburgh of yore and to hear tales of those who used to reside there....and those who still do. Though only three of us made it back from the vaults (we never really liked the fourth guy anyway), the experience was absolutely worth it! read more

I've done quite a few 'ghost' tours in Edinburgh so each new one has a lot to live up to and sadly this didn't. The tour guide was lovely, engaging and informative but it just didn't feel like we had much time in the actual vaults and given that there are over 200 and we only saw 4 it was kind of disappointing. I think I would give it another go and perhaps take an extended tour or brave a 'vigil'. Worth a visit but not top of my list. read more

Liz was a good guide. Very theatrical. Stories were a little hard to follow but I loved how our guide told them. No ghost sightings on our tour. Would have liked a few more stories and more specific to the vaults themselves but they (Mercat) are very authentic so if they had (historical) stories about the actual vaults toured they would have been made up so I appreciate the authenticity. read more

I came here yesterday with Robbie and his parents who are visiting from Italy. I have lived in Edinburgh for 3 years now, and this as my first time in the vaults-shame on me! The adult price is £10 for an hour ghost tour in the vaults, whilst we paid £9 being students. Admittedly Robbie's parents don't speak English, so that took something from the experience slightly, but it seemed they had been expecting a bit more. Apparently Robbie's dad had watched a documentary on focus at least three times about the so-called "underground city" of Edinburgh, and had believed they would be seeing a real underground city. Either Mercat tours didn't take us down deep enough, or the documentary he watched was one of those highly OTT programmes which exaggerate facts. In any case, we all found this too expensive for what you see and hear, despite me having no expectations prior to the tour. The tour started on a positive note. Our tour guide, Lauren, was very enthusiastic and a good public speaker. She told us about the 3 day torture of "the king of traitors". We then walked down a close, and got told about the body snatchers (common knowledge to permanent residents in Edinburgh, what with the Burke and Hare incidents. Once we entered the vaults, I think Robbie's parents were bored as they couldn't follow the ghost stories and just wanted to explore, and I found it a little bit silly (sceptical of me, I know). We were told about the various friendly and not so friendly ghosts that live down there, including a cobbler who checks out people's shoes,a mental hag who stays in a corner and causes physical pain to women, pregnant women in particular, and the watchman who is supposedly the most powerful. It was pretty short, we only saw a portion of the South bridge vaults, the atmosphere wasn't scary due to the noise down there, and we left feeling a bit disappointed. Maybe for £4 it would be worth it... read more

We went on the Vault History Tour as Ghost Tours really are not our thing. They guide, Gillian, was excellent. She did a very good job of making the history interesting and informative. read more

We did the Evening of Ghosts and Ghouls Tour with tour guide Alun. He was a wonderful storyteller and guide. Our experience was fantastic and we highly recommend the tour. read more

Over the late May bank holiday we did the Secrets of the Royal Mile tour which is a 90 minute tour for £11. Our guide was really great and gave good information that you wouldn't find in the guidebook. The guide really made the history of the Royal Mile come alive without being boring. I enjoyed the tour and would definitely recommend it to others over the competition. read more

Creepy and fun at the same time. You get to see the chambers of the south bridge, plus a dram at the end with a couple more ghost tales. Def recommend! read more

Egh...the tour was ok, guess if i was feeling a bit liberal i could've given 'em 3 stars but i was expecting a bit more from a haunted tour. I must say though, given the little we spend (and even less if we had our student cards on us) you get a 1 hour tour and get to see some cool, otherwise, inaccessible places in Edinburgh (the underground tombs). However, i was expecting to at least be a bit scared, shocked or amused..instead it was an underwhelming tour spun with some history and run-on humor. Tours have a lot to do with the tour guide and the tourists so overall our group was lackluster, hence, the "meh." read more

Had 2 great experiences with Mercat. We had Nicky in the afternoon for a walking tour of the city and it was very informative and insight. Nicky knew her history and provided a different perspective of the city and the castle. In the evening we did one of the scary tours with Rachel and had a great time. Strongly recommend Mercat. read more

