NC500 Pocket Map: Plan your adventure on Scotland’s North Coast 500 route official map

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It depends if you are camping or booking pubs and hotels. For hotels, B&Bs and camper vans the route is so popular many places are booked up a year in advance – so get planning! 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 busiest months are going to be the summer from June to August with some crowds in May and September. Festivals, special events (e.g., music concerts, bike races, car rallies), and holidays (e.g., Christmas, Hogmanay) also bring more people to the area. So avoiding these times of year can help but since they are also when there are the most daylight hours, most open attractions and lodging, and perhaps best chance of warm weather, chances are this is also when you plan to drive the route. Wild animals, particularly deer, may also be on the road and are much more likely to run out in front of you. Be extra mindful for deer in the early morning and evening hours when they are most active.

This really depends on your style of travel, some people plan little in advance and others plan in great detail what they are going to see each day. I’d recommend that you at least make a loose itinerary of places you definitely want to stop before you leave so you have an idea of how much time you want to spend in each area so you can plan your accommodation. It is easy to rent a car from Inverness Airport or downtown Inverness. Main rental car companies include Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Arnold Clark, Europcar, Hertz, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Focus Vehicle Rental. I’d recommend getting the smallest size vehicle you need and to be sure your rental is fully insured. A GPS unit can also be helpful for navigation. Enterprise are usually our favourite for car hire. Castles and long hikes are not on our itnerary but we love unplanned stops at secluded beaches, wooded paths along the way. The only planned activity i would like to do is the full day sea kayaking near Ullapool i read about above.

Ultimate 7 day North Coast 500 itinerary 

Climb up to the Fyrish Monument – one of the NC500’s hidden gems, the view from the Fyrish Monument is well worth the 3-hour round trip walk. Hi Northard & Gitti, So glad that you are finding our Scotland articles helpful in planning your trip! The midges normally start emerging around mid May and are usually in full swing by early June. How bad they are varies each year (2018 was a bad year) and throughout the summer. I don’t think it will likely matter too much as you can find them throughout the Highlands in summer, although from our experience they do tend to be worse along the west side of the North Coast 500 route. Golfing.Scotland is the home of golf and attracts golfers from around the world who want to play some of Scotland’s best known courses. For golfers, I’d recommend driving the route between Inverness and Dornoch, and also detouring a bit from the NC500 to the Nairn area.

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. The NC500 route goes near lochs of course (its hard to drive anywhere in the Highlands without this being the case!) but if you can do the drives around Loch Ness and other lochs I think you’d be OK. I’d maybe do a bit of Google Maps research and see what you think so as you look at images of the views from the road – you are closest to the coastline in the northern part of the route.Rabbie’s also offers this 5-day Northern Scotland and Orkney Island tour from Edinburgh that both include 2 full days on exploring Orkney and a drive around most of the North Coast 500 so you see many of the highlights and scenery. Short hikes– There are hiking trails all over the North Coast 500 and you’ll likely find many suitable for your kids. If you have babies or infants that need to be pushed in strollers, look for all-ability paths which are suitable for wheelchairs as they also work for prams. You might find this suggested 7 day camping itinerary useful as it provides a suggested NC500 itinerary and tips for those planning to camp or stay in motorhomes along the route. Melvich Beach– one of the north coast’s most stunning beaches, just a short walk from the road to Melvich Beach. Climb Ben Loyal and Ben Hope – the Queen of Scottish Mountains, Ben Loyal is a Corbett with four dramatic peaks to climb. Ben Hope is the most northerly Munro.

Hope that helps and just let us know if you have more questions as you continue planning your trip! Sorry for the delayed response but hope this is helpful as you being your North Coast 500 road trip tomorrow. Wishing you a wonderful trip! But even right along the route, few people get out of their cars to hike around lochs, hills, beaches, or fields so if you get out into nature you’ll probably find yourself relatively alone. Relatively few people even stop to visit the local museums and we’ve often had them to ourselves. You might also consider heading out on a boat to see the coastline from another angle. I know it’s a tough task, but being such an important event for us, we would REALLY love to get the most of our trip, especially because we live in a place where castles are nowhere to be found (Chicago, US)… Next stop – Caithness. Now don’t let anyone tell you the northeast coast of Scotland is boring. Ok, it might not have white sands beaches and fjord-like sea lochs of the west coast but it is beautiful, wild, remote and full of lots of fantastic hidden gems. Here is what to do on the Caithness section of the North Coast 500.If the license is not in English or Latin alphabet, then you will need to get a validated English translation or have an International Driving Permit. If you need an International Driving Permit, you will need to apply for this in your home country prior to your trip. If you are arriving elsewhere in Scotland or the UK, you’ll have additional options such as Rent a Motorcycle in Edinburgh. Renting a Campervan and Camping Gear I would suggest that you need a minimum of five days to do the route, a week would be perfect, and 10 days or more if you want to visit Inverness or any of the west coast islands. Castle of Mey– previously the home of the Queen Mother in Scotland, you can now tour this royal palace. Is there another itinierary that you would like to suggest for the above days between 14th and 18th October.