Edinburgh Tattoo

We have never been before and are going in 2016. We purchased tickets in section 7 looking straight down the stage area back towards the castle. I joined the "Friends of the Tattoo" last week and was able to buy tickets in the early sale period for members. If you look at the website here...

http://www.edintattoo.co.uk/tickets/2016-seating-plan-and-prices

You can see where the seats are. It doesn't look like there are any "bad" seats, only some that are a little better. I'm looking forward to my first Tattoo!

The east stand is usually considered the best as you have the actual castle as a backdrop.as to fireworks there are a few go off after each performance and maybe a 5 minute show at the end of the Saturday night shows.It get dark quite late in Scotland in august so the late show on a Saturday is the only ones that it is really dark enough to really see the fire works.

Donna & Denis,

The most popular and preferred seating seems to be in Sections 8 & 9, below the Royal Gallery. When I attended the Tattoo a few years ago, I found that the side sections "blue" 3 & 4 / 13 & 14 provided a really good view of the performance, as most of the events tend to take place in the centre field area. Those sections seem to provide the best balance of view and reasonable cost.

As I recall, there are fireworks displays after all performances, but the fireworks after the late Saturday shows seem to be longer and more elaborate. The fireworks at the final yearly performance at the end of August seem to be really elaborate!

Regarding the "TV recording", the shows are always filmed by BBC for use in the Tattoo videos. I've never attended a performance during TV productions, but I doubt the cameras would be in the way. I assume they'll be using a number of cameras to provide different vantage points.

It would be a good idea to pack some rain gear, as they have never cancelled a performance due to rain. If you forget that, I believe they have cheap plastic ponchos for sale. It would also be a really good idea to take a warm coat, as even in August it can get very chilly in the evenings.

I wanted to thank you all for your comments. My husband decided that his birthday was the ideal day to go and purchased this tickets this morning.

Donna,

Just curious, which seating section did you purchase the tickets in? Again, be sure to take warm clothing and perhaps some rain gear (just in case).

Vernon,

I think he said section 13. Your comments about the balance between cost and view were most helpful, as there are other events in to attend in Edinburgh while we're there.

Sigh, rain gear, we need to go shopping, as we own nothing. Should said shopping include rain pants as well as a hooded jacket? We do already have some very lightweight long underwear, recently purchased. We also have down liners, which I think we'll need at Keukenhof, our starting point.

D&D,

You could always pack along one of these......

http://www.magellans.com/itemdy00.aspx?ID=115,3649&T1=MRG747+MERL

Small, light and easy to carry, and I always pack one on every trip. RS used to sell these but they seem to have disappeared from the website. I can't recall for sure, but the Tattoo may sell small disposable clear ponchos on-site (I seem to remember seeing some). If you're on a tight budget, you could always resort to a couple of black trash bags with a hole cut in one end.

You can buy inexpensive (cheaply made and won't last long) rain ponchos outside Edinburgh castle. They re not provided to you at the Tattoo.

Thanks Uncle Gus and Ken for your helpful advice on the Tattoo. We hope to go as well, and now I am armed with insider information as I look at tickets!

(Thanks to Donna as well for posing the question!)

Unfortunately, we have to delay our trip until next year. This thread has reminded me to put a note on the calendar for late November, thank you.

I/we would dearly love to hear about it from those who are planning to go this year!

I don't have any advice about WHEN to go, but as someone who has been, make sure if you're tall that you get an aisle seat. My DH is 6'6 (not big, just TALL) and would NOT fit in the seat. The seat in front of him was too close. Thankfully, the ONE person who didn't show up that night was the person who had the seat next to him. So he was able to sit sideways. Otherwise, he would have had no choice but to find somewhere to stand near the railing.

But it was AWESOME. One of the highlights of all of our travels. Enjoy!