Run by Director Des Brogan and his family, this company specialise in historical tours of the city - and international tours to the Battlefields of Belgium and France. Des is the history boffins' history boffin - he has forgotten more than most of us have ever learned about the Old Town of Auld Reekie or the conflicts of WWI and WWII. His staff are highly trained and embody all that Des believes in too. The tours, both in Edinburgh and abroad, bring history to life, are historically accurate but entertain the participant at the same time. Think Horrible Histories for grown ups! Highly recommended! No wonder the Tourist Board think likewise. read more

I did the historical vault tour. Unfortunately, there wasn't really much to it, though the tour guide, Ruth was awesome. She was a great storyteller and had lots of personality. During the tour an older woman fainted from the thin air and heat in the vault, Ruth handled the situation perfectly by calmly receiving help and making sure to keep the tour moving as well. read more

This again was probably one of my least favorite tours. It was interesting to start off with because we were in the vaults underneath the south bridge and that is always amazing! However after finishing this part of the tour we were taken to a graveyard that was a long way from our starting point and the stories that we were told there seemed to have nothing to do with the graveyard. I just thought that the long walk took you out of the whole scary atmosphere you were in and also after the tour you had to make your way back up the hill towards where you had started! It was fun but I would suggest another ghost tour above this one. read more

went on one of these tours when visiting edinburgh after looking at their website online. the tours seem quite popular as there were quite a few people on the tour. We went on a ghosts and ghouls one. since our visit was in april i tried to pick one that was indoors, in the dungeons. So i was very dissappointed when we spent the first half an hour wandering round the streets in the rain and in day light listening to ghost stories. Eventually we went into a part of the dungeons but very small and only around 4 rooms, so not very interesting. whent he tour finished we were told the gift shop was shop, had a breif look at the museum bit and then were moved out. NOt great read more

These tour are lots of fun, they usually have them leaving in the early evening and late at night. There are a few different walks to choose from such as walking round the underground vaults and through the old cemeteries. The guides who take the tours are wonderful. They really make the tours interesting and making the exciting and scary, but informing at the same time as they give you an insight into some of Edinburgh's more morbid history. The tours meet up on the royal mile, and they cost around £10 per person. The tours last around an hour and a half and can take you around a lot Edinburgh on foot. I wouldn't really recommend this for younger children, but teenagers and adults will love it. read more

Had the best time on the hidden and haunted tour. Martin was so good as a guide and story teller, I definitely recommend. Great entertainment and you feel like you get some history of Edinburgh! Would do it again in a heart beat! read more

This was my first tour in Edinburgh and with 2 kids (10 and 12). This tour was a great fit. Good time (5 pm), not too over the top but super scary stories told in a way that was very visual and helped us to get a good feel for life hundreds of years ago - mean, nasty, revolting. Spooky walk through the underground vaults as well. Our guide was Simon. Would definitely recommend it to others. read more

We did the 14:00 underground vault tour today and it was interesting but also quite boring for our preference. I'd heard that another company may have been less historically accurate but was more entertaining. With Mercat's tour we moved very little, stood still very much, listening to our guide talk. At 40 minutes in to the 80 minute tour I was wanting to be done. Executive summary please? You have stay as a group and one man from our group was subtly (passive aggressively) publicly chastised by the guide for wandering off (he was possibly bored as I was). This tour only goes underground to the first level. The physical area we covered could have been done in about 10 minutes. Our taxi driver said there is a much better tour that goes down to the fourth/lowest level. Bummer! read more

Went on the tour at 9.30pm and chose it because it said no children allowed which made us think it would be quite scary. It wasn't that bad, some of the stories were a wee bit creepy but it was more interesting to learn of the history of the old town and underground vaults read more

