Driving from Isle of Skye to Orkney - Overnight Place to Stop?

If you are planning on following NC500 up the west coast of Scotland, there aren't many towns or villages along the route and they aren't very big. They all have their own attraction. There isn't a lot of B&B accommodation.... The route is very popular so accommodation may get booked up quickly, so for May you need to be getting booked up now, and final choice may depend on what is available.

Places you could consider are Gairloch, Ullapool, Lochinver (a short detour off the route), Scourie or Durness. You may need to check on whether you can get an evening meal....

PS, i asked ChatGPT it's opinion and it suggested Dornoch and Golspie -- any experience with either town?

For me turning off at Ledmore Junction and heading for the East Coast is missing all the best parts of the NC500 route up at the top of Sutherland.
It's the route you would take for speed if you had to be at the ferry that night, not the next night.
With two days for the journey I would do @Wasleys route up the West Coast and along the North Coast.
If turning off at Ledmore my choice to stay overnight would be Lairg then next day up through Altnaharra to Tongue (for lunch) then along the North Coast A836 to the ferry.

To answer your question my choice would be Dornoch for one of Scotland's smaller Cathedrals and the beaches. Next day I would then go as far as Helmsdale on the A9 then up through Kildonan and the Flow Country to join the A836 for the ferry.

Dornoch and Golspie, even Cromarty on the Black Isle are ones I would suggest.

You would miss the NC500 this way, doubling back on the A9 from Inverness to Scrabster and back. As above there are links to get back on the NC500.

Accomodation is limited on the NC500 as it is in a very remote part of the world.

Hi, christophersouth,

To add to Stuart's (isn31c) post, you are definitely missing the best part of the NC500 (and Scotland) by heading directly for the east coast from Skye. If you want to visit Dornoch and Golspie, you can do so on the way back down from Thurso. You should try to get as far north as you can after you leave Skye, in order to minimize your travel time on ferry day. You didn't mention which ferry you are planning to take, but I'd have to assume either the afternoon or evening sailing.

I'd recommend Scourie, Kinlochbervie, or Durness for your overnight. None of those villages have a lot of accommodation, especially for four of you, and because of the popularity of the NC500, prices have gone up accordingly (actually, exponentially!). However, with some research, it might be possible to find something reasonable.

If you have time, each of these villages has its charm. Scourie is a bit too spread out, but if you have the time, a trip out to Handa Island would be very worthwhile. There are a couple of decent hikes from the village. Best place for an evening meal would be the Anchorage, although I think that the Scourie Hotel serves non-residents. The Shorehouse, out at Tarbet, has really good locally caught seafood.

Kinlochbervie is slightly more compact than Scourie. There are a couple of hotels - the Old School has received some good reviews. If you're planning to have dinner, be sure to make a reservation. The primary highlight of this little village is the hike out to Sandwood Bay. It's eight miles round trip, but well worth the effort.

Durness is best known for the Smoo Cave, proximity to Balnakeil Craft Village, stunning Balnakeil Bay, and a memorial garden to John Lennon near the town hall. Lennon stayed in Durness with his family in his childhood. There are some photographs online of Lennon with Yoko, Julian, and Kyoko in Durness. Durness is the largest population centre in the northwest corner of Scotland, and would probably be your best bet for choice of accommodation. Also, if you have time, you could take the ferry and minibus out to Cape Wrath.

I do hope that you take the "round the top end" route to Thurso, but even if you don't, you're still going to see some wonderful scenery. It's a beautiful country!

Best wishes, and safe travels!

Mike (Auchterless)

Fantastic suggestions all!
To be honest, google maps was the driving force taking me up the east side of the nc500. Plus, the west route on the map looks like a lot more miles. But your input has me thinking otherwise, so looking at accommodations now in towns you’ve highlighted as far north as we can get on day 1.

Thinking the noon ferry from scrabster so we can get in some Orkney sights day 1 - only planning 2 nights there and then trek slowly back to Edinburgh …

Hi again, christophersouth,

If you're planning to take the noon ferry out of Scrabster, it's about 75 tough miles from Durness, so figuring in arriving at Scrabster half an hour before departure, you'd probably need to leave Durness by no later than 8:30 a.m. If you think that you'd be at all concerned about arriving on time, you may want to push on to Tongue or Bettyhill for your overnight.

If you do decide to follow the west and north coasts, you should try to get at least as far as Durness. Kinlochbervie would be a second choice, but you'd need an extra half hour in the morning. If you do decide on Durness, try to arrive before sunset to see the Sun go down from Balnakeil Bay.

Best wishes and safe travels!

Mike (Auchterless)

To add to Auchterless' comment, the journey from Durness to Scrabster is around 70 miles or 113 km on Google maps, 2 hours minimum on a road with a lot of single track sections. You would also want to be stopping, a lot! The stress of having a time to get to the ferry could make it sub optimal.

I'd still recommend Dornoch, if only because I'd want to stay here at Dornoch Castle. Not stayed there myself, but it is somewhere I'd be booking if on that journey now I've found it. Last time to Orkney and Inverness is was Travelodge and Premier Inns.

Are you travelling from Scrabster at the weekend?
Those are the only days there is a noon ferry. In the week it is at 1.15pm.

An hour which makes all the difference.

My own preference as a place to stay in this situation would be Tongue- an hour (29 miles) on from Durness.

Probably at the Tongue Hotel, in the village centre. It was an old Shooting Lodge so is in the Scottish baronial style.

On the way back maximise your time on Orkney by booking bed and breakfast on the Hamnavoe. That way you board late evening, and wake up while she is on passage back to Scrabster.