Six to eight teams, one phone each, 60 to 120 minutes on foot. €5 per pupil, teachers free.
More than 3,000 classes and groups have played Questo together.
Real students playingMore than 3,000 classes and groups have played Questo together.
We are a group of language students and we played the game with our teacher: a great and fun way to practise, and learn interesting stuff about our city that we didn't know.
Perfect with a group of A Level pupils. Loved it.
Quests for classes
A school day with Questo in Edinburgh mostly takes place in the Old Town: along the Royal Mile, through Greyfriars Kirkyard and the Grassmarket and up to the Castle Esplanade. Shorter routes cover the Georgian New Town around St Andrew Square, and there is a gentle sculpture walk in the Royal Botanic Garden. For Key Stage 2, Edinburgh: City of Wizards starts at the City Chambers and visits Greyfriars Bobby, the old gravestones and Victoria Street. Older pupils can play Ghosts of Edinburgh, which passes Mary King's Close, Surgeons' Hall and the Witches Well. The Edinburgh Enigma, which runs from the Burns Monument to the West Bow, also suits older pupils. Quests cover ages 8 to 18.
62 min · 2.7 km · 11 stops
Starts at City Chambers
Reading old gravestones in Greyfriars Kirkyard, including Thomas Riddell's Grave and the William McGonagall Tombstone
90 min · 1.9 km · 12 stops
Starts at Point 1 - LBC
56 min · 2.9 km · 11 stops
Starts at The Mound
Crime and punishment in the Old Town at the Grassmarket, West Bow and Lawnmarket
60 min · 4.2 km · 10 stops
Starts at William Chambers Monument
The Reformation at John Knox House and St Giles' Cathedral
90 min · 2.3 km · 12 stops
Starts at 1 St. Andrew Square - NE
Deductive reasoning: weighing clues to identify a culprit over 12 stops
Teams of 3 to 5 share one phone.
Under-14s need one adult per 2 to 3 teams with agreed checkpoints; 14 to 18, follow school policy. Old Town closes break sightlines quickly.
The centre is compact, so classes mostly walk.
Lothian Buses has no school ticket (child single £1.20); Scottish under-22s ride free with a National Entitlement Card. Edinburgh Trams' app discounts 10-plus tickets.
The council's public toilets are free, including those in Princes Street Gardens and on Middle Meadow Walk.
Reliable fallbacks are St James Quarter, the National Museum of Scotland and Central Library.
Classes picnic in East or West Princes Street Gardens, either side of The Mound, or on The Meadows.
The National Museum of Scotland's Entrance Hall lunch space prioritises school groups in term time.
The National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street is free, as are the City Art Centre and Central Library.
If rain spoils the day, replay the quest free within 30 days.
Caution: Pickpockets work Royal Mile crowds around street performers, the Castle esplanade and Waverley, especially in August. Old Town streets and closes are steep and cobbled, so allow extra walking time.
The Reformation (John Knox House, St Giles' Cathedral), witch trials (the Witches Well on Castlehill), Old Town life in the closes (Advocate's Close, Mary King's Close, Tweeddale Court), the Scottish Enlightenment (Adam Smith's Grave) and the history of medicine (Old Medical School, Surgeons' Hall). The Victorian story of Greyfriars Bobby also features.
Urban geography of a medieval ridge town running from the Castle down the Royal Mile, with narrow closes on either side, compared with the planned Georgian New Town around St Andrew Square. Also map reading and finding your way between stops.
Reading and following written instructions in teams. The quests also touch Edinburgh's literary and theatre landmarks: the Burns Monument, the Writers' Museum, the William McGonagall Tombstone in Greyfriars and the city's Festival Fringe.
Sharing roles within a team (navigator, reader, timekeeper), making decisions together, keeping to agreed meeting points and behaving well in a busy capital city.
Price and terms
No minimum group, no time slot.
A class of 30 on one quest: €150.
Choose a questTell us the quest or city, the class size and the dates. We send an invoice to the school.
In short
A school trip to Edinburgh with Questo is a self-guided city quest. Pupils in teams of 3 to 5 follow a route of 10 to 12 stops on foot, solving a puzzle at each, in 55 to 90 minutes. 5 quests suit classes aged 8 to 18. There is no guide and no time slot: the class starts when it arrives. The price is €5 per pupil, and teachers play free.
Pupils are an estimate: groups of four or more teams starting one quest together, at about four pupils a team, across all cities since 2018. Ratings are from players of these quests.
In a randomised study of 10,912 students, a single cultural trip raised critical thinking, tolerance and interest in culture weeks later.
458 Amsterdam pupils walked the medieval city in teams, solving tasks on phones at real locations. They learned more than classmates taught the same topic in lessons.
Source: Huizenga et al., Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 2009
Across hundreds of studies, game-based learning beats non-game teaching on knowledge and retention; story and playing together are what make the difference.
Source: Sailer and Homner, Educational Psychology Review, 2020
| A Questo quest | A guided walking tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is active | Every pupil, in a team | 30 pupils listening to one guide |
| Start | When you arrive | 10:00 sharp |
| Pace | Each team at its own, pause for lunch | The group moves on |
| What the teacher gets before | Plays the whole route free | A confirmation email |
| Price | €5 per pupil, teachers free | €12–€25 per pupil, teachers often charged |
Teacher FAQ
Your next story starts outside.
Get the Questo app. Pick a quest, follow the clues and make the city your playground.
