Coach Trip - Good or Bad?

I have done a few with various coach companies...National CH, Ellen Smith and Caledonian. As a driver I enjoy sitting up high and seeing everything rather than missing it all! The hotels are usually 3/4 star and in Scotland have all been lovely. Visited Glen Coe, Oban, the Trossachs etc. Thumbs up from me !

I have never done a coach trip in the UK but have done several in the USA and Canada where the distances are so vast with miles of tedious driving between major cities and towns. And one in New Zealand - both islands. I was in my 30s, 40s and 50s when I did these. There were people of all ages on board. What I was seeking on these holidays was sightseeing in the daytime (and in NZ hiking and sightseeing) and some interesting places to go in the evening hopefully in company. I don’t know if the same applies for UK coach tours. Best to talk to the tour operators to gauge the general demographic of their customers.

I used to do regular day coach trips from our town in the East Midlands. Lots of fun and very varied.

2 years ago, we did a guided coach trip to Croatia. I was a bit worried about the 'cattle' feel- but the guide was brilliant and our co-travellers great fun. We are doing another one a bit later this year, to Corsica this time (from Eastern France). Hope it is as good as the last.

Being on my own now and not keen on long drives, I have been on two coach trips this year. Yes, some people were fairly restricted in mobility, but most others were very able. The driver was very considerate and on days out, parked as close as he could to avoid lengthy walks to the places of interest.
People were very friendly, and I felt comfortable being on my own. It worked for me, but yes, it was a bit of an “old folks trip” but we were free to do our own thing whilst making the most of what was on offer.
If you don’t like having dinner at set times and sitting with others, then maybe it is not for you, but for me it was a means to an end and I will book again next year. Very good value for money.
I won’t name my coach company as it is a small local independent family firm. People spoke highly of Lochs and Glens company.

Have done a few coach trips mostly abroad, and found them relaxed and friendly.
My only comment is you have to keep to an itinerary, so your time is not your own to do as you please, but if you want to see different places and not drive it’s the way to go.
Why not try a short trip and see how you feel

I’m booked to go on a coach trip next week , I’ve been on several and enjoyed them .
My main delight was being told what we were looking at , if you know what I mean , they history etc , some go into great depths, others tell more of the folk lore version , but I find it entertaining either way
Usually good hotels and a choice of food , maybe not the full menu , but good choice
Enjoy

There are coach trips and coach trips. You tend to get what you pay for! Research the good companies. The ultra cheap ones might not be your best bet.

I find the bonus of a coach trip is that you get to see the things you miss, as a driver.

I have done lots with my friends, using the now defunct David Urquhart and more recently Caledonian. I enjoyed allowing someone else to take responsibilty.

DH, who used to resist has enjoyed a few too.

Getting on and off the coach is not easy for anyone with mobility issues though.

The coach trip passengers we saw last week in scotland didn't look particularly old to me - I don't think that would be an issue. We do love scotland & a couple of times we have flown up (we are way down south & close to an airport) & hired a car from Inverness airport, or plane / coach /ferry/hire car for Orkney. That might be something you could consider too?

We’ve had some excellent coach trips - to Austria, Belgium, Ireland and Cornwall, with good local companies that came highly recommended. Enjoyed them all. We did a fair few day trips too. It was a luxury for DH to sit back and enjoy the scenery. Most good companies do short breaks as well as longer holidays.

We have done a few coach trips and would recommend. Very relaxing and good value. You are tied to time but you get to see loads of interesting places.

We did lots of UK coach trips when we were much younger. We enjoyed most of them but I would advise you to look at Trip Advisor for the hotel you are going to before booking . Some of the hotels are not great . Other downsides were being taken to a town and left for hours with not a lot to do except look st the shops and have endless cups of tea and some drivers play the most terrible ( in my view ) music all the time . We had one trip with Caledonian Travel where the window rattled beside us all the journey .
Having said all that we enjoyed the company , just sitting back relaxing and letting the driver take the strain and going far further away from home than we would go if we were doing the driving.

Several friends love their coach trips. They say the driver has always been good fun and the hotels excellent and felt the trips were good value. Just one point to be careful of some trips have various pick up points along the way so the journey can be longer than anticipated but the company will soon tell you if this is the case. Hope you book one and enjoy your holiday.x

My friend age 63 had just returned from a trip to Scotland touring mainland and orkneys ....she got train to Edinburgh....then used local buses...which she said mainly ran to time ....meaning her itinerary was flexible

We have done several, both here and abroad.

Leger has Luxuria coaches, more expensive but very comfortable.

We enjoy a coach tour, no worries about driving. The downsides are a long time on the coach picking up others, a very early start on the first day, but someone else is sorting out the logistics of it all.

Would definitely go on a Scotland one again.

Before booking any coach holiday it is worth taking a look at independent reviews for the hotel used for the holiday of your choice.
I did this and the reviews were all bad.

I’d say go for it! We’ve had some really good coach trips, several in Europe and a couple in North America, as well as to various places in the UK. The disadvantages of the latter are that they tend to appeal only to older people (including us!) and you usually have set mealtimes. If you can get over that they really are great value, and you see a lot more from a coach seat than you would when driving. Yes, the pick ups and drop offs can stretch out the outward and return journeys, but we just read or doze. I’d agree with Floradora though, always check Tripadvisor for the hotel reviews before booking. We’ve never had a bad one, but that’s because we shy away from the obvious ones to avoid!

The other option is to go by train. There are lots of organised train tours, some steam train, in Scotland. Probably more expensive than coach however but you can move around whilst travelling.

I did a train and coach trip years ago to Scotland doing various stops it was brilliant I wouldn’t ever drive there myself. We visited Stirling Perth Callander and the Trossachs it was lovely no complaints everything was very good.

A few years ago we took a coach tour of Southern Ireland a trip I always wanted to do. We had some lovely days out but the accommodation in a few places was very drab old fashioned and not so nice. The food in the accommodation was not good home style food. I expected it was the equivalent to food anyone can buy ready made.

We spent a lot of time on the coach and my feet were swollen like balloons and painful. I didn’t take advice I had been given by a friend to take flight socks. If I ever did a coach trip again it would be with a different company it wasn’t the silver service expected.

I have been several times with Lochs and Glens. Would not go again because its too long sitting in the coach getting to places and then once there, it was not really long enough to have lunch and see the place properly. We had to keep a strict watch of the time to make sure to get back on the coach. It was too early to want to leave places and too long a gap between getting back from somewhere and the evening meal. Its probably more for older folks who have mobility issues and are happy with this pace.

A friend and I sometimes go on day trips by coach and they are very good value and super comfy. My friend’s husband owns the fleet of luxury coaches.

My daughter and I have been on several UK mini breaks and most of those were very good too.

We're in our late 70s and have decided that anything over a 2 hour drive is too long for us now, so we do take coach trips. We are careful who we go with due to issues at the less expensive end of the market as outlined in some posts on here.

Fortunately there's an outstanding local company that we like so having tried others, they're our go to company. A little more costly but so worth it.

I would say go for it!

We like a coach trip. Last week we went for an overnight stay to Peebles with a trip to Edinburgh for the Tattoo.
In September we are going to Wales for a week. We always go with local coach companies.