Edinburgh Bus Tours?

You're going to love Edinburgh. I'm extremely envious of your trip. The bus tours are all offered by Lothian Buses. Here's a great site that compares the different tours http://www.stuckonscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/bus-tour-comparison.html. It's easy to get around Edinburgh so I wouldn't be over concerned about learning the city. You'll get it down fast. I hope that you do get out to see the other parts of Scotland. Get up to Inverness and see the highlands. Check out Perthshire and the Kingdom of Fife. The Borders have fascinating history. And, of course, their are the islands in the west and in the north. If you're interested in hearing some Scottish music check out Sandy's Bells. It's near the University.

Have fun! Pam

It sticks in my mind that all bus tours in Edinburgh are operated by Lothian Buses. They have four or five variations including one that's a bus/boat combo. All the buses I've noticed are the standard double-decker-open-on-top tourist contraptions. Some tours have guides, some just recordings.

If it were I, and I really wanted to do it, I'd take the cheapest one just to get an orientation.

My suggestion would be to skip the whole thing. Some of your school chums are going to know a lot about the city already. Tearing around with them, you'll learn a lot more than you will on a one-hour ride with a canned spiel. Unless you're only taking a week-end course, you'll have plenty of exposure to the area.

Alayna -
Congratulations on your studies! Good luck!

That being said, a lot of the bus tours are right at Waverley Bridge. My first time to the city, I took a full bus tour of the city and then did the hop-on, hop-off. IMO, it gives you a nice overview of the city and you can explore it later in depth and at your own pace. Walking tours, you might want to do with your fellow students as you can explore the city together. Don't forget to check out many of the other places in Scotland that are also as fantastic. If you're there for six months or a year, you have plenty of time to travel around the country.

Thank you so much, everyone! That is very helpful. And, yes, I have plans to see much more of Scotland as well as other part of Europe during my 5 months abroad. It will be an exciting adventure, for sure.