Motorhoming in Scotland: the NC500, Orkney and what we learned

The short answer

The North Coast 500 is a signed touring route round the top of Scotland, starting and finishing in Inverness. Most people give it five to seven days. Add Orkney and you need a ferry from Scrabster to Stromness, and can go further still to Papa Westray on the world’s shortest scheduled flight.

We have driven the NC500 in a nine-metre coachbuild and in a small electric campervan, and toured Orkney as a family for a week. It rewards a slow trip, proper waterproofs and a plan for charging or fuel that does not assume the network you are used to further south.

Our stormy 2022 run up the NC500 was the first of three trips round the top of Scotland. Two years later Steve ran our electric ID Buzz Cargo round the same route solo, which did not go entirely to plan. Then in the summer of 2025 we drove it again in our Kon-Tiki 874, this time carrying on north to Orkney and out to Papa Westray for around three weeks. This guide pulls together everything from all three.

The route at a glance

Inverness, round the top, and back

The North Coast 500 loops the far north of Scotland, starting and finishing in Inverness and running up the west coast, along the top past John o’Groats, and back down the east. Our 2025 trip picked it up a little differently: we started near Loch Lomond, well south of Inverness, worked our way up through the Highlands, and joined the NC500 proper on the west coast before carrying on to the very top of the mainland.

From there the route stopped being just the NC500. We caught the ferry from Scrabster to Stromness, spent a week touring Orkney’s mainland, and finished with an overnight trip out to Papa Westray, flying the short hop to Westray before ferrying back to Kirkwall. The drive home took us back down through the Highlands, with one more wild camp on the way at Latheronwheel Harbour.

What we learned

Do not treat the NC500 as a route you drive quickly. The single-track sections with passing places reward patience, not speed, and the best stops are rarely the famous viewpoints, they are the small campsites with a good owner and a warm welcome, like Scourie.

When to go

Three trips, three different seasons

We have now done this route in three very different windows. Our first NC500 outing, back in 2022, landed us in a storm early in the season, when the weather round the north coast can turn fast. Steve’s solo electric run happened in winter 2024, deep midwinter, which meant short daylight and cold-weather range to think about. Our family trip to Orkney ran through June 2025, giving us the long daylight of high summer for the islands.

Each season has a genuine trade-off. Summer gives you the daylight for a packed itinerary and better weather for the ferries, but the road and the campsites are busier. Winter is quiet and dramatic but shorter days and worse weather cut into your driving hours, as our electric trip found out.

Electric or diesel

We have tried both

Our nine-metre Kon-Tiki 874 did the NC500 as part of our 2025 family trip to Orkney. The storm of 2022 was an earlier NC500 run, before we owned the 874. Our electric ID Buzz Cargo did the route solo in winter 2024, eight days, Inverness up and around, 1,200 miles. On a full charge in gentle conditions the ID Buzz sees around 200 miles of range, a touch more in summer, and Steve ran the cab heating overnight straight off the battery.

The honest answer is that the electric trip did not go entirely smoothly. Two of the video titles from that week say it plainly: FAILED CHARGING and THE RESCUE. It is doable, we have the footage to prove it, but the charging network along the NC500 is thinner than the motorway network further south, and that is exactly what caught us out. We have written up the full story on our dedicated electric NC500 page below.

Real stops from our map

A handful of highlights from our 35-stop Orkney trip

These are a few of the real stops from our 2025 trip, every one a pin on our own map. Our full NC500 campsites page below lists every one of the 35 stops in the order we drove them.

The Vanlife Campsite

A lovely small campsite near Loch Lomond with wonderful views, run by a fantastic host called Dru. It made a gentle first night before the NC500 proper started, whisky from the neighbouring Glengoyne Distillery included.
Kinlochewe Community Toilets

Public toilets and a free motorhome service point in the Highlands, the sort of unglamorous but genuinely useful stop that keeps a long trip running smoothly.
Scourie Caravan Park

Steve's favourite campsite on the whole NC500, with a very warm welcome from the owner, Vicky. If you only remember one name off this list, remember this one.
Scrabster Ferry Terminal

The departure point for the ferry to Orkney, right at the top of the mainland. This is where the NC500 and the Orkney leg of the trip meet.
Point of Ness Caravan & Camping Site

A lovely campsite that became our base for the whole week in Orkney, with a pitch right on the edge of the harbour.

Every one of these is plotted on our interactive map with the video from that leg of the trip, so you can see exactly where it is before you decide whether it suits you.

