This guide covers what is specific to the NC500. For driving on the left, roundabouts and rental basics in Scotland, see our guide to renting a car and driving on the left.
How long does the North Coast 500 take to drive?
VisitScotland describes the NC500 as a 516-mile scenic driving route. From Inverness it heads west to Applecross, north through Torridon and Ullapool to the far north coast, past John o' Groats, and back south through Dingwall to Inverness. It advises allowing 5 to 7 days or more, fuelling up regularly in remote areas, and booking accommodation early.
Spread over VisitScotland's range, the loop works out as follows:
| Days on the route | Average miles per day | What that feels like |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | About 103 | Long driving days on single-track sections; little time for stops |
| 7 | About 74 | Room for short walks and viewpoints most days |
| 10 | About 52 | Slack for bad weather, a closed road or a rest day |
These averages are simple division (516 miles by the number of days). Your real speed on single-track sections depends on oncoming traffic, because every meeting means someone waits in a passing place.
How do passing places work on single-track roads?
Much of the west and north coast is single-track: roads only wide enough for one vehicle, with widened passing places along them. Highway Code rule 155 sets out what to do:
- When a vehicle comes towards you, pull into a passing place on your left, or stop opposite a passing place on your right so the other driver can use it.
- When the driver behind wants to overtake, do the same.
- Give way to vehicles coming uphill whenever you can.
- If necessary, reverse to a passing place to let the other vehicle pass.
- Slow down when passing pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders.
Rule 156 is one line: do not park in passing places. That includes stopping for a photo.
The detail visitors get wrong is the side of the road. In the UK you drive on the left, so a passing place on your right belongs to the oncoming driver. Do not swerve across into it; stop on your own side opposite it and let the other vehicle pull in.
Police Scotland's advice for NC500 drivers, published by the Highland Council in May 2023, repeats these rules and adds: drive at a speed that lets you make decisions, which may be well below the limit; watch for blind summits and hidden dips; and expect pedestrians, cyclists, livestock or wild animals crossing. It followed a weekend of enforcement on the route in which officers and safety camera staff detected 25 speed-related offences.
Speed limits for cars and motorhomes
Unless signs show otherwise, national limits apply, and in Scotland the GOV.UK speed limits table gives these figures. Most of the NC500 is single carriageway, so the first column is the one that matters.
| Vehicle | Single carriageway | Dual carriageway | Built-up area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car or car-derived van | 60 mph (96 km/h) | 70 mph (112 km/h) | 30 mph (48 km/h) |
| Car towing a caravan or trailer | 50 mph (80 km/h) | 60 mph (96 km/h) | 30 mph (48 km/h) |
| Motorhome up to 3.05 t unladen | 60 mph (96 km/h) | 70 mph (112 km/h) | 30 mph (48 km/h) |
| Motorhome over 3.05 t unladen | 50 mph (80 km/h) | 60 mph (96 km/h) | 30 mph (48 km/h) |
The 3.05-tonne line is based on the maximum unladen weight, so check the rental paperwork or the vehicle documents rather than guessing from its size. A national limit is a maximum, not a target: on a single-track road with blind bends, the safe speed is usually far lower.
Should you drive the Bealach na Bà in a motorhome?
The Bealach na Bà is the pass over to Applecross, which VisitScotland describes as having tight hairpin bends. No official page opened for this guide sets out its gradient or height. A 2021 report in The Scotsman quoted the roadside warning sign as saying the road rises to 2,053 ft with gradients of 1 in 5 and hairpin bends, and is not advised for learner drivers, very large vehicles or caravans after the first mile. Read the sign at the start of the pass for the current wording.
Put the pieces together and the decision is fairly clear:
| Your vehicle and experience | Bealach na Bà | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small car, confident on hills and reversing | Reasonable in good weather | Single-track rules apply, and you may need to reverse uphill or downhill to a passing place |
| Car towing a caravan | Avoid | The sign advises against caravans; towing also drops your limit to 50 mph |
| Large motorhome | Avoid | The sign advises against very large vehicles; reversing on hairpins is the main risk |
| Small campervan, nervous driver | Skip it or plan carefully | The hairpins and passing-place reversing are the same as in a car, with less room |
Visibility is the other factor. In cloud or rain, the views that make the pass worth doing disappear, while the difficulty stays the same.
Motorhomes: where can you stay overnight?
Scotland's right of responsible access does not extend to vehicles. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code says access rights do not include motor vehicles and that you must respect landowners' parking restrictions; it advises using a car park and having a backup plan if it is full.
For self-contained vehicles, the Highland Council runs a voluntary Highland Campervan and Motorhome Scheme, open to rental customers as well as owners. The key terms, from its how to apply and rules pages:
- Membership costs £40 for 7 days, with no discounts and no shorter or longer options. It is linked to the vehicle, so one membership covers everyone in it.
- It covers overnight parking from 10pm to 8am at 12 designated car parks, including Torvean in Inverness, Ullapool, Gairloch harbour, Durness, Dunnet Head and Wick. Daytime charges still apply, so leave before they start.
- You cannot return to the same car park within 72 hours, and there is no booking: spaces are first come, first served.
- Everything must stay inside the vehicle. Outdoor tables, chairs and awnings are not allowed, and waste water goes only to official disposal points.
- The benefits page adds free daily access to showers at High Life Highland leisure centres for 2 adults and any number of children.
Worked example: a 7-night loop in a motorhome
One £40 membership covers the 7-day trip. With the 72-hour rule, you cannot use the same car park two nights running, so a week needs several different sites, and the 12 car parks are unevenly spread: five are in Caithness, while on the west coast the list has only Gairloch harbour, Little Gruinard Beach and Ullapool, and nothing at Applecross or Torridon. On the nights where no scheme car park fits your route, book a campsite; the Highland Council encourages visitors to use campsites, and scheme membership does not include their services. If you would use a scheme car park on only one or two nights, weigh the £40 against simply paying campsite fees for those nights.
The Highland Council's motorhome guidance also points out that single-track roads, passing places and rural parking work differently from urban areas, which matters more in a large vehicle that needs a bigger gap to pull in.
Checking road conditions
Traffic Scotland describes itself as Scotland's trunk road traffic intelligence service and shows incidents, planned roadworks and winter salt treatment. It covers trunk roads only, so for any NC500 section it does not show, look for Highland Council notices and roadside signs before a long single-track stretch.