Bealach na Bà

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.

We visited Inverness in Scotland in January. We can verify everything you've suspected about windy and rainy Scotland, but in January it's even more fun because it's freezing too. On the plus side, we did have most of the tourist attractions to ourselves. However, we were not as keen to leave the comfort of our warm and dry Airbnb to go and venture out to see some of the natural landscapes.

A 7 day planned itinerary for your nc500 trip. Free to use, I hope it helps with your planning and you enjoy your road trip. Best time to visit is between May and September but you can visit all year round but be cautious of road closures in winter.