Edinburgh Festival Fringe Small Group Tour

Odyssey offers easy, convenient, and relaxed escorted small group tours across Scotland and beyond into the British isles. We explore Edinburgh's heritage, its World Heritage Sites, and world famous city attractions. This and more is all waiting to be explored on one of Odyssey’s small group tours, designed for the senior traveller, and led by experienced, and enthusiastic like minded people.

Explore the world’s largest arts festival; The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, born from eight theatre groups who turned up uninvited at the postwar Edinburgh International Festival in 1947, is among the most celebrated of all the festivals in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This extraordinary festival encompasses almost an entire month's worth of theatre, cabaret, children’s shows, experimental performance art, circus, comedy, and dance. Every year, an eclectic showcase of new and established artists and street performers from across the globe turn unconventional venues into performance spaces. Known for experimentation, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe feature free, paid, and pay-what-you-want programmes, giving us the opportunity to see and hear plenty of performances in this art festival. On this educational tour, we experience nine enthralling days of the Fringe.

In the world's first City of Literature (UNESCO, 2004), Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, will also be explored on this tour. While the Fringe is the tour's highlight, we will embark on walking tours around this fascinating city. Numerous sightseeing opportunities promise something for everyone.

You will also have free time to explore the city at your own pace. This visit to Edinburgh can take you to the Royal Mile, which runs downhill and book-ended by Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the British monarch's official residence in Scotland. The iconic Royal Mile in itself is an attraction, with its cobbled streets and wynds (minor streets) branching out of the main road, as well as countless historic buildings. You can also check out the Royal Yacht Britannia, which used to be the nautical residence of the Royal Family, and is now a five-star tourist attraction. Indulge in local Scottish food and whiskey tastings at charming city bars, or relax at the pubs on High Street. Get ready to experience what the United Kingdom's art hub has to offer.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Small Group Tour Highlights

A few of the Fringe's past performances included in this programme:

• Nina Conti: Work in Progress
• Choir of Man
• Baby Wants Candy: The Completely Improvised Full Band
• Havana After Dark
• Soweto Gospel Choir
• Alexei Sayle
• Ruby Wax
• Academic 2
• Hyprov

As the exhaustive programme is only published when bookings for performances open in June each year, tour selections and the updated itinerary will be confirmed closer to the date.

Please note that the performances mentioned in the current itinerary are from past performances and are included here to give you an idea of the mix of sightseeing and performance attendance on this tour. The itinerary will be updated with the new performances before the 2024 tour begins.

Secure Your Place at The Fringe

You can learn more about Britain and Scotland with our profiles where all the other tour departures are listed as well. For further information, check out the ‘Top 5’ or ‘Itinerary’ pages above. To make a booking, please call, send us an email, or simply fill in the form on the right hand side of this page.

Odyssey aims to secure accommodation in central Edinburgh, at the heart of the festival. Due to high demand for such locations, early booking for this tour is advised.

• Discovery
• Guaranteed departures
• Level 1 - Introductory to Moderate
• Pre-Guaranteed
• Short Trip