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Scotland: the North Coast 500 and Orkney

9 days from Inverness: the east coast to John o' Groats, two nights on Orkney with Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar, Durness and Smoo Cave, two nights in Ullapool for Assynt, then Torridon and the Applecross pass.

9 days · Round trip from Inverness · up to 12 guests

The facts

At a glance

Length
9 days, 8 nights
Start and end
Round trip from Inverness
Group size
7 to 12 guests
Longest drive
4.5 h on day 8
Activity level

Moderate

Up to about 2 hours on foot a day on paths, beaches and clifftops, with flagstone steps at Whaligoe, a low stooping passage into Maeshowe and rough ground at Yesnaby. The steep Stac Pollaidh path and the full Whaligoe staircase are optional, each with an easier alternative. Most roads in the west are single-track with passing places.

Meals included
8 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 3 dinners
Room of your own
+ CAD 1,295 (estimated price)
Season
May to September

Highlights

Why this trip

  • Two nights on Orkney: Skara Brae at opening, the Ring of Brodgar, the Stones of Stenness and a guided tour inside Maeshowe
  • The Duncansby Stacks and John o' Groats, then the car ferry across the Pentland Firth
  • The Stromness ferry past the Old Man of Hoy, then the wild north coast to Durness
  • Smoo Cave and the white sand of Balnakeil on a long northern evening
  • Kylesku, Ardvreck Castle and Knockan Crag, then two nights in the harbour town of Ullapool
  • Stac Pollaidh and Achmelvich beach in Coigach and Assynt
  • Corrieshalloch Gorge, Inverewe Garden and Loch Maree on the way to Torridon
  • The Applecross coast and the Bealach na Bà, a road coaches cannot take

What makes this trip different

  • Short drives, all published

    Every drive is listed day by day. The longest is 4.5 h, on day 8.

  • Free time is part of the plan

    Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.

  • Solo without the penalty

    A room of your own is + CAD 1,295 (estimated price).

Day by day

Itinerary

The longest drive is 4.5 h, on day 8.

ORKNEYCAITHNESSSUTHERLANDWESTER ROSSPentland FirthScapa FlowThe MinchMoray FirthLoch Ness12345CullodenDay 1InvernessDays 1 to 2, 8 to 9HelmsdaleDay 2Whaligoe StepsDay 2WickDay 2John o' GroatsDay 2Italian ChapelDay 2KirkwallDays 2 to 4Skara BraeDay 3Ring of BrodgarDay 3StromnessDay 4ThursoDay 4TongueDay 4Durness and Smoo CaveDays 4 to 5KyleskuDay 5Ardvreck CastleDay 5AchmelvichDay 6Stac PollaidhDay 6Knockan CragDay 5UllapoolDays 5 to 7Corrieshalloch GorgeDay 7Inverewe GardenDay 7Loch Maree and Beinn EigheDay 7TorridonDays 7 to 8ApplecrossDay 8Bealach na BàDay 8Rogie FallsDay 8Loch Ness at DoresDay 9

Tap any stop on the map to open that day

Arrive in Inverness, Culloden

Inverness Airport to Culloden, then Inverness

  • Welcome dinner
  • Stay in Inverness
  • Drive about 30 min
Purple heather and grass across Culloden Moor with a few walkers and a single flag in the distance, pine woods on the horizon
Photo: Libasstref, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Culloden_2000-4-fields.jpg)

Evening

Fly into Inverness Airport (INV), or come up by train from Edinburgh in about three and a half hours, and meet your See Sight Tours guide in the early afternoon: plan to arrive by about 1 pm (the exact meeting time comes with your final itinerary; on a later flight, meet the group at the hotel for dinner). From the airport it is about ten minutes to Culloden, where on 16 April 1746 the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was defeated in less than an hour, in the last pitched battle fought on British soil. The visitor centre tells the story from both sides; then you walk out across the moor, where flags mark the two front lines and stones mark the clan graves. From there it is a short drive into Inverness and your hotel near the River Ness. Before dinner your guide runs a short briefing on the week ahead: the ferries, the single-track roads and what to pack for Orkney wind. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner in town.

