North Coast 500 The Road Trip of a Lifetime – NC500 Guide Book by Robbie Roams

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For car hire, there are a range of providers and it’s always worth shopping around to see what prices are on offer. The main car rental companies include Avis, Budget, Europcar, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, but there are of course many options out there.

The NC500 is not an actual single road or highway like Route 66 or the Pacific Coast Highway, but is a series of existing roads that form a loop around the northern Highlands. This is a great question. There are plenty of car rental options, including a number at Inverness airport which will likely be the easiest option. The main car rental companies include Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Arnold Clark, Europcar, Hertz, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Focus Vehicle Rental. Enterprise are usually our favourite for car hire. Just ensure you get unlimited mileage so you aren’t limited. We’ve driven Scotland’s North Coast 500 road trip multiple times, in all seasons. We’ve taken trips lasting between five days and three weeks, and we’ve shared a number of planning guides, highlights, and itineraries on our blogs already.

Castle of Mey– previously the home of the Queen Mother in Scotland, you can now tour this royal palace. After loch Maree you will get to the village of Kinlochewe, where you’ll turn on the A896. This is another stunning stretch of road that winds between mountains and lochs, and offers numerous excellent photography opportunities. Just be considerate of other drivers and only stop in parking areas, not passing places. See the RSPB Tollie Red Kites– watch the RSPB volunteers feed beautiful Red Kites from the pretty farmsteading at RSPB Tollie. The Kites can also be seen flying over the A9 as you head north. Entry to RSPB Red Tollie is free. Whale Cruise – Take a Hebridean Whale Cruise to spot otters, seabirds and even dolphins and sharks in the waters off Gairloch.

The Split Stane, Sutherland– the boundary between Sutherland and Caithness – said to have been split by the devil’s tail. Find the stone at Drumholliston near Melvich. Photos: Tarbat Ness and Rosemarkie (by Andrew Dowsett Photography), Achiltibuie (by Hamlet Mountaineering), Dornoch (by The Dornoch Area Community Interest Company) 3. Setting up a base To help with your route planning we’ve put together a map of this 5 day North Coast 500 itinerary. You can also see this on Google Maps here.Try a dram at Glenmorangie Distillery – famous worldwide, you can take a tour of the distillery – remember no drinking for the designated driver! Other local whisky distilleries include Balblair Distillery, which has one of the oldest archive records of whisky in distilling, and Clynelish Distillery who make most of the whisky for Johnnie Walker Gold. The last location you’ll pass on the first day of our itinerary is the Whaligoe steps, a series of steps carved out of the cliff face here which lead down to the sheltered Whaligoe Bay. This was once a popular harbour for local fishermen due to its natural protection, but when artificial harbours were built nearby, it fell into disuse. If you visit at the right time of year, this is a good spot to see salmon leaping as they journey up to their spawning grounds. Otherwise, it’s a lovely place to enjoy the waterfalls. Hike the Golspie Big Burn to Ben Bhraggie– At Golspie make sure you visit the beautiful waterfalls at the Big Burn, and if you are feeling energetic there are mountain bike trailson Ben Bhraggie – or you could climb to the top for a view!