Taste of The NC500 From Inverness: Private Day Tour
Explore the wilderness of the NC500 on a private day tour from Inverness, designed entirely around your interests and travel style. Our tours don’t have a fixed route or a one-size-fits-all schedule. Each itinerary is carefully curated in advance, allowing you to focus on what matters most to you - whether that’s dramatic landscapes, waterfall hikes, whisky, bougie cafes or photography.
See our other day tours from Inverness
Taste of the NC500: Example Tour
While every tour is individually designed, a typical tour would take you to the Black Isle to explore Rosemarkie & Chanonry Point, visit one of the craft breweries, and hike to Fairy Glen Falls. We’ll then visit the quaint harbour town of Cromarty and take the small ferry to Nigg to visit Glenmorangie Distillery.
We’ll then explore the former Royal Burgh of Dornoch before visiting Dunrobin Castle. A remote drive through the Highland wilderness takes us up to Scourie beach, which has one of the best seafood shacks in Scotland. The afternoon has us winding down the rugged west coast through the wilds of Sutherland via Kylesku Bridge and Ardvreck Castle to Ullapool. After a visit to Corrieshalloch Gorge, we’ll head back to Inverness.
Customise Your NC500 Tour Itinerary
Below, you’ll find options to help shape your tour. Let us know what appeals the most, and we’ll design a personalised itinerary around your preferences. While routes are carefully planned in advance, we can still flex the route on the day within time constraints.
Villages & Towns:
Fortrose
Cromarty
Scourie
Dornoch
Ullapool
forest / waterfall / Beach walks:
Fairy Glen Falls (45+ minutes)
Big Burn (45+ minutes)
Allt Chranaidh Falls (30+ minutes)
Corrieshalloch Gorge (45+ minutes)
Rogie Falls (30+ minutes)
Landmarks:
Chanonry Point
Scourie Beach
Kylesku Bridge
Ardvreck Castle
Assynt / Stac Pollaidh
Attractions:
Glenmorangie Distillery
Dunrobin Castle & Gardens
Black Isle Brewery
Cromarty Brewery
Dornoch Distillery
Tour Details: NC500 From Inverness
You’ll can find more information our prices page, but here’s a quick overview of what you can expect on this NC500 tour from Inverness:
Price:
From £575, depending on route, optional activities, and car type.
Maximum people:
Ideal for small groups of 1 to 4 people. A minibus can be arranged at an additional cost.
Tour duration & start time:
This NC500 day tour from Inverness is a standard 9 hour day (8:30am to 5:30pm). The driving time is approximately 5.5 hours, leaving 3.5 hours to explore the NC500. Your tour can be extended up to 11 hours for an additional fee.
Optional detours / Variations / Excursions:
We can discuss adding the following options to your NC500 tour. Some options will mean an extended day and a faster travel pace:
Cromarty to Nigg ferry. A great experience, plus it allows more explore time (April to September - £20+).
Kylesku boat tour (fixed 2pm-3pm £35 per person).
Bone Caves hike (1.5 hours).
Add the Drumbeg Loop - Clachtoll & Achmelvich beaches (approx. 2.5 hours).
Add the Gairloch / Poolewe loop (approx. 2.5 hours).
Food & drink:
The food & drink options on the NC500 are fantastic. You have everything from locally caught seafood to quaint cafes serving local produce, whisky distilleries & breweries. Once we have a firm itinerary, we’ll give you lunch & café options.
Here’s a selection of our recommendations: Bakhoos Bakery, IV10, Milk & Honey, Crofter's Kitchen, Black Isle Brewery, Last Splash, Dornoch Castle Whisky Bar, The Woodland Table, North Roast & The Midge Bite Café.
Tour Information:
Please wear appropriate outdoor clothing and footwear as it’s likely to be wet and windy, plus the ground can be muddy and uneven.
Your driver/guide is a Mountain Leader, which means he’s qualified and insured to accompany you on walks and hikes.
Unfortunately, there isn’t enough time on a day tour to loop the entire NC500. If you’d like to experience more of the NC500 at a relaxed pace, we recommend at least two days on our multi-day tours.