We recommend stopping in the cute town of Brora for a coffee stop at Cocoa Skye. Order a coffee and a couple of beautiful handmade chocolates (the espresso and strawberry balsamic flavours are delicious). They serve lunch too! If you have time check out the town’s beach where it’s not uncommon to spot seals.
The NC500 is Scotland’s answer to Route 66, with just over 500 miles of stunning coastal scenery, white sand beaches and the cutest towns. You can do this route as fast or slow as you would like but we’d recommend taking your time as enjoying all it has to offer. We would recommend starting the route from Inverness and working your way around anti-clockwise. Personally we loved the west coast the best and therefore would save it to last. So here are our recommendations on what stops to include on your NC500 adventure.
Inverness
The city of Inverness is the starting point of the NC500. On the way here you will of course want to look out for the infamous Loch Ness Monster Nessie. Loch Ness is huge and so we would suggest stopping at Urquhart Castle for a good viewpoint. Whilst in Inverness check out Leakey’s bookshop, it’s Scotland’s largest secondhand bookshop and is very quaint.
Dunrobin castle
Scotland has thousands of castles but there is something really magical about Dunrobin Castle. You can stop by and check out the outside of it or pay £12 to see inside. The interior is so grand and fascinating that we would definitely recommend paying to go in. Give yourself around 2 hours to see the inside.
Brora
Dunnet
This little village is home to mainland Britain’s most northernly point called Dunnet Head. Here we also recommend visiting the Dunnet Bay distillery shop which is refreshingly modern and cool. Here they make and sell Rock Rose Gin and Hour Glass Vodka – yum! You can book a distillery tour at the Dunnet Bay Distillery next door for £15 per person but please remember you cannot drink and drive.
John O’Groats
John O’Groats is great for a quick stop to see the iconic John O’Groats sign. The sign is significant as it marks the starting point for the famous ‘End to End’ journey from John O’Groats to Lands End in England. It’s the furthest distance you can travel on mainland Britain of 874 miles. Or like us you may want to stay here for the night. We highly recommend the unique and colourful John O’Groats Inn. It is a breath of fresh air in the highlands and totally stands out from it’s surroundings. Click here to read our review blog. We would also like to point out that no matter the time of year it is extremely windy!
durness
The village of Durness is a popular stopping spot on the NC500 where you can visit Smoo Cave. Whilst stopped in this village a visit to Cocoa Mountain for a hot chocolate is a must! You will probably hear about it on every blog you read on the NC500 because it really is that good. Order the hot chocolate which comes covered in milk and white chocolate and we also highly recommend the warm croissant with white chocolate and toffee sauce.
Oldshoremore
We would highly recommend you go a little off the route to visit the beautiful Oldshoremore beach. This may look like a beach in the Bahamas with it’s beautiful white sand but it’s mostly cold and windy so wrap up. It really is mesmerising to watch and listen to the waves.
Kylesku
You will drive over the modern Kylesku bridge but we would also recommend stopping to take a photo. It looks amazing contrasting with the surrounding landscape.
ullapool
Bealach na Bà
The road to Applecross, known as Bealach na Bà, is out of this world. In our opinion it’s perhaps the most beautiful road in Scotland. The winding 5 mile road reaches a height of 2,053 feet with beautiful views over to the Isle of Raasay. For us this was the highlight of our road trip however we should note the sign at the start of the road to Applecross advises not to do this route in a campervan due to it being single-track and because of how winding the road is. There is an alternative route you can take to reach Applecross.
applecross
Applecross is a peninsula and the village is a place you will feel very proud to have reached after driving the Bealach na Bà. For a great food spot visit The Junction which serves delicious meals and the staff are so friendly. On your way back to Inverness check out the Kishorn Seafood Bar. Unfortunately we had already eaten but it looked amazing!
accommodation ideas
We recommend…
- The John O’Groats Inn (John O’Groats)
- The Snug (Ullapool)
As our trip was so short we didn’t get to stay in a lot of places however here are some accommodation ideas that are on our list for next time…
- Lundies House (Tongue)
- Kylesku Lodges (Kylesku)
We hope you enjoyed reading our recommendations on what stops to include on your NC500 adventure in Scotland. You may also find our local driving tips advice and recommendations for the Isle of Skye posts helpful.
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