North Coast 500 - how??

[sumnus]

I am daydreaming about this so much, but don't know how/where to start (figuratively and literally).
I would like to try camper-vanning (never done it) but would that be really expensive compared to B&Bing?

Please - your advice, top tips and encouragement!

PS - I'm concerned about midges. When's the best time to visit in order to avoid them?

Following as we are planning to do the same this year, with bike and car. Going to be tenting though, so I'm worried...

Google it - lots of tips and advice online

Google it - lots of tips and advice online

Really? That must apply to 95% of MN content!
Of course I’ve googled. Sometimes people want to chat and have a discussion about what’s on their mind though.

Would you be hiring a campervan or bringing your own? If hiring, I would urge you to stay in B&B accommodation instead. Whatever you decide, please stay in campsites.

The rural communities are unable to cope with the volume of traffic on the NC500. I'm not suggesting for a minute that you would participate in any of the antisocial behaviour that plagues the route, but plenty do. Staying in local accommodation is one step towards being a responsible tourist.

We did it by booking a cottage in the centre and starting each day from where we finished the day before. It was a lot of driving but also a lot of being out the car. The DC must have been 14 and 6.

Mid July was perfect but staying near a river meant LOADS of midges! We didn’t notice lots of midges out and about during the day though near the coast.

We have completed NC500 a couple of years ago in our old camper van + Isle of Skye. We took 3 weeks & took time to visit some of the places along the route.
We planned nothing.
September, beautiful weather & no midges
We stayed on camp sites, park4night, wild camp
We left no trace
We spent money in the community

We also did some this year too when it was 23 degrees & sunny

2000 miles both times

If you see a petrol station in the Highlands, suggest fill up. Also use tearooms & toilets

We are not planners, just go & see what we find kind of people

The scenery is stunning. Lots of wildlife. Lots of history & interesting people.

You Tube is your friend. Lots on there.

From now until late September the midges are dire. They seem to be worse than usual this year because of the wet winter. Once you get to the west you can’t avoid them from early evening till mid morning.
Locals are really getting fed up with the volume of traffic & some inconsiderate tourists. One lady was severely delayed getting her daughter to hospital as she was stuck behind a convoy of campervans who wouldn’t give way. Some parts are quite tricky if you’re not an experienced driver, especially in anything bigger than a family car. Don’t try it in a motorhome unless you’re very used to handling one.

If you use at motor home please do use camp sites. there is no such thing as wild camping with a motor home, it's intended for small tents away from houses. In our village people park up in the doctor's surgery car park or beside our two graveyards even though we have a campsite and an aire, it really isn't appreciated. We are not on the North Coast 500 but in another tourist hotspot.

To be honest, while the North Coast 500 is scenic there are nicer places in Scotland with less people around, for example along the Moray coast and down into Aberdeenshire or in a lot of the Borders.

As above, taking a motorhome on some of the roads is tricky. We drove this road in a family car and I was petrified but the views are outstanding.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g551815-d4106283-Reviews-Bealach_na_Ba_Road-Applecross_Ross_and_Cromarty_Scottish_Highlands_Scotland.html
The other side in Applecross is lovely.
On the west coast, Achmelvich is a great place to stop with a well serviced campsite/caravan park. Close to lochinver and an amazing pie shop.
https://www.shorecaravansite.co.uk/
There is also Clactoll beach with caravan park, this is one of my favourite beaches, pic attached.
Durness on the North coast is another good place to stop, caravan site overlooking the beach, Smoos cave and shops. The very north doesn’t have many shops or cafes so fuel/essentials should be stocked up.
https://sangosands.com/
I haven’t done the East coast so no experience there.

Thank you everyone.

Definitely nothing as big as a motor home for me! The smallest camper poss. I live in a tourist hotspot myself (North York Moors), so I am starting to feel a bit guilty about contributing to problems for locals…

I’ll look up some of @Prizepudding‘s alternatives too.

You can probably hire a camper for <£100/night if you're out of high season. But please make sure you're confident to drive a large vehicle on single track roads with passing places, and as other posters have said, use sites to dispose of grey and black water and preferably to stay on. There are more aires and informal/cheap options available than there were a few years ago.

Don't go in high season. It'll be way too busy, especially if you include a trip to Skye, and that doesn't tend to make anyone very happy. Midgies are a potential risk up until around October but at their worst in summer months, they like humid overcast weather. Smidge works best to deter them. They aren't too much of a problem on the East Coast part of the route but west can be midgietastic if you're unlucky.

I won't say don't do it as I'd be a hypocrite, we've done that and much of the rest of Scotland in our camper but we do tend to avoid busy times.

There are a few FB groups about it, the good and the bad.

If at all possible go outside of the main holiday season (school holidays start end June in Scotland) and ideally earlier still, less midges in spring.

I will add it's beautiful but I was doing it in late September and on a motorcycle so staying in hotels/b&b's

i know it sounds weird but i got bitten badly by the ruddy midges in the highlands and the only thing i found that took the itch out was hand sanitiser gel they are very annoying we went in september and the weather was perfect, but one thing we found going at that time of year was that the students go back to uni at the beginning of september so a lot of restaurants and even Applecross (tuesday) were closed so luckily for us i had taken plenty of salady stuff with us , we stayed in a lovely holiday cottage in Sheildaig which is on the west coast , easy access to the 500 and lots of other places