Motorhome Hire for the NC500

Our website offers the best in motorhome hire for the NC500.

The NC500, also known as the North Coast 500, is a route across the north of Scotland that takes in some of the best in terms of natural beauty that Scotland has to offer. Generally the route is considered to both start and end in Inverness, around Inverness Castle. This route was established in 2015, and has grown every year since then. Motorhomes are without a doubt one of the best ways to enjoy the NC500, and we supply motorhome hire for North Coast 500 to many happy holidaymakers every year.

More about motorhome hire for the North Coast 500

Motorhomes are an increasingly popular way to experience the UK in general, and the North Coast 500 is certainly no exception. We recommend that you book your motorhome from some of the main locations just before you begin your NC500 adventure - Edinburgh and Glasgow tend to be the places with the most availability and best prices. Inverness is another option, however this city comes and goes as far as vehicle numbers are concerned, so you may not always see it as an available supplier.

You could also look to hire a luxury motorhome to complete the NC500 - for example we supply luxury motorhome hire in Glasgow for those wishing to travel the North Coast 500 in style! Enjoy luxurious beds, fully equipped kitchens, plenty of living space and more with a premium campervan hired from Glasgow.

However, luxury motorhomes may come with challenges around the increased size of these vehicles and the rather challenging nature of Scotland’s roads, so generally we would advise you to stick to smaller, lighter and more maneuverable vehicles if you plan to venture off the beaten track somewhat. Nevertheless, motorhome hire for the North Coast 500 is your choice, and you should feel free to enjoy it in whatever way you wish.

However you choose to travel, you’ll find the infrastructure for motorhomes on the North Coast 500 generally pretty good, with enough places to stop at and refuel, as well as a reasonable selection of eating options whilst you’re on the road. We’d definitely advise that you check out some of the smaller and more rural settlements along the route too. One criticism of the NC500 is that people tend not to venture far from main roads, and thus miss many stunning sights and experiences which are just a short distance from the larger highways.

One of the other benefits of motorhome hire for the North Coast 500 is that you have far more control over your travels. Assuming you have plenty of time allocated for your holiday, hiring a motorhome for the NC500 means you are able to stop at a point on the route for as long or as short a time as you like, and really get to enjoy a favourite spot. One caveat of all this, however, is that there does need to be availability at the site you are staying at - usually you can check in person with the campsite owner, and they will do their best to be accommodating.

Motorhome hire for the NC500 also allows you to really discover Scotland’s wild nature, because you are sleeping under the stars rather than the far more sanitized experience found in houses and hotels. Waking up right next to a misty loch with a view of a distant mountain range, and with the grass under your feet and smells of nature in your nostrils, you are connected to the natural world in a very tangible way.

How to hire a motorhome for the North Coast 500

Hiring a motorhome for the North Coast 500 is made easy with our website. We offer a full inventory management system, which means that you can see what NC500 motorhomes are available with near real time accuracy. Moreover, you can book online at any time of the day, with no need to contact suppliers or engage in any of the messy back and forth that booking a motorhome once entailed.

Note that we work with only vetted and high quality suppliers, so you can book with confidence once you find a vehicle that you are interested in.

You are able to filter the provided NC500 motorhomes according to a very wide range of criteria, for example the number of berths (the amount of people the motorhome sleeps), the engine type (automatic or manual), the price, and far far more.

One of the best features of our website when it comes to motorhome hire for the North Coast 500 is the ability to read reviews from previous motorhome hirers. Given the growing popularity of the NC500, if you look into these reviews you may well find something from someone who hired this vehicle for a previous spin around the NC500. Things to look out for could be how the vehicle handled small and difficult roads, if there were issues in campsites around the vehicles size, general driving comfort and more.

Some tips for enjoying the NC500

Here’s some tips for enjoying the NC500, in no particular order:

• Think about how many days you want to take.

  There is no hard and fast rule about how long you need to complete the North Coast 500, but as touched on above, one of the best things about motorhome hire for the NC500 is that you can enjoy the experience at a more leisurely pace. So, when it comes to planning your time, make sure to give yourself some extra days to simply rest and explore a favourite place, rather than having to rush off to the next location as you have a tight schedule to keep.

• Pack for four seasons.

  Scotland is well known for having ‘four seasons in a day’ (sun, rain, wind and the cold), mainly as a result of its north Atlantic location. So, don’t get caught out, ensure that you pack everything from shorts to a rain jacket to waterproof shoes or wellies.

  And, as with every other motorhome holiday, pack all your things in a foldable suitcase. The motorhome you hire for the NC500 will have lots of storage spaces, but these are usually best suited to multiple smaller things that can be folded down, rather than large and bulky hard shell suitcases.

• Add extra time for your drives.

  Your hired motorhome will likely take a bit of getting used to, so you won’t be able to complete the North Coast 500 in the same amount of time as you would if you were in your own vehicle. Also, you’ll definitely come across many narrow roads with limited passing places, so simply ensure that you have some extra time to get from A to B to avoid the stress of having to rush in a vehicle that is not well suited to this.

  And finally, part of the joy of the NC500 is being able to stop for regular photos and to enjoy the scenery. Again, this will cause your journey to become a lot slower, but there is no point rushing past these sites as enjoying nature is likely to be one of the main purposes of your trip in the first place!

• Download offline maps, or bring printed ones.

  You absolutely should not rely on mobile signal or even campsite WiFi on your North Coast 500 trip. The Scottish Highlands are renowned for incredibly poor signal, and if you have not got either physical or offline maps and are relying on your phone for a SatNav, then expect to get lost out there.

  Take this opportunity to get away from nature and the stresses of our virtual and ‘always on’ lives, turn that phone onto aeroplane mode, and chill out a bit!

• The NC500 is not actually 500 miles.

  The North Coast 500 is officially 516 miles end to end, but we think this number is irrelevant anyway (although it does make for a nice marketing slogan). The real joy of the NC500 is to take things at your own pace, explore any hidden gems, and go down any proverbial (but also literal!) roads that you would not normally travel down.

  If you want to go off on a wild tangent to a remote Scottish island, stop at that remote whisky distillery, bag a munro (you’ll have to look that up if you don’t know what that means!) then take this once in a lifetime opportunity to do so.

Hire a motorhome for the NC500 now!

By now you should have some ideas and tips for how to make your motorhome holiday along the NC500 a reality. Hire a motorhome for the North Coast 500 now, and experience all this incredible drive and wild part of the British Isles has to offer!