NC500: 5 Day Road trip Itinerary

What is the NC500?

The North Coast 500 is a scenic road trip through the Scottish Highlands. It’s a 500 mile loop that features stunning scenery from mountains and cliffs to sandy beaches.

As the route is a loop starting and ending in Inverness, it’s possible to travel clockwise or anti-clockwise. I believe in “saving the best for last” and followed an anti-clockwise direction, starting up the east coast.

Things to know before you go

Before looking at the itinerary, I’ve outlined some top tips to keep in mind while you’re planning:

Scotland, especially the north, is cold! I completed my trip in August, which is during Summer and I certainly expected the weather to feel warmer. You should pack layers to wear in preparation for those cool coastal breezes as well as wet weather gear because you will likely experience all four seasons during your 5 day trip.

The midges are no joke! Midges are tiny flying insects that will leave you covered in bites. It’s important you come prepared with repellant, and while it’s not very fashionable, I think a head net is a good idea. I wore mine a few times hiking and even one night cooking dinner at a campsite.

It’s a popular route so it’s best to book accommodation in advance as sites will be fully booked. If you’re needing access to electric hook up, it’s important to plan ahead as these are usually the first to book out.

Phone signal is limited, ensure you’ve downloaded offline maps or carry a good old paper map.

5 Day North Coast Itinerary (With Map)

This itinerary assumes you’re travelling in a car or camper and includes accommodation recommendations for campsites. If you have a small motorhome you could use this itinerary but you should check the suitability of some routes, you might need to take diversions for larger vehicles. With that said, the roads are narrow and winding, so this post also assumes you are a reasonably confident driver.

The below map is colour coded per day and is as follows; Day 1 – Blue, Day 2 – Green, Day 3 – Purple, Day 4 – Orange, Day 5 – Red.

Day 1 – Inverness to Dunnet Head

Distance: 155 miles / 250 kilometres
Drive time (not including stops): Approx 4 hours
Colour on Map: Blue

Chanonry Point

Your first stop will be Chanonry Point in Fortrose Bay to do some dolphin spotting. The bottlenose dolphins living here on Scotland’s east coast are the biggest bottlenoses in the world, up to 4 metres long. During my visit in August I was lucky to spot dolphins within a few minutes of arriving at the viewing area.

Tip: Paid parking in the Chanonry Point Car Park commences from 9am. An early start means you’ll beat the crowds and avoid paying for parking

Big Burn Golspie

Next you’ll drive to the Big Burn Walk Car Park in Golspie to complete the walk to Big Burn Falls. A short 2.5km out and back walk through a gorge along paths and wooden bridges to a waterfall. The leafy, rocky and mossy surroundings look like the setting of a fairytale.

Dunrobin Castle

Just one mile down the road you’ll arrive at Dunrobin Castle. A grand castle and gardens overlooking the ocean. After visiting a number of castles during my time in Scotland I chose to admire this one from the outside and didn’t pay the entry to go inside.

Whaligoe Steps

The Whaligoe Steps is a beautiful cliffside stop nearing the top of the east coast. A short walk down from the car park you’ll quickly spot the steep set of steps zig zagging their way down the cliff. You can walk down the stairs into the harbour below, or if you’d rather not do the climb you can wander the trodden path around the edge of the cliff to admire the steps from the other side. If you do take the time to walk around the cliff you’ll also see a view of the waterfall flowing into the ocean.

Duncansby Hill Lighthouse & Duncansby Stacks

For this visit you should navigate to the Duncansby Head Lighthouse Car Park. I had initially navigated to the Duncansby Stacks and was confused about where I should park. However the stacks, which are the big rock formations just off the coast line, are a brief walk from the lighthouse car park. After viewing the lighthouse, you can decide how far you would like to walk to view the stacks. It’s a lovely walk along the coastline through a paddock on a grass path. If you get close to the cliff edge you’ll see little nooks in the rock with birds nesting. I was hoping to spot a puffin but only saw a lot of seagulls.

Where to Stay?

I stayed at the Windhaven Camp Site in Brough. This was a quiet little campsite right on the cliff overlooking the ocean. It had all the basic facilities including a shower, toilets, dishwashing area and electric hook up. You’re not able to book online, instead you need to call or message the number on the website. When I messaged they responded within 5 minutes and confirmed the booking. This campsite was also my first experience with midges in Scotland. I had been warned about their notoriety on the west coast and wasn’t expecting to encounter them so early on in the trip, come prepared with your repellant!

