To visit here has been on my wish list for a long time. Parking was easy and we walked up to the entrance gates. Then there’s another walk to get to the castle itself. We had handheld audio devices used to explain the history of the place which was interesting. It’s a lovely setting and the castle is lovely. But…you only get to see one room inside the castle! Just the ballroom…nothing else! We felt a bit disappointed, but it is a private royal residence, owned by the royal family so I guess that is why, but we would have still liked to see more! The cafe is nice and the grounds are easy to navigate as relatively flat. Would recommend.

What a spectacular place! How incredible to walk around the grounds and see the ballroom of this Highland delight. We were welcomed at the gatehouse, we had booked tickets online and got a free handset to enjoy the tour. Walking up to the house the peace and tranquility was very evident, birds were singing and the air so fresh. You are pretty free to roam the grounds at your own pace, and take photos to your hearts' content all except in the ballroom. We were fortunate with the weather, it was dry and that made wandering round so much easier. There is a lot to see so do wear decent shoes. You can even take the dogs, not that we have any. The scenery is stunning and you can even sit by the river which is just so uplifting. The ballroom had a picture exhibition of the Royal family and some clothing which was very interesting, it is a cosy space and must be wonderful to attend balls there. The audio handset which has several languages I believe, has a lot of lovely information and you are directed to which number to press by the map and also there are number points along the way to keep you right. The staff are very helpful and friendly. There is a nice cafe area and gift shop of course and I can recommend the scones!

Dont go expecting to peak and poke around ballrooms and bedrooms because thats not what you get here. Its a privilege to be on this family site that’s such a beautiful setting. The audio tour gives you rich and helpful insight into points of interest around the grounds and there are additional walks you can do alongside the river or in the woodlands. I loved the collection of royal family images and a few royal uniforms and dresses on display in the ballroom. The decision to buy or not to buy souvenirs and food & drink is entirely up to each individual. Service was great and our hot drinks and cakes very nice. We wanted to stretch out our time onsite so appreciated our musings in the gift shop that still had some of its royal stables feel and the pipers room (food area) where more royal pictures are displayed around the walls. If you go with the right expectations and time to absorb what this special site offers, you wont be disappointed.

Lovely to have a look around. Unfortunately we didnt have long enough to fully appreciate the gardens etc. The ballroom exhibition was excellent. The shop there is very nicely done. Interestingly, the gardens directly around Balmoral House seemed unkempt and very untidy. loads of weeds.... not quite sure what that was about. definitely the most untidy of all castles we have looked at (apart from the derelict ones of course)

Couldn't disagree more with the negative reviews on here . Had a wonderful full day at Balmoral. Wouldn't have expected to be given access to all areas in a Royal house hold but enough to be part of the history of this beautiful castle. Everything is well set out with eating and gift shop facilities at the end. Equally the trails around the estate are wonderful. Highly recommend and will return.

We just had a great afternoon exploring part of the beautiful Balmoral Estate. We walked up to the Castle, looked at the exhibition in the ballroom, had lunch at the cafe where the food was freshly prepared and tasty. Sandwiches, paninis, scones etc. We then did a 2 hour Rangers Tour with Glenn who was extremely pleasant and knowledgeable. These tours are only on Wednesdays and have to be pre booked but the walking can be done independently, a map is provided. The staff were all very helpful. If you don’t do any of the longer walks you may find it a disappointing visit. It seems that changes are being made by the new King and parts of the Castle itself may be open to the public soon

The car park is right by the main road but at the time of our visit despite paying the machines had run out of tickets so we couldn't display that we had paid. Booked in advance meant no queue despite it being a lovely warm summer Saturday. We were greeted by friendly staff and set on our way with audio guides. We didn't follow the suggested route but chose to explore in our own way but everywhere is clearly signed and easy to find. Catering and toilet facilities were good. Only the ballroom is open to the public so good weather for outside certainly helped us. The grounds are superb and we took some of the longer walks up the hills with views over the grounds and then spent peaceful time by the river. A decent value for money visit and we would happily spend a day walking there again. After the visit we visited the Kirk across the road from the car park as well

Lovely to walk around grounds however if they are going to charge so much they really should open more rooms. There is only one for show and no photos allowed. Why?? It is only a small display of photos. If the Royals want privacy for the home close it all together...but one room certainly not worth the money.

We booked 6 months ahead on a friends recommendation and weren’t disappointed. Our guide, Gavin, was excellent and shared so much information and local knowledge as he toured us around the estate for just over 2hrs. Bit of a trip of a lifetime experience as it is expensive but for what we enjoyed it was actually good value as included free parking and normal castle tour access with audio guide. Agree with other comments re gift shop as we only bought honey as that was one of the items actually produced on the estate.

Some of the previous reviews were right that it was expensive for the viewing of one room with photo exhibition. The ground itself was very nice. The cafe and the gift shop not too exciting. We went in when the castle itself was near closing in the afternoon and so got cheaper tickets to explore the ground, which never closed. So if strolling around was what you were looking for, getting in at the right time would be a good option.