ABERDEEN FAQs

Yes. Aberdeen offers something quite different from Scotland’s other cities. Known as the Granite City, Aberdeen combines stunning historic architecture, a beautiful coastline, fascinating maritime heritage and a thriving food and drink scene. From medieval streets and ancient universities to sandy beaches and centuries of local history, Aberdeen has plenty to discover.

Aberdeen is famous for its distinctive granite buildings, earning it the nickname “The Granite City”. It’s also known for its historic harbour, North Sea oil industry, impressive street art, medieval Old Town and beautiful coastline.

One of the best ways to experience Aberdeen is on foot with a local guide. Walking allows you to explore historic streets, hidden corners and fascinating landmarks while learning about the city’s unique history and culture.

Some of Aberdeen’s most popular attractions include:

Aberdeen earned the nickname “The Granite City” because many of its most famous buildings were constructed from locally quarried grey granite. Thanks to the high mica content in the stone, many buildings sparkle in sunlight, leading some to calling Aberdeen the “Silver City” as well.

Old Aberdeen is the historic heart of the city and was once a separate burgh before merging with Aberdeen. Today it’s known for its cobbled streets, medieval buildings, King’s College and beautiful university setting.

Aberdeen has a lively evening scene, with traditional pubs, cocktail bars, theatres, restaurants and live music venues throughout the city centre. Visitors can enjoy everything from local seafood and craft drinks to cultural events and entertainment.

Yes. Aberdeen is a family-friendly destination with beaches, parks, museums, historic landmarks and plenty of outdoor space to explore. Children often enjoy learning about pirates, maritime history, local legends and Scotland’s famous granite city.

Absolutely. Aberdeen is perfectly located for exploring Royal Deeside, Dunnottar Castle, Speyside whisky country, the Cairngorms and the beautiful Aberdeenshire coastline. Many visitors choose to spend a few days in the city before venturing further into North East Scotland.

Yes, we require advance booking on the tour. Our guides do accept walk-ups but it can cause delays to the tour, and they can only take cash payments if you have the exact cash for the tour. Please note, if the tour has bookings already, you will be able to book online right up until the tour start time.

Our tours run in most weathers; as the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear! However, if we deem the weather to be dangerous to you, we will cancel the tour and you will be notified with at least one hour notice.

Yes, well-behaved dogs are welcome on all of our tours. Please ensure you bring everything you need.

Yes, all of our tours are already wheelchair accessible or can be made accessible very easily. We’d really appreciate you emailing us directly on info@walkingtours.co.uk after booking with your name and/or booking reference, so we can give the guide a heads up. This way they can plan for the adaptations in advance.

Our full accessibility information is available here.

Absolutely! You can see how long the tour runs for on the individual tour information. If you’re still unsure, feel free to email us to inquire.

Yes, our tours are suitable for families and children. You will see on some of our tours, we have children ticket prices for ages 7-15 year olds, and under 7s go free. Please note, that for some tours including alcoholic drinks, children are welcome to join booked adults, but you will need to notify us after booking via email.

All of our tours cover 1-2.5 miles at a relaxed pace with regular stops. The tours are suitable for all fitness abilities.

We recommend you arrive 5-10 minutes before your tour start time, and please plan ahead for this. Unfortunately, after a tour starts, we cannot know exactly where the guide will be.

Please check your confirmation email for the tour which will have the exact address needed for your meeting point. You can email us on info@walkingtours.co.uk or call us 7 days a week between 9am-5pm on +441414740746 if you still can’t find it.

There are no specific clothing requirements, but comfortable shoes are recommended for walking. We’d also recommend checking the weather in advance, and bringing umbrellas, raincoats, sunglasses, sun cream etc. as needed.

Yes, we are flexible with rebooking if you email us at least 2 hours in advance of your tour start time. Please email us on info@walkingtours.co.uk with your booking name and/or booking reference number.

Some tours have specific cancellation notes that will be on your booking confirmation email, particularly for special event tours. However, generally for public tours, our no refund period is 48 hours, and for private tours it is 7 days.

Generally, no. Please plan in advance for this.

Yes, absolutely! Take as many photos as you’d like during the tour.

You will receive an email from us a few hours after your tour which will have links to review. For any feedback you’d like to give privately, you can email us on info@walkingtours.co.uk

Yes, of course. It would be helpful if you could notify the guide when you arrive to let them know at what time you need to leave, and they can help you organise your onward route.

No, we think it can take away from the moment and the personality of the tour guide.

Yes, we love large groups! We’d recommend emailing us directly on info@walkingtours.co.uk to book a large group, as we have set rates which are generally cheaper than booking on the website.

Yes, we offer a wide range of private tours across the cities we operate in! You should be able to see the private tours we offer in our menu. If you have any unique requests, just email us on info@walkingtours.co.uk, we love doing more niche, unique requests!