Benefits of coach travel
Benefits of Coach Travel
Travelling by coach: why taking the slower route is so popular with our school groups
Planning your next school trip? One of the biggest decisions you’re going to have to make is how to get there – by air, or by coach. Of course, depending on your destination, that decision may already be made for you, but if you’re travelling within the UK, to France, Spain, Andorra, Germany, Austria, or Italy, you’ll have the option.
Both means of transport have their unique benefits. Travelling by air can be a lot quicker, and for that reason is often the transportation of choice. However, coach travel can enhance your students’ travel experience greatly – in fact, we’ve even had some students comment the coach journey was one of their favourite parts of their trip!
Here, we’ve compiled the benefits of a flight-free school trip, to explore why this option is so popular for many of our school groups.
Easier to supervise
We know how challenging it can be to plan a school trip [link to plan a school trip blog]. After all the organising, collecting student information and making payments, departure day is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. With it, however, comes even more responsibility. Suddenly, you and your colleagues are caring for 30 students, meaning 30 passports to monitor, 30 heads to count, and 30 things that could possibly go wrong. Coach travel makes all of this a lot simpler, as it keeps everything (and everyone) in one place for the entire duration of your journey. Goodbye transfers, goodbye airport security. Just get your party on board and relax – until you reach your destination.
Added convenience
Speaking of relaxing, your group can benefit from decreased pressure on the party leader thanks to the door-to-door nature of coaching. With a coach, you needn’t worry about organising numerous kinds of transport; instead, your coach can pick you up from school, take you to your destination (and back again), and even transport you around your chosen resort.
Cheaper and more cost-effective
Coach travel is renowned for being more affordable than its air counterpart – it’s not exactly a big secret. If your destination is within a day’s travel, and you’ve plenty of time to spare, then it’s a no-brainer to swap an extra day in location for a day of coaching. Not only might the lower price point attract more sign-ups to your trip, but you’re also likely to have a bit more financial flexibility for excursions, meaning a school trip that’s jam-packed full of exciting activities.
Looser luggage restrictions
Air travel is notorious for being restrictive with luggage. Whether it’s too big, or it’s too heavy, the wrong sized bag can cause chaos at the airport, and your students could easily end up with hefty fees before you’ve even left for your destination. Coaches, however, can be a bit more flexible when it comes to what to bring on your school trip with you. As long as it all fits in the coach’s luggage hold, your students are free to bring everything but the kitchen sink (well, almost).
A huge step on the way to ‘jet zero’
According to the European Environment Agency, the average carbon emissions per coach passenger per journey amounts to around 4.5 times less than if they travelled by air. This makes coach travel the more sustainable option by miles – something we know is increasingly important to schools and their students – and the cheapest to offset if you wish to counterbalance the emissions of your transport.
Comfortable & roomy
Gone are the days of squashed, cheap coach seating, or dreading an overnight journey. Modern coaches are spacious and comfortable, with large, part-reclining, cushioned seats and air conditioning, offering just the right conditions for travel in the summer, winter, day, or night.
More time for social bonding
With on average more time spent en route to your destination, your students will have more time to entertain themselves and bond with fellow students if you opt to travel by coach. Friendships can be forged and strengthened over shared interests and hobbies, whether that be a favourite game they’re playing, music they’re listening to, or film they want to watch.
Extra supervisory places
School groups travelling by coach have the chance to benefit from more adult spaces for their group. All our packages offer 1 free staff place for every 8 full paying passengers travelling by coach, rather than 1 staff place for every 10 full paying passengers travelling by air.
Flight-free school travel – at your fingertips
Coach travel is becoming an increasingly popular mode of transport for school travel, with comfort, convenience, and cost contributing to its popularity. Most of our trips within the UK, to France, Spain, Andorra, Germany, Austria, or Italy are accessible by coach, so why not explore your options? With all the benefits outlined above, your students will thank you for it!
If you’d like to discuss the options for coach travel on your next school trip, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to discuss your individual requirements.
