Coach Trip - Good or Bad?

Yes I would happily take a coach tour but I would study the itinery in depth to make sure there were no unduly long periods on the road and plenty of comfort stops were included.

My husband and I have done uncountable "coach circuit trips" throughout Spain.

We truly enjoy them, as it had given both of us a chance to see a multitude of historical and emblematic monuments as well as several focused on hiking for example: National Park Irati, in Irati, Navarra which is 50 km. from Pamplona.

One of very favourites was a 7 day - 6 night trip through Pais Vasco. It was enchanting ..

I highly suggest taking one .. It can be very enrichening.

Husband and I enjoyed a number of these trips a few years ago, Good value for money and met some interesting characters. I am currently reading The Gran Tour by Ben Aitken...amusing and accurate reflections of his experiences on tour. Reading this thread (and the book) have given me itchy feet to book another

I enjoyed The Gran Tour too, Happyme. I seem to remember he couldn’t believe how little his gran paid for her coach tours and decided to try a few. Very funny. The other travellers weren’t used to a young person on board and sometimes mistook him for their driver.

We've had a couple of coach trips, but for specific events, a long weekend really, and they weren't too bad. I'd be very wary about a trip to Scotland, a long way up and back, and as several have said, only a part of the time is your own. (Did you mean a tour from way down in England?).

The last time we went to Scotland, we flew to Edinburgh (from Brum), got the bus into town, picked up a hire car, then had 3 days in the borders and 3 around Edinburgh and nearby. It was lovely.

I just Googled coach tours from Glasgow or E'burgh, plenty of choice, Discover Scotland looked interesting.

I was glad to read the thread, I too was dithering about taking coach trips and have decided not to, referencing the short breaks, the long time sitting and the risk to circulation. Thank you for the thread foxtail

Go for it, most coach trips are very enjoyable , it’s great fun when you get off for a break, that’s when you meet most of the others. Like others have said do a little research both about the company and the hotels you may stay at. Good luck and have fun.

We did Lochs and Glens once, but found it far too regimented, especially the meal times; we were rushed through our meals with no time to relax between courses, and the time table was very strict with no leeway.
We needed a holiday when we got back! It definitely wasn't for us.

What about getting to Scotland by train or plane an hour to Inverness from southern England and nowadays getting to Edinburgh or Glasgow is a lot quicker on the train than it used to be. When there you can use trains for some journeys, or hire a car. I've heard Rabbies tours recommended by some, but not done one myself you book your own accomodation if it is a more than 1 day tour .
Yes getting there in public transport is dear but so is driving therez depending on where you go from you might need to stay on the way and you will end up in Scotland with a lot more energy than if you'd been driving so can start the holiday in top form

Thanks again all, some of the trips you have had in the UK and abroad sound great
Looking to train or fly up, there are a lot of options once in Scotland.
DrWatson we are in the East Midlands so not too far south.
Karmalady yes this thread is full of good information, i'm glad it gave you an end to your dithering.

Happyme, The Gran Tour, travels with my elders... the cover and title is scarily off putting.. i'm definitely going to get a copy!

We are booked to go on a Lochs and Glens trip to Loch Awe in 3 weeks time so I will report back on our return. Interesting to read mixed reviews of them, but I think we know what to expect. We live in Kent, so it will be a long journey each way, but we have been told there will be several stops en route. We get picked up from a local pick-up point at 5.45am, and have been assured we will arrive at the hotel in time for dinner. Will let you know !

We did a coach trip to the Isle of Wight a few years ago. Never again, what with the interminable journey, the endless stops picking people up and then frequent motorway stops, the substandard Hotel with terrible food and awful entertainment ( we ate out out after the first night and avoided the "turn" each evening). The only thing we really wanted to see was Osbourne House and there was no trip to there so we had to make our own way. For us it was a complete waste of time and an experience we would never repeat.

srn63 One of my friends has very recently had a very similar experience to the one you describe.
From my friend's home, by car it takes a maximum of two and a half hours to get to the Isle of Wight. But on her recent coach holiday it took a torturous eight hours to reach their destination. Like you, she found there was no visit included to Osborne House. She made her own arrangements to visit, using a taxi.
On the return journey my friend made alternative arrangements with a family member to pick her up in order to shorten the time on the coach.

