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. Planning a North Coast 500 road trip can be a bit overwhelming as it is a relatively new route and there isn’t as much information available online or in guidebooks compared to other top road trips around the world. But not to worry, we’ll provide all the information you’ll need to plan your NC500 road trip.

Day 3: Tongue to Durness: Tigh Nan Ubhal (Tongue) or Hillside B&B (Durness). There is also Salmon Landings– it is a bit before Tongue but a fantastic B&B. 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. 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. If you have never driven in Scotland before, you’ll want to review some of the driving laws and road safety tips before your North Coast 500 road trip. This is particularly true if you are planning to drive a rental car, caravan, or motorhome. 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.

My concern is do my stops on the west coast give us sufficient time to do that? we do intend to take the scenic route to Lochinver. Hi, what a superbly detailed guide you have produced here. A big thank you for the help it is giving us to plan our route. We are taking two weeks to drive the NC500 at the end of March. Would you advise carrying with us fuel for the car (in a legal container) or are there sufficient petrol stations along the route for this not to be an issue?

Hi there, me and my husband are planning to drive the NC500 towards the end of April/beginning of May. We’d like to take 2 weeks doing the drive. We enjoy road cycling and walking/hiking (12 miles walking maximum) so would like to stop a little longer in some areas so we can do this. Can you recommend any places in particular that would be good to do this? Would it be worth visiting some of the islands as we have more time? Any help would be great, thanks! I would recommend starting with our 1 week North Coast 500 itinerary which will help you plan your days around the NC500, I’d recommend spending 7 to 10 days on that route but you can certainly spend more. If you do more than 7, you can just add additional nights to some of your stops so you have more time in some areas. This is especially a good idea if traveling with young kids. The stretch along B869 from Kylesku to Lochinver, which is on the western part of the route. You can take the faster and wide A894 route instead to reach Lochinver. Deer lovers can spot red deer throughout the Scottish Highlands and the best time to see them is early in the morning in the fields away from villages. We saw loads of them, especially along the western and southern parts of the route. If you want to get really upclose to a large herd of deer, we can recommend a guided tour with gamekeeper Colin at Reraig Forest near Lochcarron.

If you have more than 7 nights, I’d suggest adding a night to some of your overnight stops. Makes the trip much more relaxing and allows you to see and do more in that particular area. There are several places to rent campervans around Inverness, including PaulCamper, GoBoony, Highland Campervans, Loch Ness Motorhomes, Outdoorsy, and Rover Rentals. The above would give you about 6 days for the NC500 and you wouldn’t do the southern section. So it will be a bit fast, but you will still have time to see a lot. So planning in advance your stops is a good idea so you don’t waste time planning too much during your trip. Note that many businesses don’t have street numbers in the Scottish Highlands but since the towns are so small, just keep an eye out once you are near and you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding them. Once you are in a town, any local person should be able to point you in the right direction if you do get lost. There are over 10 golf courses in this area but a few golf courses to consider are the Inverness Golf Club in Inverness, The Nairn Golf Clubin Nairn, Nairn Dunbar Golf Club in Nairn, Castle Stuart Golf Links near Nairn, Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Clubin Fortrose, Invergordon Golf Club in Invergordon, and the Royal Links Championship Course & Struie Course in Dornoch.