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Edinburgh on a budget: how to do it well
Short answer
Yes, outside August and New Year: many of Edinburgh's best sights are free and the centre is walkable, but rooms are expensive. A realistic minimum is about £110 a day per person sharing a budget double (bed £60, food £30, sights £15, transport £4); a hostel dorm can bring this down to roughly £60–75.
A realistic daily budget
| Budget | Mid-range | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed (per person, sharing) | £60 | £110 | £250 |
| Food & drink | £30 | £55 | £110 |
| Sights & tickets | £15 | £40 | £80 |
| Local transport | £4 | £6 | £20 |
| Per person, per day | £109 | £211 | £460 |
Approximate 2026 prices, two people sharing a room. From our Edinburgh day-cost table.
Free things to do
- National Museum of Scotland, with a rooftop terrace over the Old Town
- Scottish National Gallery and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
- Climbing Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park
- Calton Hill at sunset, with views over Princes Street and the Firth of Forth
- The Water of Leith walkway from Dean Village to Stockbridge
- The Royal Botanic Garden (the garden is free; the glasshouses charge)
Cheap eats
- Scotch pie from a bakery: roughly £2–3.50
- Haggis roll: roughly £4–6
- Takeaway fish supper: roughly £10–14
- Cullen skink (smoked haddock soup) as a starter: roughly £7–10
- Full Scottish breakfast in a café: roughly £9–14
Where to sleep for less
Budget travellers stay in the Old Town hostels around the Royal Mile, the Grassmarket and Cowgate, where dorm beds typically cost about £20–45 a night outside summer, rising sharply in August. Leith and Haymarket have cheaper hotels with trams to the centre and the airport.
Getting around cheaply
Walk the centre, and use Lothian buses (about £2 a single, with daily caps on contactless) for anything further. From the airport, the tram (about 35 minutes) and the Airlink 100 bus both run to the city centre and are far cheaper than a taxi.
A sample budget day
- Morning: climb Arthur's Seat (free), then a coffee and a Scotch pie (about £6)
- Lunch: soup and bread in a café (about £8)
- Afternoon: National Museum of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery (free)
- Evening: takeaway fish supper (about £12), Calton Hill at sunset and one pint (about £6); dorm bed about £30
- Total: about £62 with a dorm bed; about £110 sharing a budget double and adding one paid sight
More ways to save
- Look for the free shows of the Free Fringe programmes in August, where you pay what you like at the end.
- Shop at supermarkets for breakfast and picnic lunches; Princes Street Gardens make a good picnic spot.
- Choose one big paid sight instead of several: the Castle or the Royal Yacht Britannia are the most popular.
- Join a tip-based free walking tour of the Old Town.
- Stay in Leith or near Haymarket and take the tram, rather than paying Old Town prices.
- Ask for tap water in restaurants and pubs: it is free.
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Common questions
What can I do for free in Edinburgh?
The National Museum of Scotland, the national galleries, Arthur's Seat, Calton Hill, the Water of Leith walkway and the Royal Botanic Garden are all free.
How do I get from Edinburgh Airport to the city cheaply?
Take the tram (about 35 minutes) or the Airlink 100 bus to the centre; both cost much less than a taxi.
Is Edinburgh cheaper than London?
Usually yes for food, transport and most hotels, except in August and at Hogmanay, when Edinburgh rooms can cost more than London's.