If you find yourself in Edinburgh, visiting the Royal Yacht Britannia is an absolute must! It’s not far outside of the city, and a wonderful way to tour authentic royal history! I of course recognized it from The Crown, but loved stepping onboard walking in the same footsteps as QEII and other members of the royal family. Here is what to expect visiting the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh, Scotland!
Read More: An Ultimate Guide to 2 Days in Edinburgh
Getting There
Visiting the Royal Yacht Britannia takes you just outside the heart of the city, but is very easy to get there! The easiest (and cheapest) way is to use the public tram. The tram is one line that starts at the airport, goes through the heart of the city, and then out to the coast. Click here for a map- chances are, there is a stop not far from where you’re staying in Edinburgh!
Prior to boarding, you will want to make sure you purchase your round-trip ticket. Each stop has ticket machines where you can buy a round-trip ticket for less than £4 (as of September 2024). You will board the next train heading toward Newhaven and ride the tram to the second-to-last stop, getting off at Ocean Terminal where the Britannia lives! The ride is only about 20 minutes from the center of Edinburgh, and incredibly easy and safe. I also loved that it was above ground so I could see more of the city as we traveled!
Tickets and Boarding
Tickets and entry to the Britannia are located in Ocean Terminal, which is like a mall (strange, but go with it). Once inside, continue straight back and then make a right turn. There will be plenty of signs guiding you to visiting the Royal Yacht Britannia, so just follow those! Step inside the ticket office to get your boarding pass and audio guide (more on that below!). Pro tip, if you have your student ID from college, bring that to save a few pounds! Once you have your ticket, you’ll follow signs outside to see the royal yacht in all her glory!
The Self-Guided Tour
Once onboard, you’ll set off on the self-guided tour through the Britannia! The tour starts on deck 5, which is the top deck with the bridge and a sundeck. You’ll then make your way down deck by deck to view the preserved rooms that are set just like when QEII and her family were on board. You will tour their staterooms, formal dining room, living room, sun room, sun decks, and crew areas. You’ll even work your way down to the lower decks to get a behind the scenes look at the operations that kept the Britannia operating smoothly (both on a logistical level, as well as a working royal one!).
Since the tour is self-guided, you can spend as much or as little time in each area as you’d like. I feel as though I moved through at a moderate pace and it took me about 2 hours to tour the entire ship.
Audio Tour
One of the best parts of this tour though? The audio guides! Do not sleep on them! When you arrive at the ticket booth, they’ll give you the option of taking them or not. Definitely make sure you do! They are free and give so much interesting backstory to the areas you’ll tour while visiting the Royal Yacht Britannia. One of my favorite parts though was the fact that they included audio clips from members of the royal family reflecting on their life aboard the Britannia. QEII, King Charles, Princess Anne, and so many others discuss the different rooms and recall memories throughout the yacht. It really gave me a lot of added appreciation for the Britannia hearing about it straight from them!
Off the Ship
Once you finish touring all the decks aboard the Britannia, there is still more to see off the ship! On the dock, you’ll find several “photo ops” set up- my favorite being this boarding area! You can walk up and feel just like royalty (an adult version of a Disney Princess!). Docked right next to Britannia was also a smaller speedboat, which I recognized from The Crown as the boat the family would use for zipping around the coast of Italy! I’m sure there is a name for this type of boat, but I’ll just call it the wooden speedboat with an Italian vibe ;). Once back inside Ocean Terminal, across from the ticket office is a small gift shop where you can get authentic Britannia gear. I snagged some ornaments for my Christmas tree!
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