My boyfriend and I visited Edinburgh around New Year and chose to go on the 'Ghosts and Ghouls' tour at 9pm. Neither of us have experienced anything like it before. Great fun, informative and spooky. Our tour guide, Ella, was professional yet friendly, and made the audience feel secure but suitably freaked out! We chose to go for a drink in the tavern after the tour, which was well worth the money as there were alcoholic and soft drinks available. Our tour guide then answered our questions, and was confident talking about both the historical and supernatural aspects of the Royal Mile as well as her own personal experiences in the vaults. Following the drink we were led upstairs into a small 'museum' type room which displayed some artefacts that had been found in the vaults. We were able to look around this room at our leisure before being invited into the gift shop, which sold not only cliché ghosty souvenirs but also history/poetry books, confirming the company's interest in history as well as the paranormal. Overall, the tour was brilliant value for money and we felt we had spent the evening doing something which was different to drinking or clubbing, and unique to Edinburgh. Thank you Mercat Tours - we'll be back! read more

We did the Hidden and Haunted tour with Chiara our last night in Edinburgh. It was a miserable rainy night but Chiara did a good job of keeping us entertained. She was wonderful, very theatrical and was very into it. For some reason it felt much shorter than I thought it would (though I do think it filled up the hour) and there were a good array of stories with a little (quasi) history mixed in. Definitely hokey and not sure I would do it again -- but it was a fun thing to do one night for our first visit. read more

We had a wonderful time on the historic underground tour. Charles was our knowledgeable guide who had visuals to explain the history and topography of Edinburgh. He was very informative and entertaining. The underground vaults were fascinating and Charles really made the history come alive! One word of caution: ASTHMATICS BEWARE, my daughter had a severe asthma attack afterwards. Hopefully, this was an uncommon reaction to the vaults but I wanted to let others know so they can bring their inhalers as a precaution. read more

The vaults beneath North Bridge are fascinating, whether you believe in ghosts or not. If you pass under North Bridge from the Cowgate, imagine the space under the bridge is bricked up, without windows, so you can make it your home. Along with many, many others. It's not pleasant, and Mercat Tours will take you down an eerie, damp system of cave-like rooms, drafts, and paranoia. Unfortunately, I decided to visit at the worst time of year: August. The experience of the vaults was completely ruined by a loud party next door. While Mercat have rented one vault, a private club has rented another - and while you're half expecting a cold touch on your shoulder, people next door are dancing a carefree night away.. Which does make you wonder just how scary - or hyped - these vaults are. read more

Our tour was WONDERFUL! We had the lovely Sue as our tour guide; she was knowledgeable, kind, and answered all of our questions. We went on a Friday 1pm 'Secrets of the Royal Mile including Edinburgh Castle' tour, which we expected to be quite full. In fact it was just three of us and Sue on the tour, which was awesome! Approximately the first 1.5 hours was up and down the royal mile, and the last 35 minutes was in the castle itself, which left us with plenty of time to explore the castle afterwards on our own; Sue was kind enough to point out which sites in the castle (it's huge!) were most worth looking into. Overall we would absolutely recommend Mercat Tours to anyone visiting Edinburgh. For 30 GBP, you can't go wrong! read more

Had Naomi as a host last night for the Doomed, Dead and Buried tour at 19:30 and she was OUTSTANDING! She made the walking tour very enjoyable, I highly recommend her. Will definitely book another tour with Mercat again. read more

Go at night time, when the weather is good, because half of the tour is walking around to sites outdoors. That part wasn't my favorite, but the tour guide did a good job keeping the folks entertained with audience participation and lots of enthusiastic story telling. Just go with the flow and try not to be too critical and you'll have a good time. The best part of the tour for me, was going underground. Pretty damn spooky and dark in there and there's lots of stories of sightings and things that occurred down there to make you check behind you at least once. My husband and I love ghost tours and stories like this, so this was right up our alley. We got the tour that ended with a few other stories and a drink down in the cellar. Pretty fun. Overall a wonderful time! Would recommend for those who are easy going, into audience participation, a few corny jokes, and tales of ghouls and ghosts! read more