The last two comments about trips not including Osbourne House.

Surely when the itinerary was studied before travel, it mentioned the trips and where they were to?

Any coach tour I’ve been on has been clear about included and optional trips, so no surprise really.

Yes, when we went to the Isle of Wight we knew there were no trips included. We just used the frequent service buses to go to Osborne House, the Needles, and wherever else we fancied, and all for free with our senior bus passes.

It did take us around 9 hours to get there, but that was a journey of 270 miles and included the ferry crossing. As a few of us have said, you can easily check out hotel reviews before you book - the one we stayed in had an overwhelming number of four and five stars on Tripadvisor. For what we paid, around £550 for the two of us, all transport plus dinner bed and breakfast for 5 nights, it was excellent value.

The coach company I go with has a pick up point with a car park about a mile from me and it is the last one, and first one coming back. Worth knowing as people who get on first say it takes an hour longer.
The itineraries are listed, and starts are not very early after the first morning, though on days out the driver will often take scenic routes rather than leave you too long at a destination especially on a cold windy day. Very considerate. He even put on an extra optional scenic tour on a free morning.

We have been with Lochs and Glens twice. They have their own hotels, which are all in fab locations. Also each tour starts out from a particular geographical area of the UK, so you don't spend hours going round half the country picking people up. Food in the hotels was good and staff lovely.

The only downside is the mealtimes can be a bit early for some tastes. Also on the second tour we did the driver was far inferior to the one we had on the first tour. Apparently they are suffering from driver shortages, and this guy was drafted in with no experience of being a tour guide, and it showed.

We use the coach company 'Parrys'
Brilliant

Are Parrys a local or a national coach company?

I've taken coach trips all over the world, as a Tour Manager, for over 30 years so hopefully I can help a bit with your quandry.

I've also taken many people on coach trips around Scotland. Not wanting to drive is a really common reason for not wanting to take a coach holiday so you will find plenty of people in a similar position to you.

There are many different types of coach holidays. Some of them are definitely for older folks who enjoy more panoramic touring rather than being active.

However, there are plenty of options where you can be more active, either by enjoying activities that suit you in free time or because it's a more active group on the tour.

Glenton, Lochs and Glens, Newmarket, Great Railway Journeys, Grand UK holidays will give you some ideas of the difference. Great Railway Journeys combines coach and train travel to make an interesting tour experience.

Helpfully many coach holiday companies now give more information on the activity level, either in terms of walking distances covered or in terms of pace.

Thinking about a coach trip to Ireland ( belfast) from the North East...not done these before and will have to stay in a overnight hotel as pick up is early doors...has anyone done this tour? Any tips about bus seating? Does everyone recline there seats ? Lol

I know somebody who has had several very successful coach trips to Scotland with fairly upmarket companies. I suspect you get what you pay for and of course the tour manager can make a huge difference.
Not quite the same thing but I had a holiday by coach in Suffolk last year with a group from our local Arts Society (used to be NADFAS) . It was tailored to our interests - the name Tailored Travel is a bit of a clue- and excellent in every respect.
I have also been on an organised train holiday to the Harz Mountains in Germany using Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn and would recommend that sort of trip too. Any fears I had of bring “stuck” with the same people at mealtimes were quite unfounded as we genuinely enjoyed each others’ company.

That book 'The Gran Tour' sounded so good I've just downloaded it on my Kindle. Thanks for the recommendation.

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I’ve done several in the past with my best friend one of which was to Scotland. I enjoyed them they included excursions after you arrived if you wanted to go or you could stay at the base and just tell the driver not to expect you for that days trip.

Decent but not exciting hotels. We had breakfast and dinner included but had to pay for lunch, drinks etc.There were plenty of stops on the journeys there and back. We enjoyed it. I haven’t actually ever done a solo holiday