Day 2 – Dunnet Head to Durness

Distance: 89 miles / 143 kilometres
Drive time (not including stops): Approx 3 hours
Colour on Map: Green

Dunnet Head Lighthouse

Your first stop on day 2 is Dunnet Head Lighthouse, which is the most northerly point of mainland Britain. From the car park you can walk the paved path down to the side of the lighthouse. If you look out over the cliff you may also spot some dolphins.

Balnakeil Craft Village

A visit to the Balnakiel Craft Village was listed as a recommendation on most of the blogs I read while researching my NC500 trip, however I didn’t see the attraction. There were very few shops here and it looked like only one store, one gallery and the cafe were open. While the store had some nice handmade items, it was inside an unkempt mouldy building with an uninviting atmosphere, which is a shame. The cafe in the village, Cocoa Mountain Balnakeil, advertising the ‘the best’ hot chocolate was also often mentioned as a ‘must visit’. Perhaps my expectations were set too high by the claims of ‘the best’, however I was very disappointed with my watered down hot chocolate and it did not live up to the hype. You can choose if you’d like to include this stop in your itinerary or skip this one.

Smoo Cave

I hadn’t done a lot of research on Smoo Cave prior to stopping here and was pleasantly surprised. The cave is easily accessed by a short walk down stairs from the car park. It has a huge entrance and is free to go inside and walk along the viewing platform. There is a paid tour available to go deeper into the cave, you cannot book this in advance as it is weather dependent. The tour was very easy to book on arrival inside the cave, proceed to the desk area where you’ll see the tour operators. You must bring cash to pay for the tour (If you don’t have cash the closest ATM is inside the Spar located just up the road). I enjoyed the tour learning more about the cave’s history and their continued excavation projects. It also felt like a fun little expedition as you put on a hard hat and start the tour by climbing into a boat and travelling into another chamber of the cave.

Durness Beach

If you stay at the accommodation recommended below you’ll be staying up on a cliff with spectacular views over Durness Beach. The beach has beautiful blue water with a number of rock formations. You can take a stroll over the wooden platform to a viewpoint or take a walk down onto the sand. While you’re here, treat yourself to a toastie from the Cheese and Toasted Snack Kiosk, they were absolutely delicious!

Where to stay?

I stayed at Sango Sands Oasis in Durness. This is a very popular campsite that was fully booked online but they do keep a number of sites available for booking on the day. These sites are released on the day from 12pm. Don’t try to enter before 12pm, they have signs advising this, they like to keep the drive clear for people checking out and exiting. As most of the stops in the day 2 itinerary are in and around Durness, this allows you to visit Dunnet Head Lighthouse in the morning then go straight to Sango Sands Oasis to be there for 12pm. Then once you’ve secured your site you can head out to visit the other stops! 
It is a big and busy campsite but there’s plenty of space. They had two amenities blocks. The facilities were clean and the showers were spacious with nice hot water. In the morning they had a breakfast bar serving rolls and hot drinks.

Day 3 – Durness to Achmelvich

Distance: 66 miles / 106 km
Drive time (not including stops): 2 hours and 30 minutes
Colour on Map: Purple

Kylesku Bridge

The Kylesku Bridge is a stunning photo opportunity with views of the surrounding mountains and water. There is a car park on either side of the bridge, making it an easy spot to pull into.

Allt Chranaidh Waterfall (Wailing Widow Falls)

The Allt Charanaidh Waterfall, also known as the Wailing Widow Falls is only a 5 minute drive up the road from the Kylesku Bridge. There is a small car parking area on the side of the road. Then it is a short 10 minute hike from the road to the waterfall. The hike is along the water and quite rocky, so it’s important to wear sturdy shoes.

Drumbeg Viewpoint

As the name suggests, the Drumbeg Viewpoint has a nice view over the coastline and the many little islands dotted along it. While this looks like it would be an ideal spot for a picnic, you should hold out to the next stop!

Lochinver Larder

This is a lunch stop that was so good it deserves its own place on the itinerary. The Lochinver Larder is home to Lochinver’s famous pies and they certainly lived up to their reputation. You can choose from savoury or sweet pies and to dine in or take away. I ordered the chicken curry pie and it was one of the best pies I’ve ever had. It had a flaky shortcrust pastry, delicious curry flavour and was full of tender meat. I enjoyed it so much that I returned the next morning wanting to try an apple pie and was devastated to find that they are closed on Sunday and Monday.

