Just note that the water is always cold, even in the summer so bring a drysuit or wetsuit if you want to spend some time in the water! Many Scottish beaches have limited or no facilities so be sure to bring anything you may need. 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.

Drive over the Kylesku Bridge – a famous photo stop on the NC500, the Kylesku Hotel is nearby serving up great seafood. Laurence personally favors the western side for landscape photography, but we found great photography spot throughout the route. Here is a guide to some of the photography highlights of the North Coast 500.The drink drive laws in Scotland were changed in 2014 and are now very strict with low limits to discourage drinking and driving. The legal drinking limit is now lower than in any other part of the UK. You could still be charged even if you are riding a bike. Of course, getting a little lost is just part of the journey! Which Direction Should I Drive the North Coast 500? For rental cars, you can see our recommendations above in the article. We’d recommend flying into Inverness Airport or getting the train there (easy to do from most parts of the UK) and then just renting a car there. There are many rental car companies. We often use Enterprise ourselves. That is a good question. I think that obviously you want to be prepared as you could be cycling a fair distance to the nearest village in some places so good to always have the basics on you of course (repair kit, first aid kit, food/water, safety gear, emergency numbers) and I think the phone could come in handy as reception is not great in certain places with a regular cell phone.

Both, my wife and I, are in love with castles, so we would definitely like to sleep a few nights in several of the famous Castle Hotels, however, we would REALLY love to include the NC500 route in our schedule…I’d recommend 2 nights on the Isle of Skye after you finish the NC500 drive. That will give you more time to explore there. Here is some ideas for the Isle of Skye and also a Skye & Scottish Highlands itinerary that might be helpful.

You already have some great ideas for places to visit with young kids (gardens, beaches, boat tours). There are many that might be a good fit, but here are some more ideas of places you might consider:

Enhance Your NC500 Experience

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.).

Buchollie Castle – access is across a walkway with sheer 100m drops on each side – don’t try and visit in bad weather!Built by Sweyn Asliefson the notorious pirate and robber in about 1140 and later remodelled by the Mowat Family until 1661. Guided Activities– There are many opportunities to book some fun activities and tours along the route. Examples include wildlife boat trips with EcoVentures, Caithness Sea Coast, or Hebridean Whale Cruises,ziplining with Golden Eagle Zip Line, geology walks (kids 10+ only) with Deep Time, fishing with Assynt Fly Fishing, loch canoeing or kayaking with Kayak Summer Isles, pony trekking with the Gairloch Pony Trekking Centre, and deer spotting and ATV trip at Reraig Forest. Note many of the above activities have age limits and most require advanced booking.

Buzz

If you’ve driven any part of NC500, feel free to share any tips or advice you have from your own trip! As always, all questions and comments are welcome. The infrastructure of the Highlands in some areas is not fully ready to handle mass tourism, but most traffic incidents can be avoided by following the driving laws, knowing how to safely drive your vehicle, and being prepared. Yes, you would definitely have time for one of the islands if you think you have more time than you need for the North Coast 500. I’d recommend heading over to either the main island of Orkney (get the ferry from John O’Groats or nearby) or to the Isles of Lewis and Harris (ferry from Ullapool). I’d recommend at least 2 full day and nights on either to have time to see the main highlights. Off the route, is also the possibility of going south a bit to the Isle of Skye. Both Orkney and Lewis have good cycling routes as well if you want to take your bikes. Could you, yes, but you’ll just be driving most of the time and won’t really have time to enjoy much along the route. We’d recommend at least 3 days for the time between Ullapool and Inverness. 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.