North Coast 500 Traveller Reviews

The holiday fully met our expectations. It was perfectly organised, all of the accommodations were first class but still very different in character. We had absolutely no problems at all. The midges stayed away too.

This is the second time we have used them and we have been very satisfied on both occasions. The information provided prior to the holiday was very full and our dealings with office were friendly and straightforward .

Scottish encounter and route 500

Very helpful

Overall a very enjoyable experience.

Our main comment re. the planning of the trip concerned the direction of travel, and the driving distances between locations being very varied.

A Highlands adventure with great attention to every detail, from lovely accommodations to tips on sights, restaurants and history of the region.

We were so pleased to arrange our trip with McKinlay Kidd. The responsiveness, attention to detail, and working with us to customize to fit our wishes on what to see and where to stay was outstanding!

This was a great trip based around the NW500 but stopping off wherever we fancied including the Isle of Skye and the Castle of Mey. A series of really quirky but good hotels and inns recommended by McKinley Kidd with so much fresh fish made it a real pleasure to eat every night as well as enjoy the just stunning landscape of the North of Scotland. The harshness of the scenery after meant you din't see anything or anybody for miles but when you did and stopped the welcome was so warm and friendly. The trip started so well with our first B&B (2 The Quails, Dornoch) where are hosts cooked the fare and entertained us royally. Just a real treat from start to finish..

This was the second time that we have used McKinley Kidd and with the advance of technology they were even better than the first time using VAMOSS for guides etc. The hotels and Inns they recommended were just what we wanted, part of the local community but with good food and facilities. Really top class and we even saw two stags less then 10 yards from the car which even they couldn't have arranged!

Absolutely fantastic

McKinley Kid Absolutely Top Class. Very Highly Recomended

9 nights self drive, staying at small country house hotels, including a side trip to Orkney.

V friendly and efficient. I dealt with the same person throughout. They provided a very comprehensive folder with full directions, hints and suggestions , maps, booklets and other information. One thing I did find odd is that they didn’t want to give me the names of our hotels until AFTER I paid the deposit. The holiday was quite expensive and this was not acceptable, so on pushing, I was given the names eventually.

Had the NC 500 on our to do list and did some internet research. Found that the route and stop over options are vast and in reality we didn’t have the time to wade through all the information. We found McKinlay Kidd and gave them a call. An itinerary and accommodation package was put together and with a couple of tweaks we were ready to go. We were emailed instructions on how to operate and download the app and never looked back. An amazing experience which was truly wonderful. Great choices of where to stay, that were all worth a second visit and loads of things to see. These included the must haves but also some off the beaten track ideas that were well worth the extra time to find.

Outstanding from start to finish. All queries were promptly replied to and your holiday is unique . Will definitely be using them again

We undertook a 6-day self drive tour along the North Coast five hundred in a circular route from Inverness. We stayed in lovely hotels with fresh, local food, there was plenty to do and see along the way, and absolutely stunning scenery around every bend (made even more magnificent by non-stop sunshine!). We especially loved Handa Island, the trip out to Cape Wrath, our wild life cruise from Gairloch and touring Inverewe Gardens. The trip was made even more enjoyable with the opportunity to drive a Tesla electric car which was great fun on the many single lane roads, and it was surprisingly easy to keep the battery topped up even in remote areas. The trip was a great success overall and certainly exceeded our expectations.

Excellent arrangements, all information needed was provided, responses to questions was prompt and helpful. Hotels were in very good locations for breaking up the journey. Tesla pickup and drop off at Inverness was seamless. Overall, we had a very professional tour operator who provided us with an excellent holiday.

Well planned, great accomodation and superb weather. Two out of three of these were entirely due to McKinlay Kidd and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they had a hand in the third!

Excellent service - very helpful!