Achmelvich Beach

If you’ve booked the campsite recommended below your final stop for the day is also where you’ll be staying the night. I was surprised to see a beach like Achmelvich Beach in Scotland, with stunning crystal clear turquoise blue water and white sand.

Where to stay?

I stayed at the Shore Caravan Site, its entry is right next to the beach. It was a spacious site without allocated pitches, so you could park up wherever you pleased. I would recommend arriving early to the site if you’re looking for a flat spot as some areas are sloping. There is a fish and chip kiosk on site, I love ordering fish and chips and eating them by the beach, so that is your dinner sorted.

Day 4 – Achmelvich to Big Sand

Distance: 98 miles / 158 kilometres
Drive time (not including stops): Approx 2 hours and 40 minutes
Colour on Map: Orange

Ardvreck Castle

You’ll start your morning with a 30 minute drive to Ardvreck Castle. The castle ruins sit along Loch Assynt surrounded by beautiful water and mountain views. There is no entry fee and you can walk right up to the ruins.

The Bone Caves

The Bone Caves are just a short 5 minute drive from the castle. The hike to the caves is an out and back loop that took just under 2 hours to complete, but expect this timeframe to vary depending on your pace and the weather. For this hike you should wear sturdy shoes as you’ll be walking rocky paths which are quite uneven in places. You should also wear plenty of insect repellant as the midges here were the worst I experienced on my NC500 trip! I’ll also go as far as recommending you wear a head net to keep them off your face. This was a pretty hike along a stream, it even had a little waterfall near the start of the trail. Once you climb up the hillside to the caves you can walk right up to the entrances. Follow the loop back down to return to the car park.

Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve

The Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve has a convenient car park with views over the loch. You can take this as a photo opportunity and quick toilet stop before moving on or there are some trails you can explore.

Ullapool

Ullapool is a coastal village and one of the larger ones you’ll find on the NC500. A nice stop for lunch and to enjoy time by the harbour. It’s also a good opportunity to stock up on any essentials you might need as there’s a large Tesco supermarket. You’ll also find a few souvenir stores and a well stocked outdoor store.

Corrieshalloch Gorge and Falls of Measach

In this nature reserve you’ll find easy walking trails along the Corrieshalloch Gorge with views of the Falls of Measah. There’s an old suspension bridge you can cross to reach the other side of the gorge with additional view points. There are two different car parks to choose from when visiting. I parked at the overflow car park which was a very short walk to the suspension bridge and view of the falls. If you’re looking for a slightly longer walk or access to facilities such as toilets or a cafe, then you can park at the main car park. Both are paid car parks managed by National Trust for Scotland.

Big Sands Beach

As the name suggests, Big Sands Beach is a big beach with a wide stretch of sand. It’s surrounded by sand dunes which are a great climb to admire the ocean and mountain views.

Where to stay?

Another beach campsite, Sands Caravan & Camping is located next to Big Sands Beach. This was a huge campsite that allowed you to choose where to set up, depending on what you had booked. There were designated areas for vehicles with no electric or electric hook up, or for those in tents. They provide an easy to read map to help you choose a location. I did encounter midges at this site so be prepared with your insect repellent.

Day 5 – Big Sand to Inverness

Distance: 141 miles / 227 kilometres
Drive time (not including stops): Approx 4 hours
Colour on Map: Red

Victoria Falls

Your first stop on your final day is Victoria Falls. A few hundred metres from the car park you’ll reach the viewing area to snap a photo of the falls. You can also continue your walk on the path up alongside the falls for a view from above. From here you can return to the car park or continue up the path to complete a loop walk.

Torridon

The next stop is Torridon, a small village located alongside a loch with picturesque views. To enjoy the view I visited The Torridon Stores & Cafe and sat at one of their tables outside. You’ll recall my earlier disappointment with the hot chocolate at the Balnakiel Craft Village and I can confirm that the hot chocolate at the cafe here is much more enjoyable, be sure to get those mini marshmallows on top!

Applecross

The village of Applecross is another stop to enjoy loch views and grab a bite to eat from one of the food vans along the water. However the real enjoyment is the scenic views on the drive there.

Bealach na Bà Pass

Continuing the scenic drive, the next stop takes you through Bealach na Bà, one of the most thrilling roads in Scotland. This dramatic mountain pass features tight hairpin bends, steep gradients and stunning views. 

Drive with caution: go slow, stay alert and use the passing places. If you’re a nervous or inexperienced driver, this might be one to skip – especially in poor weather.

Inverness

Make the drive back to Inverness and you’ve officially completed your NC500 loop!