Ultimate 11 Days North Coast 500 Road Trip

Ultimate 11 Days North Coast 500 Road Trip

Yette Payne
The North Coast 500 is the magical route around the Highlands of Scotland. This journey begins in Inverness, known as the gateway to the Highlands. We will drive to the West coast of Scotland, with the opportunity to include the Isle of Skye if you have some extra time. Then, we drive clockwise along the coast, taking in waterfalls, lochs, beaches, and the rolling hills of Scotland. While driving the NC500, you will see the highlights of the route, with many opportunities for hikes, walks along the beach, and castles. As you drive you will be presented with scenic vistas of the rugged Scottish Highlands, whose views are known worldwide and are the real reason this route is so popular. You are encouraged to stop often at scenic points along the way to fully appreciate your surroundings. This guide will include a full itinerary for an 11 day trip. It can be cut down to 9 days if you remove the Isle of Skye. If you don't do all the activities, you could potentially cut down some more time, but I have tried to limit driving to under 3 hours a day. This guide also includes suggestions on where to stay and where to eat dinner for each night of the trip. Estimated budget of this trip based on 2 people sharing a room: Accommodation (usually including a full breakfast) at an average £130 a night = £1,300 Dinner at an average £40 pp = £800 Car rental c. £40 per day = £440 Fuel for c. 830 miles at 148.5p = £1,235 Other (entry prices, parking) = £200 Total = £3,975 The food budget in particular in subject to where you go and what you order. This also doesn't include prices for lunch. Accommodation prices could also be reduced by staying in hostels rather than hotels/ B&Bs. Car rental prices were found on Kayak comparable site - these are variable.
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Know Before You Go

Starting Point - Inverness

Inverness is served by an airport which mainly has flights between UK destinations including Manchester; Bristol; Birmingham; Belfast; and the Gatwick, Luton and Heathrow airports in London. There are also regularly scheduled flights between Dublin and Amsterdam.

The airport is very small, so it's easy to navigate, and there are public transport options for getting into the city — I used the Stagecoach bus, but there is also a train station that connects to the city centre.

Inverness is just over a 3 hour drive, or a 3.5 hour train from either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

Transport

It is not possible to experience all the North Coast 500 route has to  offer using just public transport.

There are several options for renting a car both at the airport, or in Inverness city centre. I would personally recommend Focus Vehicle Rental who are located in the city centre. I found the prices to be fair, and they were able to supply us with a vehicle last minute when our circumstances changed mid-way through our trip.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yette Payne
Hello! My name is Yette! I'm here to help you save time as you prepare for your next trip by providing details of my own experiences and research. I like to see the best different places have to offer, so the itineraries I prepare are based on this. My guides focus on: - Detailed itineraries that can be adapted to your preferences - Places to Stay - Places to Eat About Me: - I'm originally from Scotland - I am currently slow travelling through Europe with my husband, so my guides are always based on places I have been - I am an accountant by day - I studied languages at university which fueled my love of travel and included time abroad in France and Jordan Find me on Instagram @soujourns_and_stories to see my day to day. Email me at yette.payne@gmail.com
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Isle of Skye, United Kingdom
Inverness, UK
Scotland, UK
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