Experience Edinburgh, Scotland almost for free - your perfect Edinburgh travel guide

Traveling is such a fun activity, and visiting new places is always amazing, but sometimes it can get really expensive, especially in your 20s. When you're still going through school, the "crappy job", and all those shenanigans, you have few pennies to spare. Today, we have some secrets to share with you, from our travels. Here are our top picks from our experience and enjoy our Edinburgh travel guide.

Besides the beauty of traveling, food, sex, and booze, there is definitely one thing every 20-something-year-old loves - free stuff. Am I right, or am I right?

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase through our links, there will be no additional fee for your purchase & you will support our work as well, so thank you! For more, see our full disclaimer here.Well, today, we not only get into some fun details of what you can experience in one of the most vibrant and beautiful cities in the world, Edinburgh, but we will show you how to do it, for cheap! Why? Because you deserve it. And it's an awesome experience.Lovely dreamers, we ( my fiance Andy and I, being Maya) moved to beautiful Scotland in 2017, in search for new adventures and experiences. When we first got here we were set into finding a place to belong, and we were more focused into fitting in, adapting and learning the Scottish ways, and above all - working and saving money.

It wasn't until a few months after we moved here, found jobs and started settling in when we finally had the money to move around a bit and actually travel.

Related: (At least) 10 Awesome spots to geek out over in the UK – part 1

We visited Edinburgh quite a few times since being here (sometimes it feels like we're living there) but still have much more to explore. Today we want to focus on the beautiful things you can experience here, from how to learn about Edinburgh from the most amazing tour guide to other free and super cheap experiences that are worth your time.But enough with the chit-chatting! Let's get to it!

The Perfect Edinburgh Travel Guide - Super Cheap and Free things to do

1. Experience the city - Book a free* guided tour of Edinburgh

What if I told you that you could get a guided free* tour of Edinburgh that you will not only love but recommend to others as well?

Many people don't know this before coming to Edinburgh(we were included in that bunch), but there is a company called Sandeman that offers a variety of walking guided tours, including a free* tour of this magnificent city.I put the * simply because I want to be honest with you. The tour is technically free, but it works on donations/tips to your guide, at the end of the journey.

Funny thing is, you'll be so impressed by your guide and the tour, you will end up being happy to pay, even if it's just 5£. The tour is made this way so it would fit any budget, and encourage the guides to provide the best experience for tourists and travellers.

We were blown away by our guide, Adam, and we were so happy that we got the geeky one! Making funny jokes related to various universes, from George RR Martin'sGame of Thrones to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, he clearly knows how to captivate his audience and make us all laugh.Adam really is the perfect walking and talking Edinburgh travel guide!Plus, under his guidance, we got to experience Edinburgh in a different light, learned about its history, and got to geek out when we walked down "Diagon Alley" and when we found Tom Riddle's tomb.

We encourage you to book a tour, hopefully, you'll get Adam as well! and get ready for 2 and a half hours of fun!

Tip. Even if you don't get him, you'll definitely enjoy the walk and stories, but make sure to have on comfy shoes and an umbrella, or a raincoat, just in case.

Scottish weather is tricky!

2. Get the best view - Walk up to the Observatory and the National Monument, and visit the Nelson Monument

For the best views of Edinburgh and the surroundings, you definitely need to get yourself up as high as possible. A beautiful place to visit is the Nelson Monument, up on Calton Hill. Walking is free, plus has a ton of health benefits.The Nelson Monument's £6 entry so you can climb the tower all the way to the top is definitely worth it, and the museum on the ground floor is free (although donations are always welcome).Here's a top view of the National Monument, from the Nelson Monument.

The Observatory was closed for renovations the last time we were there (as you can see in the photo below), but we are planning a trip back soon, and we'll definitely give this one a go!

Tip. If you decide to go up, take your time because there are quite a few steps to climb. Stop from time to time and make sure to admire the city through the tower's windows!

3. Travel through history - See Edinburgh Castle cheaper!

This is where it gets real, folks! If you would go now in Edinburgh and walk up to the castle gates and want a tour, you would be immediately put off by the ticket prices - 17.50£ per adult is pretty much if you ask me.

But what if I told you that there is a way to see not only the Edinburgh Castle for cheap, but over 70 heritage attractions and gain access to over 400 daytime events across Scotland (that take place in a year's time), oh! and get a 20% discount in the shops and a 10% discount in the cafes of these places?

It's so simple!

You can visit the castles, henges and other historical places in Scotland way cheaper if you buy yourself either an Explorer Pass( for 5 or 14 consecutive days) or membership for Historic Scotland (if you are planning to stay for longer – this is a yearly subscription).

The memberships give you access to every location for free, but keep in mind that in the UK there are different memberships for Scotland, England, and Wales, each with their own places, benefits, and other goodies. And yes, you can have memberships in Scotland, England, and Wales at the same time.

We pay a monthly fee of 7.20£ for the joint account (aka for both of us combined), and it is a small price to pay when you have so many benefits!

Opt-in for any of the services we talked about above, and visit Edinburgh Castle, as well as other heritage sites in the area, like the beautiful Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots( a place we highly recommend btw!)

Another great place nearby Edinburgh is the Blackness Castle, featured in Amazon Prime's original Outlander series. Even if you may recognize it as Black Jack Randall’s headquarters in Fort William, in earlier seasons.

P.S. If you're looking for cheap accommodations in or near Edinburgh, make sure to check some Airbnb's, and get £25 off your home booking as well!

Aaaand that's all for today, lovely dreamers! We hope you enjoyed our tips from our Edinburgh travel guide, and if you did, make sure to share it, pin it, tweet it! We would highly appreciate it!

Our question for you is: What's your next travel destination?