Orkney and the ferry

From Scrabster all the way to Papa Westray

We drove our motorhome onto the ferry at Scrabster and off again at Stromness, our point of entry and exit for the whole Orkney leg. Once we were on the islands the travel got more interesting: an overnight stop on Papa Westray, reached by flying from Papa Westray Airport to Westray Airport, the world’s shortest scheduled flight. In good conditions that hop is over in about two minutes. We flew it, had a cuppa at Richans Retreat on Westray, then caught the ferry from Rapness back to Kirkwall.

The full breakdown, including which ferries run where and what to expect if you are bringing a motorhome, is on our dedicated Orkney ferry guide below.

Wild camping and the rules

What Scotland actually allows

Scotland’s access laws are genuinely different from England and Wales, and we used a mix of proper campsites, free official stops and a couple of real wild camps on this trip. Scapa Beach and Sands of Wright were both spots we could wild camp at, and on the way home Steve wild camped with friends at Latheronwheel Harbour. We explain what the law actually says, and where a campervan differs from a tent, on our wild camping rules page below.

What it costs

Fuel, ferries, sites and food

One of our own videos from the winter 2024 trip is literally titled THE NC500 ROAD TRIP FINALE - HOW MUCH DID IT COST?, so a genuine breakdown exists in our own footage, covering fuel, campsites and aires, the Orkney ferry and food. We have not pulled the figures into a written page yet, so rather than guess a number here, watch the FINALE video for the honest answer.

Go deeper

The full cluster

NC500 campsites and stopovers we actually stayed at
Every campsite, aire and wild camp from our own map, in the order we drove them.
The Orkney ferry guide
Scrabster to Stromness, the inter-island hops, and the world’s shortest scheduled flight.
The NC500 in an electric campervan
Steve’s solo run in the ID Buzz, the charging problems, and the rescue.
Scotland's wild camping rules, explained
The Outdoor Access Code, what it actually covers, and what it does not.

You can also see the whole trip laid out stop by stop on our Orkney Road Trip itinerary page, or read up on two related guides: diesel heaters for cold Highlands and Orkney nights, and the best family motorhome if you are wondering what to take on a trip like this in the first place.

Watch the trips

All 11 videos, in order

Scotland motorhoming questions we get asked

Can you wild camp in a motorhome in Scotland?

Scotland's Outdoor Access Code gives everyone a right of responsible access to most land, which is why wild camping with a tent is generally allowed. Parking a motorhome or campervan overnight is a different question legally, and comes down to local signage and common sense rather than the same statutory right. We cover this properly on our wild camping rules page below.

How long do you need for the NC500?

Most people allow five to seven days for the NC500 itself. We have never rushed it. Our solo electric run in winter 2024 took eight days, and when we added Orkney and Papa Westray on top in 2025 the whole trip took around three weeks.

Is the NC500 doable in an electric campervan?

Yes, we have done it, but it was not entirely smooth. Steve ran our electric ID Buzz solo round the NC500 in winter 2024 and the trip included a spell with failed charging and a rescue. It is entirely possible, just go in with your eyes open about the charging network being thinner than further south. Full story on our electric NC500 page below.

Do you need a 4x4 for the NC500?

No. We have driven it in a nine-metre coachbuilt motorhome and in a small electric campervan, and neither is a 4x4. The road is a mix of good tarmac and single-track sections with passing places, which any competent driver can manage with a bit of patience.

Can you take a motorhome on the ferry to Orkney?

Yes. We took our own motorhome across on the Scrabster to Stromness crossing as part of our 2025 Orkney trip. See our Orkney ferry guide below for the detail, including the inter-island hops once you are there.

What are the best campsites on the NC500 for motorhomes?

Scourie Caravan Park was Steve's favourite, and Kinlochewe Community Toilets is worth knowing purely for the free service point. Our full NC500 campsites page lists every stop we actually stayed at, in the order we drove them.

What are the best campsites in Orkney for motorhomes?

Point of Ness Caravan & Camping Site was our base for the week, right on the edge of the harbour. Scapa Beach and Sands of Wright are both wild camping spots on our Orkney map. Full detail on our campsites page.

What is the world's shortest scheduled flight?

The Westray to Papa Westray hop in Orkney holds the record. Gate to gate it can be over in about two minutes, sometimes under with a following wind, for a crossing of under two miles. We flew it ourselves in 2025. Our Orkney ferry guide has the full story.

Written by Steve and Lyndsay Radford. Every stop named here is a real pin from our own trips round Scotland in 2022, 2024 and 2025. Where a figure is not yet confirmed we have said so rather than guess. Roaming Radfords is a trading name of Yowzer Limited.