Destination NC500

Product Information

Inverness Mobile Tyre Fitting are a local, family run company who supply, fit and repair tyres 24/7 using their mobile service, covering all of the North Coast 500, Highland, Strathspey and Moray-shire region. Be prepared before you head out on your journey and add their number to your phone – 07785295534! If you prefer not to be at the wheel or handles at all, you also have the option of booking a guided tour or hiring a private driver guide. See section on tours below.

Winter can be a nice time for photography and solitude, although the weather can be bad and certain minor roads (e.g. the Bealach Na Ba) may be closed due to bad weather. If you plan to drive the NC500 out of season (e.g., October to March) just note that many businesses (including hotels, restaurants, tourist information offices, and attractions) in the Scottish Highlands are seasonal or have reduced winter hours.

Because I’ve seen a couple of spots already I’m doing some research on the NC500 with kids, maybe in combination with 1 or 2 islands. Is there any specific information to tell for a 2-3 week trip on and around the NC500? 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.).

So I’ve been to Schotland a couple of times now. However I’ve never crossed (yes I’m from NL) with my 2 kids (2 and 4). 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. I would appreciate any other suggestions on specific places to take them to that we might have missed. 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. After reading your reply I think we might go for around 10 days for the NC500, a week for the islands en some days for edinburg / inverness etc. which make a total of around 3 weeks.Be very careful of potholes, certainly at the beginning and the end of passing places. They can be brutal. Glad you are finding our content on the NC500 and Scottish Highlands helpful in planning your trip 😉 Now, six months is a pretty long time in advance so don’t worry if you just decided to drive the NC500 and it is 2 months away, you’ll still find plenty of places with availability, but start booking now. Just note that the most in-demand properties and the best value ones often get booked up well in advance. See our prior article for more information on where to stay along the NC500 which covers some of our favorite hotels and B&Bs along the route.

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. Glad you enjoyed our NC500 road trip guide and wishing you a great road trip in March! We should have more content on the NC500 out before your trip. In this first section we’ll try to answer the most common questions such as: what is the route, how many days do you need to drive the North Coast 500, when is the best time of year to drive the route, where should I stay along the NC500, how far ahead to starting booking, and other common questions. However, in recent years, they have added North Coast 500 brown tourist signs along the route to help people stay on the route. So it is much easier to follow the route now. Day 7: Return to Inverness and spend another night in your first B&B, or consider ending your trip with a good value castle stay. Kincraig Castle or Tulloch Castle are two options.Head into spots that require some hiking such as Sandwood Bay or climb up one of the munros. The mountains are a great way to get away from the crowds. The official North Coast 500 map is no longer being printed (we believe printing ended in 2020) and the organization said it will not be printing any further printed maps (although a digital one is available on their app). This is a shame as it was a great map and very popular and was given out for free at theVisit Scotland Tourism Information Centres along the NC500. Staying in cozy bed-and-breakfasts, historical properties, and luxury castles was part of the experience we wanted on our North Coast 500 journey, and our lodging choices definitely added to the experience. Get extra insurance. Our excess waiver this year (covering tyres) will cost us GBP 70. The tyre incident last time cost us GBP 128. I doubt you will likely find a travel companion a week before such a trip, so I’d plan to do the trip on your own, but there are message boards out there that you might want to try. I’d try local ones in your particular area to see if anyone is interested and maybe some specific to the NC500. Unfortunately, the best travel companion board that I know of (Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Travel Companion message board) closed down last year. There are also general Facebook communities you can join as well and I’d do a search for “travel companions”.