Destination NC500

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Inverness is about a 150 mile drive from Edinburgh (~ 3 hour drive), 170 mile drive from Glasgow (~ 3.5 hours drive), 300 miles from Belfast (~ 8 hours with short ferry ride), 370 miles from Manchester (7.5 to 8 hours), and 570 miles from London (~ 10 hours). In Inverness, you can rent a car from a number of rental car agencies in Inverness Airport or downtown Inverness. Just be sure your rental is fully insured. Enterprise is usually our go-to company for car hire. We haven’t traveled the route with kids, but we definitely think it doable and can make for a nice holiday for children of any age. I think you just need to do a bit more planning to make sure you allow more time for breaks and plan visits to places the kids will enjoy.

Hope this helps, and if you have further questions as you plan your trip feel free to reach out. We’ve driven this route several times now and happy to try to help! For rental cars, you can see our recommendations above in the article. We’d recommend flying into Inverness Airport or getting the train there (easy to do from most parts of the UK) and then just renting a car there. There are many rental car companies. We often use Enterprise ourselves. Having the round-trip flight and car bookings done, we are now in the process of establishing our self-driving route, and we are trying to figure out how to reach as many points of interest as possible, but without over-doing it… You’re very welcome, and happy to look over an itinerary or answer more questions as you get further along in your planning. There are lots of historical attractions along the route as well as places where you can do short walks and hikes. We note many of these in our detailed itinerary.Glad you enjoyed our North Coast 500 guides. Yes, since many of the attractions are outdoors and natural, some may not be an option for someone with restricted mobility. However, many of the scenic viewpoint stops are viewable from the parking area or a very short walk from it and even some of the longer paths have been designed for those with restricted mobility in mind such as this one in Assynt. But for the most part, the hiking trails and beaches are difficult in terms of accessibility. If you are someone who hates planning ahead and wants to be able to stop and spend as much time in a place as you wish, I’d consider doing a camping or campervan trip along the NC500. That way you won’t need to search for last-minute lodging each night which can be difficult on sections of the route. This way all you need to worry about in advance is your transportation and camping gear and you will have the flexibility of either traditional lodging or camping each night. We noticed a lot of people who were stopping on the road, to the side of the road, or in passing places during our trip. This is unsafe and also illegal in some cases. The popularity of the North Coast 500 has brought both benefits and negative consequences to this part of Scotland. Some of the negative side effects of increased tourism have been increased littering, overwhelmed local services during the summer, and more traffic accidents and complaints. Could you, yes, but you’ll just be driving most of the time and won’t really have time to enjoy much along the route. We’d recommend at least 3 days for the time between Ullapool and Inverness.

For more on castle hotels along the route, you can see our North Coast 500 accommodation guide which has over 25 recommended places to stay along the route, from castle hotels to B&B’s and guesthouses. For more on whisky, see our comprehensive guide to whisky distilleries in Scotland, which has everything you need to know. We also have a guide to whisky distilleries on the North Coast 500 specifically. Some of the islands are really small and you can easily explore on foot whereas others you would probably want a car or to book a driving tour with a local. Castles:There are a number of castles along the route, ranging from crumbled ruins to the former home of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother to picturesque Disney-like castles. Here is our suggested 5 day Scottish Highlands itinerary that may help a bit for things to do/see. Although with a baby, you won’t be able to see as much and will need to move at a slower pace each day. We also started this one from Edinburgh but it should hopefully give you some ideas.

I’d recommend at least 3 nights to do the NC500 – 5 days is ideal. We have a NC500 hotel guide that has all the main castle hotels listed. Let us know if you have a specific question about any of them. We only have a camping itinerary up so far, but will have more NC500 itineraries up before your trip in Sept., if you want to sign up for our monthly newsletter to be alerted with our new articles.

Wishing you a great trip and hope you have a great time at your son’s wedding in Tongue! If you have any questions as you plan your trip, feel free to ask. The North Coast 500 (NC500) was created in 2014 by the North Highland Initiative, which is a non-profit organization that was established by Prince Charles in 2005 in an effort to develop economic growth across the North Highlands. Following its creation, private investment was raised and the route is promoted by a for-profit corporation called North Coast 500 Ltd. The company provides a number of resources for both visitors and local businesses. For the North Coast 500, wewould recommend that you start researching lodging options as soon as you know your dates. I would book at least 3 months in advance if possible. Staff at several of the busiest properties recommended to us that travelers should try to book 6 months in advance to guarantee a room as they had some dates fully booked 6 to 9 months in advance. You already have some great ideas for places to visit with young kids (gardens, beaches, boat tours). There are many that might be a good fit, but here are some more ideas of places you might consider: Currently few companies are offering NC500 tours, especially group tours, but the options will likely increase as the popularity of the route increases. We’ll try to keep this list updated but if you know of any other group tours, please let us know!

Enhance Your NC500 Experience

Summer Isles Hotel in Achiltibuie – I think they allow dogs in many of the rooms plus in the bar area (but not the restaurant)

Many thanks again for all the wonderful information and links and in advance for whtever advice you may have for us. Beaches & Pools– There are dozens of beaches along the North Coast 500 and they are great places to stop and let the kids explore and let out some energy. The water is often too cold for much swimming, so I’d consider bringing wetsuits or drysuits if the kids want to spend a lot of time in the water. Remember there are no lifeguards at most beaches. There are also a number of public swimming pools along the route as well if the kids prefer indoor swimming.That is great that you have more time for your North Coast 500 trip and you could easily make all of the overnights from 1 night to 2 nights if you wanted. I’d definitely recommend spending a bit of time exploring the area around Inverness as there is a lot to see if you haven’t been before (e.g., Loch Ness, Fort George, Cawdor Castle, Culloden, etc.). Scotland, as with the rest of the UK, drives on the left – but there’s so many more rules of the road that you’ll need to know before you visit. Research driving laws in Scotland before you book your car hire, starting with the Highway Code. It’s particularly important to note that Scotland has a lower drink-drive limit than the rest of the UK, so make sure you have one member of your group as a designated driver at all times. Just note that the water is always cold, even in the summer so bring a drysuit or wetsuit if you want to spend some time in the water! Many Scottish beaches have limited or no facilities so be sure to bring anything you may need. Laurence personally favors the western side for landscape photography, but we found great photography spot throughout the route. Here is a guide to some of the photography highlights of the North Coast 500. Spring and summer is also bird nesting season and dogs can disturb ground nesting birds so good to be aware of if doing walks/hikes. Some of the bird and wildlife reserve areas do not allow dogs for obvious reasons.