North Coast 500 The Road Trip of a Lifetime – NC500 Guide Book by Robbie Roams

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days on the North Coast 500 will give you a good amount of time to see many of the sights along the way. However, as the going is slower in some parts than others, we’ve tried to balance this itinerary so you get fairly similar amounts of driving time each day.

Stage 3 – Sutherland & Assynt-Drive the beautiful coast from Durness to Gairloch and visit Scotland’s best beaches. Applecross Penisula – To get here, you either need to brave the famous Bealach Na Ba pass or the winding coast road from the neighbouring village of Shieldaig – both of which require nerves of steel from those not used to Scotland’s dramatic west coast roads. For those who do make it, the peninsula is as blissful as it gets – the view across the Inner Sound to Raasay and Skye is mesmerising.Inverness is also fairly easy to reach by car, with a good road running between Edinburgh and Inverness, with a driving time of just over three hours. Inverness makes for a great base for exploring nearby attractions, including Loch Ness. Whether you want to drive the route in 4 days or 3 weeks, take a tent or stay in luxury accommodation, there is a NC500 itinerary for you! A good way to plan out your NC500 road trip is to think of the route in four stages. The North Coast 500 starts and finishes in Inverness, so that is where our itinerary also starts and finishes. This is a very logical place for your adventure to begin, as it is well served by an airport and a fast train line, which links to the rest of Scotland and also England. You can even get an overnight sleeper train from London to Inverness.

For the most part, you’ll want to bring the same things you’d bring on any road trip, but there are a few things you may want to consider for a Scottish road trip. First, you may want to invest in a guidebook for the North Coast 500 or if your travels are taking you elsewhere in Scotland, a Scotland guidebook.

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If you are trying to plan your route and what attractions you might want to stop at along the route, we recommend that you take a look at our detailed 7 day North Coast 500 itinerary.

The North Coast 500 has become very popular in the last few years, even being labelled Scotland’s Route 66. Turning south, you will then travel through the otherworldly mountain landscapes of Lochinver and Assyntand then drive along a coastline pepper-potted with incredible white sand beaches with turquoise blue seas toone of my favourite regions in Scotland, Wester Ross. Dornoch is a good place for a coffee or chocolate stop at the wonderful Cocoa Mountain Cafe. This started in Balnakeil, although that location sadly closed in 2022, so now you have to get your chocolate and coffee mix a bit earlier on in your journey in Dornoch. Stac Pollaidh – one of Scotland’s best hill walks, with a well-made path to the summit, easy and fun scrambling over its pinnacles and ridges and incredible views over the Assynt mountains. Another stop as you near Inverness is the Dingwall Museum, which has a lot of information and displays about the local area.John Lennon Memorial Garden – Durness was a favourite spot of John Lennon and there is a small memorial garden in Durness just past the Smoo Cave.

Continue from Corrieshalloch on the A832 out around the coast. If you want to visit a beautiful and fairly deserted white sand beach, a detour to Mellon Udrigle beach is a great option, after which you’ll come to the village of Aultbea where there is a nice memorial to the wartime convoys. You’ll find this in a small park just north of the village. Have a lovely trip when you do get to go, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any more questions, 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! The scenic North Coast 500 and its innovative accommodation, from purpose built caravan parking spots to designer cottages modelled on ancient buildings, makes visiting remote areas easier than ever.” (Lonely Planet, December 2018). Today you’ll be finishing the North Coast 500 and returning to Inverness. Of course, if you have more time and want to continue exploring, you could also head to the Isle of Skye at this point. If that sounds good, see our tips for visiting the Isle of Skye to help you plan.Stage 1 – Inverness & Easter Ross– Starting from the Highland capital, Inverness, drive up Scotland’s east coast 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. However, we also wanted to include some essential tips in this post to help you plan your trip. Booking Accommodation on the North Coast 500 Harbour House– a few minute’s walk from the town with lovely loch views, a range of rooms and a good sized car park. We have stayed here a number of times and always had a good experience.