North Coast 500 Campervan Route
The North Coast 500 is often sold as a distance to complete. In a campervan, it works much better as a Highlands road trip with enough time to stop. The official loop is around 500 miles from Inverness, but your total mileage will be higher once you include the journey from Glasgow, detours and local exploring.
How long should you allow?
A week on the NC500 itself is a much more relaxed starting point than trying to compress the loop into three or four days. From Glasgow, add travel time to and from the Highlands. If you only have a short break, a west-coast or Glencoe route may give you a better holiday than chasing the full loop.
Clockwise or anti-clockwise?
Both work. The better choice depends on your overnight bookings, weather and what you want to prioritise. Avoid building the entire trip around one fixed direction if changing conditions make another plan more sensible.
Driving a campervan on the NC500
Expect single-track sections, passing places, livestock, cyclists and roads that require patience. Do not use passing places as parking bays, allow faster traffic to pass when safe and keep daily mileage conservative. A compact VW California is easier to place on these roads than a much larger motorhome, but the same considerate driving rules apply.
Overnight stops
Plan campsites and authorised stopovers rather than assuming you can park overnight anywhere. Peak summer availability can disappear quickly, particularly around popular coastal sections, so some advance planning is sensible even if you want to keep the daytime itinerary flexible.
Route overview
Map & suggested stops
- Inverness
- Applecross
- Gairloch
- Ullapool
- Durness
- John o’Groats
- Dornoch
- Inverness
The purple line follows a suggested driving route through these stops. It is a trip-planning overview rather than turn-by-turn navigation, so check road conditions, closures and vehicle suitability before setting off.
Sleep somewhere good
Recommended campsites along the way
These are independent suggestions chosen for location and campervan suitability — not paid placements. Opening dates, pitch rules and availability can change, so always check directly before travelling.
Large west-coast site for motorhomes, caravans and tents with views towards Skye and the Outer Hebrides.
Check campsite →Sango SandsDurnessA well-known NC500 stop for campervans and motorhomes beside the north-coast beaches.
Check campsite →Glen Nevis HolidaysFort WilliamUseful before or after the NC500 if you combine the loop with the west Highlands.
Check campsite →Do not turn the NC500 into a race
The NC500 is roughly a 500-mile touring route before you include the journey to and from the north. A Wee Coo can make the drive easier than a large motorhome, but single-track roads, passing places and popular coastal sections still reward patience. More days normally means a better trip: allow time for beaches, walks and weather instead of measuring success by how quickly you complete the loop.