How much does Holyrood Palace cost in 2026?

The short answer: booking ahead is cheaper than paying at the palace gate, children pay roughly half the adult rate, under-5s go in free, and any ticket can be converted to a 1-Year Pass before you leave. The full 2026 figures, age by age, are below — along with the six tickets and tours I compare on this site.

Adult, advance£22

Adult, at the gate£26

Young person 18–24£14 / £17

Child 5–17£11 / £13

Under 5Free

1-Year PassFree conversion on site

The official 2026 prices, advance versus gate

These are the Royal Collection Trust’s prices from 29 March 2026, and the gap between booking ahead and walking up is real money. An adult pays £22 in advance or £26 on the day. A young person aged 18–24 pays £14 or £17. A child aged 5–17 pays £11 or £13, and so does a disabled visitor, whose access companion goes in free. Under-5s pay nothing at any time. For a family of four, booking ahead saves the price of lunch.

The GetYourGuide entry ticket I link on this site costs £22 — the same as the official advance price — and cancels free up to 24 hours before your visit, which the walk-up queue obviously cannot. I’ve set out how it performs in my entry ticket review. One thing it doesn’t carry: concession rates, which the Royal Collection Trust only sells direct.

What the six tickets and tours cost

Ranked by price, the options I cover on this site run like this. The full comparison goes deeper on who each one suits.

Mary, Queen of Scots walking tour — £19.50. A 1.5-hour guided walk from the palace gates to the castle esplanade. No entries included.
Palace entry ticket — £22. Entry plus the multimedia guide in nine languages. The one most people should buy.
Harry Potter tour with palace entry — £58. A 3.5-hour guided Potter walk, then the palace at your own pace.
Royal Edinburgh Ticket — £81. Castle, Holyrood, Royal Yacht Britannia and 48 hours of hop-on hop-off buses.
Castle guided tour + Holyrood ticket — £85. A guided castle morning and a self-guided palace afternoon.
The Royal Tour — £99. Five hours, small group, both entries, a guided Royal Mile walk and bus transport between the ends.

Skip the queueAudio guide included

The bundle maths

Here is the trap I see visitors walk into most weeks. Bought separately, an advance castle ticket is £21.50, Britannia is £22, a 48-hour hop-on hop-off bus pass is £29 and Holyrood is £22 — £94.50 all in. The Royal Edinburgh Ticket bundles the same four for £81, about £13.50 back in your pocket. If you were doing all four anyway, there is no version of the maths where separate tickets win; the detail is on my combo tickets page.

What’s free, and what stretches your money

Under-5s are free, an access companion for a disabled visitor is free, and the abbey ruins and gardens are part of the standard ticket rather than extras. The quiet bargain is the 1-Year Pass: any ticket converts on site into free readmission for twelve months, with a £2 fee to pre-book each return visit. If there is any chance you’ll be back in Edinburgh within the year, do this before you leave the ticket office.

When paying more makes sense

Pay more when you want a person rather than a handset. The £85 and £99 castle combinations buy you a live guide for the castle half of the day; the £58 Potter tour buys a guided walk families actually enjoy before the palace. And if you want the history without any entry fee at all, the £19.50 walking tour is the cheapest ninety minutes on this site. Whichever you pick, check the opening days first — the palace closes Tuesdays and Wednesdays most of the year.

Insider tip

Any ticket converts to a 1-Year Pass at the palace, free, on the day of your visit. Ask at the ticket office before you leave — they will not chase you to offer it.

Check prices and book

The entry ticket below is the standard £22 advance ticket with the multimedia guide included and free cancellation to 24 hours.

Check ticket availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure on most tours — book now, decide later.

Frequently asked questions

Is it cheaper to book Holyrood Palace tickets in advance?

Yes. An adult ticket is £22 booked ahead against £26 at the gate, and the same advance-versus-gate gap applies to every age band. Booking ahead also matters because the palace is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays for most of the year — the price is only half the trap.

How much is the Royal Edinburgh Ticket, and does it save money?

It costs £81 and covers Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood, the Royal Yacht Britannia and 48 hours of hop-on hop-off buses. Bought separately those run to £94.50, so the bundle saves about £13.50 — the full sums are on my combo tickets page.

Are there concession or child prices?

Yes, from the Royal Collection Trust directly: children 5–17 pay £11 in advance, young people 18–24 pay £14, disabled visitors pay £11 with a free access companion, and under-5s are free. The GetYourGuide ticket I cover in my review is adult-priced only.

Is the audio guide included in the ticket price?

Yes. The multimedia guide comes with entry at no extra cost, in nine languages including French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Scots Gaelic, with a British Sign Language version available. A visit with it takes about an hour to ninety minutes.