Included

  • Meeting at Inverness Airport (INV)
  • Culloden Battlefield and visitor centre with your guide
  • Welcome briefing
  • Welcome dinner in Inverness

Easier option: Arriving later in the day? Take the included transfer straight to the hotel and join the group for the briefing and dinner.

Free time: Arrive a day early to walk the River Ness and the Ness Islands

Activity: About an hour on foot at Culloden, on level paths across open moor.

  1. Inverness1 night
  2. Kirkwall2 nights
  3. Durness1 night
  4. Ullapool2 nights
  5. Torridon1 night
  6. Inverness1 night
  • Overnight stop
  • Day trip
  • By boat or train
Print itinerary

Wildlife and weather: May and June are often the driest months in the north and come before the worst of the midges; July and August are mildest but bring midges on still west-coast evenings. In June there is light until about 11 pm on Orkney. Seals are common on the north coast and around Orkney, and seabirds nest on the cliffs in early summer.

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Get the day-by-day itinerary by email, or ask us anything about this trip. A trip planner replies the same or next business day.

Before you book

Right for you?

Good for you if you want

  • Travellers who have seen Edinburgh and Skye and want the far north
  • Anyone who wants Orkney's Neolithic sites properly, not as a rushed day trip
  • People who like empty beaches, big skies and slow single-track roads
  • Travellers who would rather not drive the North Coast 500 themselves

Not for you if you want

  • A first trip to Scotland that must include Edinburgh, Skye and Glencoe (see our Edinburgh, Highlands and Skye trip)
  • Travellers who get carsick on narrow, winding roads
  • Step-free access: clifftops, beaches, steps and a low passage at Maeshowe
  • A hotel with a bar and nightlife every evening

Book flights after we confirm your seat.

8 nights

Where you'll stay

Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.

  • Inverness1 night
  • Kirkwall2 nights
  • Durness1 night
  • Ullapool2 nights
  • Torridon1 night
  • Inverness1 night

One price

What's in the price

Included

Accommodation

  • 8 nights in 5 hotels: Inverness (night 1), 2 in Kirkwall on Orkney, 1 in Durness, 2 in Ullapool, 1 in Torridon, Inverness (night 8)
  • Central hotels of at least a 3-star-plus standard in Inverness, Kirkwall and Ullapool, and the best small hotels available in Durness and Torridon, named when we confirm your dates
  • Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement

Transport

  • Meeting at Inverness Airport (INV) on day 1, and drop-off at the airport or Inverness railway station on day 9
  • A private minivan and professional driver for the whole trip, sized for 7 to 12 guests and for single-track roads
  • The car ferry from Gills Bay to St Margaret's Hope, with the vehicle
  • The ferry from Stromness to Scrabster, with the vehicle

Your guide

  • A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip, with site guides on the Maeshowe tour

Activities

  • Culloden Battlefield and visitor centre (Inverness)
  • The Whaligoe Steps, John o' Groats and the Duncansby Stacks (Caithness)
  • The Italian Chapel and the Churchill Barriers (Orkney)
  • Skara Brae and Skaill House, the Ring of Brodgar, the Stones of Stenness and Maeshowe on a guided tour (Orkney)
  • St Magnus Cathedral (Kirkwall)
  • Stromness walk (Orkney)
  • Smoo Cave, with the inner-chamber tour when it runs (Durness)
  • Kylesku, Ardvreck Castle and Knockan Crag (Assynt)
  • Stac Pollaidh and Achmelvich beach (Coigach and Assynt)
  • Corrieshalloch Gorge and Inverewe Garden (Wester Ross)
  • Beinn Eighe woodland walk (Loch Maree)
  • The Applecross coast and the Bealach na Bà, weather allowing
  • Rogie Falls
  • Loch Ness at Dores

Meals

  • Breakfast daily (8)
  • Sit-down lunches on days 2 to 8 (7)
  • Welcome and farewell dinners in Inverness, and dinners at the hotels in Durness and Torridon (4)

Not included

  • International flights or trains to and from Inverness
  • UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), if you need one
  • Travel insurance
  • Dinners in Kirkwall and Ullapool (days 2, 3, 5 and 6)
  • Drinks, including whisky
  • Optional activities: the Kylesku waterfall boat trip and the Summer Isles boat trip
  • Tips
  • Personal expenses

Extras

Room of your own
CAD 1,295 (estimated price)

When you can go

Dates and prices

Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.

Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.

Before you book

Booking terms

Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.

Business addresses

See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584

Guest reviews

What guests say

Reviews from guests on our day tours.

Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
google

5/5

Parminder did a great job guiding us around, giving us tips & teaching us the history of the falls. A great experience!

Jane
October 06, 2026
gyg

5/5

Good views of the surrounding area of Halifax in a comfortable minivan

Susan
October 06, 2026
gyg

5/5

June was brilliant- made good contact beforehand and really attentive and knowledgeable. Made me feel like I was special- something only experience can do. Thank you June.

Tom L
October 05, 2026
tripadvisor

5/5

Our host was very knowledgeable, friendly and even provided some humor.

MandL83
October 05, 2026
tripadvisor

5/5

Peter was a very good guide, giving us insight into the various parts of the Park, including parking lot congestion details, trail and viewing location suggestions.

Darren O
October 05, 2026
tripadvisor

5/5

Excellent morning spent with my guide Nancy. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Thoroughly enjoyed my trip

4.7/5 from 38,601 guest reviews

Good to know

Questions

What does the North Coast 500 and Orkney trip price include?

Eight nights in hotels, breakfast daily, seven sit-down lunches and four dinners, both Pentland Firth ferry crossings with the vehicle, a private minivan and driver, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, airport meet and drop, and every visit in the day plan, including Culloden, Skara Brae, Maeshowe, Smoo Cave and Inverewe Garden.

How big is the group?

The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests in one minivan. That size fits the ferries, the single-track roads and the passing places, lets everyone hear the guide at the Ring of Brodgar, and means we all sit round one table at lunch.

Who leads the trip, and who drives?

A See Sight Tours guide is with the group from the meeting at Inverness Airport to the drop on day 9, and a professional driver is at the wheel so the guide can focus on you. Maeshowe is entered on a guided tour with the site's own guides.

How long are the drives, and what are single-track roads like?

Most days have two to three and a half hours of driving. Day 2 is about four hours and day 8 about four and a half, the only day over our cap, because the Applecross road is slow single-track. Both are broken into stretches of under about 90 minutes. West of Thurso many roads have passing places, so we stop often.

Why not drive the North Coast 500 myself?

You can, but single-track roads, passing places and ferry bookings take concentration, and the driver misses the views. With us you get two nights on Orkney with the vehicle ferries booked, timed entry at Maeshowe, hotels in places with very few rooms, and a guide who knows when to stop.

How fit do I need to be?

Moderate. Expect up to about 2 hours on foot a day on paths, beaches and clifftops, with steps at Whaligoe and a low stooping passage into Maeshowe. The Stac Pollaidh path is steep and optional; there is always an easy alternative, such as the loch-shore walk below it.

I am travelling solo. What is the single supplement?

A room of your own is from CAD 1,295 extra, shown before you book with no surprises later. Solo travellers join the same group, tables and activities as everyone else, and a free evening in Kirkwall and free afternoons in Ullapool give you time on your own.

When is the best time to go?

May to September. May and June are often the driest months and come before the worst of the midges, with light until about 11 pm on Orkney in June. July and August are mildest but busier, with midges on still evenings in the west; bring repellent.

Can I see Orkney on a day trip instead?

In summer a passenger day tour runs from John o' Groats, but it leaves only a few hours on the islands and follows a fixed coach plan. We stay two nights in Kirkwall with our own vehicle, so Skara Brae is seen at opening, Maeshowe on a booked tour, and there is time for Stromness.

What happens if the Orkney ferry is cancelled by wind?

Your guide rebooks us on the next sailing or on the other Orkney car ferry route, and reorders the Orkney days so the main sites are still seen. Cancellations are most likely outside summer, which is one reason the trip runs May to September. Any extra hotel night forced by weather is covered under our booking terms.

Do I need a visa or an ETA to visit the UK?

Canadian and US citizens do not need a visa for a short visit, but they and many other travellers need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before flying. Apply online with your passport; we confirm the current rules and fee when you book.

How does booking work, and can we go on our own dates?

Pick a date and request to book; we confirm within 24 hours and nothing is charged until then. The small group starts from CAD 7,295 per person sharing. For your own dates, choose the private trip for your party only, or ask us from the dates section for an independent quote.

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