Almost all major cities have sightseeing passes (Paris Pass, Venice Pass, London Pass, etc.). Scotland is a little different in that the country offers a similar pass covering some of Scotland’s historic sites. For those visiting Scotland (see 9 Day Scotland Nature, Castles, and Scotch Itinerary), you may wonder if this is a way to save money on the sights that you want to see. These passes typically include a very long list of attractions. Organizers advertise them as saving travelers a lot of money. However, the reality is that they don’t generally save you nearly as much as expected because most people don’t go to all the sites. The question still remains – does it actually save you money? We will attempt to answer the question “Is the Scotland Explorer Pass Worth It?” below.
Overview of the Scotland Explorer Pass
The Historic Environment Scotland office sells the Scotland Explorer Pass. This is a government organization responsible for the investigation, care, and promotion of Scotland’s historic environment. Visitors who buy the pass are able to access several castles, forts, and other public sites. The places that can be accessed with the Explorer Pass include:
- Aberdour Castle and Gardens
- Arboath Abbey
- Blackness Castle
- Dryburgh Abbey
- Edinburgh Castle
- Elgin Cathedral
- Fort George
- Glasgow Cathedral
- Iona Abbey and Nunnery
- Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement
- Jedburgh Abbey
- Melrose Abbey
- St. Andrews Cathedral
- Stirling Castle
- Urquhart Castle
- and many others….
The pass is good for 7 consecutive days from the start date selected at the time of purchase. There aren’t an unlimited number of passes available so they can and do sell out during the most popular times. For this reason, it is recommended to get a pass several days in advance if you are wanting to take advantage of it.
Unlike several other city passes, the Scotland Explorer Pass does not include any type of public transportation. It exclusively provides entrance to all historic Scotland sites as well as a couple of perks during those visits. For example, the perks include discounted audio guides (20% off) and guaranteed entry if you pre-book your ticket online before arriving.
Using the Scotland Explorer Pass
The Scotland Explorer Pass is emailed to you after purchase. I recommend printing out the Explorer Pass once you receive it and bring it with you. Many places will accept a digital copy but make sure it is downloaded locally to a phone because cell service can be spotty in some of the locations. In order to use the Explorer Pass, the majority of the castles require a reservation ahead of time. Many times these are controlled by timed entrance. Don’t expect to show up and walk in with the Explorer Pass.
In order to get a ticket to an attraction, go to the Historic Environment Scotland website and select the attraction that you want to visit. The vast majority of attractions will have the option to book a ticket on the website. When purchasing tickets, ensure you select the option for Historic Scotland (HS) Member and Explorer Pass Tickets. This will give you the option to select a date and time for your visit as well as reserve a ticket that won’t require payment online.
These tickets do require a valid Explorer Pass at the time of entry at the attraction, so be prepared to show the pass to gain entry. Because a check for a valid Explorer Pass isn’t performed online when selecting individual Explorer Pass tickets, visitors need to keep their validity period in mind. You don’t want to be surprised when you show up without a valid pass and are required to pay the on-site entrance fee. Finally, the Explorer Pass is limited to visiting each attraction once. This won’t be an issue for the vast majority of travelers but keep this in mind if you were thinking of splitting a site visit across multiple days.
Scotland Explorer Pass Cost
The Explorer Pass only comes in a 7-day length variety and includes entrance to all the sites within the Historical Environment Scotland portfolio. Despite these limits, there are several ticket options based on age, family, status, or student/senior status. An outline of the cost for each Explorer Pass ticket is below:
- Adult Pass (Age 16 – 64) – £44.00
- Senior Pass (Age 65+) – £35.00
- Student Pass (Must show student ID) – £35.00
- Child Pass (Age 7 – 15) – £26.00
- Family Pass (Includes 2 adults and up to 3 children) – £88.00
Analysis – 9 Day Scotland Itinerary
Finally, let’s look at a scenario as if we were getting the Explorer Pass and running it through a real life vacation itinerary. It should be obvious that if you’re visiting all places the ticket grants access to the pass is a good deal. However, I would guess that almost 100% of people are not able to visit all attractions included in the pass. With 37 sites currently included, travelers need to have extensive itineraries to visit all of them. Therefore, as a real-life test, we will compare the Scotland Explorer Pass against our 9 Day Scotland Nature, Castles, and Scotch Itinerary.
While there are 37 sites included in the pass, only three of them are visited during the 9 Day Scotland Nature, Castles, and Scotch Itinerary. It is conceivable that some travelers could see more in that time; however, many attractions are lesser known and out of the way making them hard to incorporate. The Explorer Pass includes the Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, and Urquhart Castle that are in our itinerary.
| Activity | Adult Admission | Child Admission | Senior Admission | Family Admission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh Castle | £19.50 | £11.40 | £15.50 | £66.50 |
| Stirling Castle | £17.50 | £10.00 | £13.00 | £56.50 |
| Urquhart Castle | £13.00 | £7.80 | £10.40 | £41.00 |
| Total Benefit | £50.00 | £29.20 | £38.90 | £164.00 |
| Explorer Pass Cost | £44.00 | £26.00 | £35.00 | £88.00 |
In this specific scenario, the Explorer Pass is cheaper than the individual cost of each attraction ticket so it would appear to be worth the purchase for all pass types. However, the difference in the cost isn’t very much for the adult, child, and senior pass types. The maximum cost difference was £6.00 for these pass types. Based on that, it’s not a resounding yes that the Explorer Pass is a must-purchase. If you’re confident in your itinerary, it’s always worth it to save a few bucks. However, if you miss one of these attractions, suddenly you are losing money by having the Explorer Pass. For that risk alone, I probably wouldn’t pick up the pass if I was purchasing one of these pass types.
On the other hand, purchasing an Explorer Pass if you are traveling as a family is a slam-dunk value proposition. I would definitely recommend picking this up. Family visitors are likely to save about 50% of what they would have paid at each site individually. This represents an extraordinary value that you won’t find anywhere else while going on a Scotland vacation.
