As Starfish Travel operates from St Andrews we offer NC500 tours as 5 & 6 day tours to which you can obviously add days. You can start your tour from anywhere else in Scotland as well.
One of the main attractions of the NC500 is the remoteness of this beautiful part of Scotland, so please expect there to be limited phone signal and internet. Furthermore, if you really would like to get off the grid you could opt to drive as far as Durness and then start walking for a day and use one of the MBA’s Boothies for an over night stay. You can only reach these walking…Kevin Boothy is one example.
Above you see a map of the full NC500 route starting from St Andrews alternatively the tour can also start in Edinburgh or other places.
Throughout this article we will show a small selection of options.
Do feel free to tell us your preferences or wishes and we will create a tour exactly how you want it. For instance if you want to use your NC500 experience to get away from it all you might want to explore the west of Durness which is not accessible by car. Sandwood Bay is Scotlands most remote beach. If you are intrigued read the “Highland Hermit” by James Carron
Six Day NC500 Itinerary :
Day 1:
8.30 am Pick up St Andrews
10 am Blair Castle
12.00 noon Dalwhinnie Distillery, Tour & light lunch
3 pm Aviemore Coffe break & walk
6 pm Strathpfeffer Hotel Check in & dinner
Suggestions for accommodation:
Attractions on your way
The Hermitage
Strathspey Railway Rothiemuchus Estate -Outland film location
Day 2:
9am Leave Strathpfeffer
10 am Dornoch
11.30 am Dunrobin Castle Tour, Gardens & light lunch
4 pm John O Groats
6 pm Thurso Hotel check in & Dinner
Suggestions for accommodation:
Other attractions Dornoch
Britain’ most northern Golf Club
Day 3:
9 am leave Thurso
9.30 Caithness Horizon
11 am Wolfburn Distillery Tour
2pm Torrisdale Bay
3pm Durness & Balnalkeil Craft Vallage
5.30 pm Balnakeil Beach
7.30 pm The Whale Tale dinner
Suggestions for accommodation:
The Hideaway
Day 4:
9 am Leave Durness either for Kinlochbervie (35mins) to walk to Sandwood Bay or depending on the weather or to Scourie (40 mins) to take a boat to Handa Island
2 pm Stoer
6pm Dinner at Peet’s Restaurant
Suggestions for accommodation:
Day 5:
9 am Leave Lochinver
10 am Ullapool Coffee stop and shopping
1 pm Gairloch Beach
3 pm Shieldaig
4 pm Fearnmore
5.30 pm Applecross
Suggestions for accommodation:
Day 6
9 am Leave Applecross via The Beach Na Ba’
1 pm Lunch in Aviemore
3.30 pm Dunkeld Coffee & cathedral
6.30 pm St Andrews
Potential 5 day route:
