Your NC500 itinerary starts with you!

One guest came to me months before her tour having already decided what she wanted to see, after spending time with the North Coast 500 website, social media and a guidebook. I could understand her enthusiasm, and her choices gave me a useful sense of what appealed to her, allowing me to suggest somewhere she hadn’t discovered in all that research. That is where planning becomes enjoyable for me, because we can begin with the places you have been looking forward to and build on them using what I know about the region and what I am learning about you.

To make that work, I need to know when you are coming and how many days we have, then we can start considering how you would like to spend them. You might be happiest exploring ancient sites or prefer a good coastal walk, but either way I want to allow you time to enjoy yourself once we arrive. It is easy to gather appealing places from photographs and recommendations without realising how far apart they are, or how much of a day each might occupy, so part of my job is to bring those ambitions together into a journey that feels comfortable.

A few miles on the map can involve much more than the drive, particularly if reaching the place you have seen in a photograph means walking some distance from the car. I allow for that walk, time to explore and the return journey, just as I would give a visit to Dunrobin Castle a couple of hours or more while allowing only a brief stop for a roadside view. As the days take shape, it becomes clear where we should spend each night, so we can finish exploring without facing another long journey simply to reach the accommodation.

Sally-Ann then takes those overnight areas and looks for suitable places to stay, a process she describes in her separate accommodation article. Bringing her suggestions together with the touring plan gives us a draft itinerary to share with you, and from there we can discuss the details until the arrangements feel right. Your original ideas remain part of that conversation throughout, although I hope my suggestions will also give you something new to look forward to, as they did for the guest whose carefully researched list helped me find another place she might enjoy.

To learn more, book one of our North Coast Explorer private tours.