I love anything nautical, especially the historical stuff, so I had to visit Brittania whilst in the area. It's interesting to see how our British representitives lived and entertained foreign dignitaries whilst onboard. Saying that I'm glad that my taxes aren't supporting this kind of excess any more. I was travelling by car and found access a bit of an annoyance as road works in the area weren't registered with online maps. If you too are travelling by car be aware of the city wide congestion and allow some extra time.

From the warm welcome in the ticket office and audio guide collection we had a thoroughly enjoyable and informative visit. It was a privilege to be in the spaces used by the late Queen, members of the Royal family and associated dignitaries and VIPs. Also great to see 'behind the scenes' to learn how the ship and the crew worked - including the mess and bar areas where the Royals sometimes visited!!.. It was a treat to visit the tea rooms where we were greeted by the manageress who seated us in a splendid window table. We were served a wonderful afternoon tea by the lovely staff - especially Finnian who looked after us - even taking photos of / for us. Would not hesitate to recommend a visit to this iconic ship - one tip would be to allow plenty of time to thoroughly explore all the areas available (suggest 3 > 4 hours)

We visited around 10.15 on a Thursday and it was very quiet. The audio tour was extremely informative, and could be paused at any time to allow you to browse at your leisure. We took about 1 1/2 hours and really enjoyed it. The tram stops right in front of the attraction, very handy, and plenty of toilets were available on board. A few stairs to navigate, but not too onerous.

The visit lasts about 2 hours including coffee & cake in the tea rooms. The yacht is a time capsule of maritime history of a bygone age. The exhibits are presented in such a way that you believe the yacht could set sail tomorrow. The well organised tour is on 4 levels starting at the top and working you way down to the engine room. The surrounding dock area is currently being redeveloped so there are some unsightly demolished buildings.

Anybody with an interest in British history should definitely have the Royal Yacht Britannia on their to visit list. There is much more of the yacht now accessible since we last visited a long time ago. Most areas are open for viewing, including the Royal apartments, officers quarters, sailors messing, the bridge and navigation area, finally the engine room. I would suggest trying to visit at quiet time as some areas of the yacht could become crowded at peak times.

This is my second time, my first was 16+yrs ago! Whether you love the royals or not the history behind this Yacht is just amazing! My boys 16 and 9 both had hand devices to listen in to and thoroughly enjoyed going around. OK some people go around quicker than others so in some areas it gets busy but it soon clears. We didn't rush, took photos and it took us 1.5hrs. There are no plaques to read as you go around, there on numbers on walls as you go you dial the number on the handheld and hold it to your ear so for very young children although there are children's versions they do find it hard and tiring! The Yacht is so beautifully conserved, ok old fashioned but it was built in 1953 so not the decor of today but to the style back then....so much detail little things, the clocks all set to 15.01pm the last time the late Queen set foot off the Yacht all very touching. Yes they are knocking buildings down and building a new shopping centre around the docks but it genuinely doesn't affect your trip we heard nothing! In my eyes if you're going to Edinburgh this is a must. If you use the tram from the centre it takes around 20mins to get there so easy! Have a wonderful time.

The self guided audio tour works well except when you have people shuffling around with the volume on FULL and not holding the thing to their ear. After a while of listening to the entitlement and privilege and all the special things I got a little tired of it. There weren't a lot of people visiting when we were there but there were holdups in places and even a couple with a pushchair so perhaps they should apply some metered access. I thought they offerred concessionary tickets but in fact the majority of visitors were elderly when we were there. Good job we were able to use the stairs for the different levels otherwise using the lift would have been slow.

Well worth the £20 per person price. Get the unfortunate part done with first...massive building work taking place right next to the Britannia creating a lot of noise which affects the outside portion of the tour. Having said that its a minor irritation. The tour is self guided with a hand held device. Fascinating to see how the Royal family lived on board and how the crew lived their lives. Engine room is very interesting and you have to feel for the lowest of the low ratings living in that part of the ship. I have no hesitation recommending this attraction.

Second time visiting and better this time as not so busy. (Very windy day in December!). We had tickets for 11am however were able to enter earlier and it was very quiet which was excellent as meant plenty of time to look at all the areas without feeling rushed. The audio tour is clear and informative and truly gives an insight into life on board the yacht. If you have an interest in the Royal Family and/or have watched The Crown a very good visit. It took us about 90 minutes. Highly recommend next door, a visit to the Leith Distillery. A vertical distillery, the only one in Scotland. The 90 minute tour takes you through the entire whisky distilling process in a working distillery - absolutely fascinating. The tasting experience was superb and highly recommend the bar/restaurant for a drink/lunch.

I enjoyed my experience visiting the RYB, I remember when it was decommissioned when I was a little girl. I always wanted to see it as a supporter of the Royal family. It was like getting a little glimpse into the Royal family's life and the lives of those in service on the ship. They give you a great handheld device that hives you an audio tour around the ship at prompt points. It is extremely useful as you can select your chosen language. Kids can use one as well and my 10 year old - who isn't a reading fan, could listen and learn. It was interesting. However I knocked off a star because it was very crowded with so many people turning up at the same time - it became a bit cramped and the pacing of visitors would have been beneficial. We didn't visit the cafe addition on the ship because it seemed everyone was heading there after the tour.