Discover the benefits of a coach holiday and save money on your next one by booking through Boundless
More than five million Brits take a coach holiday every year. Hassle-free, comfortable and excellent value – find out why it’s a great way to travel...
The transport
Levels of comfort have come a long way since the days of stuffy coaches with blackened ashtrays and itchy seats.
Touring coaches today come with reclining seats, generous legroom, air conditioning, tinted and double-glazed windows and on-board toilets. Some even have drop-down DVD screens and kitchens for hot and cold drinks and snacks.
Modern coaches cost upwards of £250,000 and, thanks to technological and ecological advances, promise a quiet and smooth ride. According to the latest statistics, coach travel is also seven times safer than travelling by car.
On-board service
Most coach holiday operators provide a door-to-door service, via a local taxi or minibus, to take you from your home to the coach.
Once on board, your driver becomes your personal chauffeur, taking care of your luggage and getting you to your destination. He’ll know the best routes and how to avoid any congestion, so you can sit back and enjoy the views.
If you’re on an escorted tour, your expert guide – many of them professional archaeologists or historians – will be on hand to bring destinations to life with their insights and enthusiasm.
Destinations
These days your coach holiday is just as likely to be taking you to Poland’s Tatras Mountains or across the Altiplano plateau of Peru as Bournemouth and Scarborough. Reflecting wider travel trends, coach tours have become more exotic and adventurous, but with the safety of being part of a group and with local guides and drivers.
What’s more, it means you’ll often get to the front of the queue for tourist landmarks, have no worries about parking, and visit fascinating places you never knew existed.
Itineraries are more flexible, too, with stops en route to stretch your legs, fewer early morning starts, and ample free time to explore at your own pace.
The price of coach travel
There are coach holidays to suit all budgets: decide whether you want to simply rest your head each night in a two- or three-star hotel or enjoy five-star accommodation and fine dining.
And choose whether to go half board or fully inclusive. Either way, transport costs and attraction visits are usually included, so there are few extras to factor in.
Save 5% on Shearings coach tours through Boundless
Shearings is one of the UK’s largest escorted tour operators, offering a wide selection of coach holidays to Britain, Ireland and Europe. Boundless members exclusively save 5% with Shearings, which also offers a range of holidays by air, rail or self-drive. Click here to find out more about the Shearings holidays available.
Bev Fearis is editor-in-chief of TravelMole.com and regular contributor to The Guardian. She has been a travel journalist for over 20 years.