Busting the 4 Most Common Coach Holiday Myths 🚍

Have you ever considered a coach holiday?

There are many coach holiday myths about this type of holiday.

Having spent 25 years taking coach holidays all over the world as a Tour Manager I’m here to help bust some of the most common coach holiday myths.

Let’s crack on!

Coach Holiday Myths – Let’s Get Busting!

Table of Contents

Coach Holiday Myths

1. Coach Holidays Are Only for Really Old People!

Absolutely not.

This is one of the most pervasive coach holiday myths. People often tell me that they aren’t old enough yet to take a coach holiday!

Coach holidays attract a wide variety of ages, although generally, travellers are from their 40s upwards. It is not common to see children on coach holidays, some coach holiday companies don’t allow children in fact. However, multigenerational coach holidays look like they will become more common in the future.

There are coach holiday options for younger people too with plenty of options aimed at travellers aged 18-30.

Many people picture coaches full of people who need wheelchairs, mobility scooters or walking aids when they picture coach holidays and that is absolutely not my experience of taking thousands of travellers.

Many coach holidays have fitness requirements, which give details of how much walking you need to be able to do in a day etc. Some don’t allow wheelchairs or walking aids, other than a walking stick perhaps.

Of course, over the years there have been some issues with mobility for some guests. Sometimes they just booked the wrong holiday completely, not understanding what was involved. For others, it has been a case of things changing such as needing a knee or hip replacement so not being as fit as they once were, or would be once their operation was completed.

We can all be guilty of making assumptions about people based on their age – what a big mistake this can be.

When I was training to start to work with a coach holiday company one of the new potential recruits was firmly of the view that anyone over 60 should not be out unaccompanied and if they didn’t turn up to meet their friends the police should be called!

Often on tours, it is the younger people who find the program toughest. I have travelled with people in their 90s who have had more energy than everyone on the coach put together and climbed hills to prove it.

When it comes to coach holidays and life in general age really is just a number.

Coach Holiday Myths

2. Coach Holidays Aren’t Active Holidays

This is not true in my experience.

This is also one of the popular coach holiday myths with people believing that travellers sit on a coach all day!

There are lots of differences between coach holidays, with a variety of types, paces and styles available – ideally something to suit everyone. Most coach holiday companies will give details about the pacing of the tour, and the fitness levels required and the itinerary should give an idea of the activity levels too.

In the tourism industry in general there has been a move towards more active holidays, with travellers wanting to have great experiences in destinations rather than just visit and leave.

Coach holidays can include walking, sports, adventure travel, cycling and much more besides.

There really is a coach holiday for everyone, with a style, pace and activities to suit.

Coach Holiday Myths

3. Coach Holidays Are Cheap & Nasty

Absolutely not.

This is one of the top coach holiday myths not only amongst travellers but also sometimes amongst some ill-informed travel industry people. There is often a view that people on coach holidays don’t spend money which is also not true.

There is a huge variety in the type of coach holidays available, as there are with all types of travel. Coach holidays have adapted over the years to reflect the taste and interests of their customers, who want more local experiences, more authentic experiences and more in-depth and active experiences.

Coach holidays can offer lots of value.

If you compare the cost of some coach holidays which have trips, meals, flights and internal travel in a destination included they can sometimes be considerably cheaper than you could travel yourself.

As you will see coach holidays are changing and adapting and they are options to suit all levels of budgets, with some very high-end options available too.

Coach Holiday Myths

4. Coach Holiday Guests Are Not Well Travelled

Totally untrue.

This is one of my favourite coach holiday myths because in my experience it couldn’t be more wrong.

The people that I meet on coach holidays are all well travelled, many of them better travelled than me and I have travelled a lot.

The way they travel depends on who they are travelling with, where they are going and their budget. This means over the course of a year they could be taking trips on their own, domestic trips, group trips and self-catering trips.

It is rare to meet someone on a coach holiday that hasn’t got an interest in travel and many people have a fantastic knowledge of areas, countries and topics.

The coach holiday guests I have travelled with have come from all sorts of backgrounds, from teachers to nurses, directors to doctors and everything in between.

They are a truly varied bunch.

Assumptions can be dangerous things and that’s also true when making assumptions about coach holiday travellers.

coach holiday expert coach holikday myths coach holidays of the past — Just for clarity this bus is from a bit before my time

5. Coach Holidays From My Past

Coach holidays have already changed a great deal since I started taking them 25 years ago, partly as a result of how travellers have changed and how the whole travel industry has changed.

25 years ago there were no cheap flights, so coach holidays were the cheapest way to get to Europe. Whilst there are still a few holidays that include an overnight coach to reach the destination these are very much the minority. Spending over 24 hours travelling on a coach isn’t that appealing when compared to a 3-hour flight.

In the early days of coach holidays there also was no internet and there was much less awareness about places. As such companies offered excursion programs and packages covering the main attractions that people wanted to see, and people booked them, generally all of them.

6. Coach Holidays Now

Coach holidays now offer much more personalisation. You can choose active trips, adventurous trips, or trips with more free time for exploring on your own. Some coach holidays offer a choice of accommodation, some offer a choice of coach to travel on, and some offer a choice of optional activities in each destination rather than one option.

There are options about how you join your coach holiday with flights, private cars, stopovers and upgrades generally available.

As travellers become keen to explore further so coach holidays have adapted and there are holidays to all corners of the world. Generally, these holidays involve flying from the UK and then travelling on a local coach.

A coach holiday now is definitely not 47 people all doing the same thing – it has never been that in my experience.

7. Coach Holidays of the Future

The big change in travel now is more solo travellers. As such many coach holidays are increasing the number of spaces available on tours that have no single supplement. There are of course dedicated solo travel coach holidays, but my experience has been with solo travellers who are part of a larger group.

There are now lots more solo traveller only departure dates from companies that previously have not offered this. As demographics change in the UK I think there will be more growth in solo travelling for coach holidays.

Over the years travellers have wanted to become more active too – wanted to experience the places they are visiting, rather than being passive observers. Coach holidays are adapting to this trend, incorporating local authentic activities and things like homestays into their programs.

Personalisation of holidays is another trend that I think we will see continue, as people try and create unique holiday experiences.

Smaller group holidays look like a trend that is going to stay awhile too, having gained popularity as a result of Covid19 restrictions and safety concerns.

So having busted some coach holiday myths why not read more about this great way to travel.

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