There are different options to start your journey in The Highlands whether you live in the UK, America,
Australia or if you come from mainland Europe, but when you live abroad in Europe (e.g. Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, France or The Netherlands), the fastest way to start exploring The North Coast 500 (NC500) is to fly directly to Inverness from Amsterdam with KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij - Royal Dutch Airlines).
This summer KLM increased its flights from Amsterdam to Inverness to three times a day (July and August) and in the other months there are 2 direct flights, the duration of the flight is about 75 minutes. The service from Amsterdam to Inverness started in May 2016 and since then KLM has seen a high level of bookings from people who want to travel around the Scottish Highlands, villages as Dornoch, Helmsdale, John o’ Groats (on the East Coast), Thurso, Bettyhill, Durness (on the North Coast) and Kinlochbervie, Lochinver and Ullapool on the West coast have seen a tremendous increase of visitors.
Amsterdam Schiphol airport is one of the world’s great aviation hubs, which allows passengers quick access to the rest of the world.
After your arrival in Inverness you can rent a car at one of the trusted rental stations at the airport or in the city of Inverness and start you journey around The Highlands and the NC500 from there.
One of the most popular ferry crossings starts in IJmuiden and brings you in about 16 hours to Newcastle Upon Tyne, in the Northern part of England, from there it is about 300 miles to Inverness, the capital of The Highlands. On board there are a lot of facilities to have a comfortable ferry crossing, you can have diner in one of the restaurants, watch a movie and, of course, have a good night sleep.