bus tours

[Frank Gerace]

Hi, my old posts show a more mobile more adventurous me. Now I am looking for bus tours. I have a few questions:

1. We would prefer groups that are mostly italian or spanish speakers (also, see below)
2. any idea of the most economical would be welcome.
3. Are the stops long enough to see something without a long sortie with the guide?
4. Are there any "tours" with no guide,? I guess this is more a "schedule"

 

[Ian Sutton]

The only place I've noticed them (but I'm sure more exist), was on the Amalfi coast, and that's well suited to them, with driving being a challenge. They were just day excursions, but easy to do 2-3 is that appeals. Amalfi and Sorrento are both hubs, and so most likely to de a departure point. We did just 1 in 1990, so no idea on languages, but we had plenty of time to explore Pompeii.

Try l'altracostiera.com, a local travel agent servicing both locals travelling away, and tourists coming to the area (they also have accommodation listings).

 

[Eleanor]

I know the feeling well - I don't drive so am now dependent on coach tours. They can vary a lot and it can be a bit hit and miss trying out several before settling on a company you like.

Read the itinerary carefully and consider the amount of time spent travelling on each day (google maps is helpful here). That begins to give an idea of how much time has been built in for sight seeing. Also check up on coffee stops and lunch stops. They can easily eat up in time to explore. I don't know about foreign companies by in the UK see often means wave in passing (and hope you re sitting on the right side of the coach to see it ). Stop often refers to a short coffee break or short visit. Visit actually means you get to spend more time in a place. If you have a city tour is it on foot with a guide or is it a trip around in the coach? If on the coach you often get quite restricted views of the different attractions being pointed out to you. You should be able to get an idea from reading an itinerary how long you may have in a place. You may have a guide for ech place or you may get dropped off and then left to explore at your own speed - a lot depends on the company and what is in the itinerary.

How many are likely to be on the tour - is it advertised as a small group tour? From experin=ene if there are a lot of people, comfort breaks can take ages....

Also check for hidden extras - what attractions are included in the itinerary?

Sorry, can't help with ideas for mainly Italian or spanish speakers .

 

[Frank Gerace]

Thanks for the help. Any recommended UK coach companies? We could jump the puddle and start in UK. I suspect the service and prices are better.

All English is OK. The mention of Spanish or Italian was to avoid a gaggle of US tourists. Brits are OK

 

[Eleanor]

Where to begin...

There are several national companies that spring to mind. In the past I’ve used Alfa Travel,
and have been happy with them, although some of the hotels they use could do with a bit of TLC. Hotel staff more than make up for any slightly worn surroundings.

Friends regularly use Shearings and speak highly of them.

Lochs and Glens picks up all over the country and concentrates on Scotland . I’ve not used them but they do seem to get good reviews.

Prices are very competitive and you can find a good choice of holidays from $500+ US Dollars. There is no additional guide on the bus - the driver is the point of contact and trouble shooter.

Choice of holidays depends on where you live. Most of their holidays are five days and you will probably spend most of the first and last days travelling to and from the destination. There are some included tours along with ‘free days’. The average age on the tour is generally high and there will be wheelchairs, walkers, walking sticks and hearing aids! They will all be ‘locals’ to the area of pick up.

There are also companies like Rabbies who cover the whole country and consistently get good reviews. They specialise in small group tours and are the ones the tourists book on. You will get all nationalities and the tours I’ve seen have predominantly been young people.

You then get all the more local companies that specialise in pick ups from a smaller area. I’m lucky and have two very good local companies who I now use for all my holidays. (Acklams and Wilfreda Beehive.) Their holidays do tend to be more expensive than the National companies but often include more activities and included attractions. )

You will find similar coach companies across the UK but you would need to google the area to identify them.

You then get companies based in the main tourist areas that specialise in day tours. Mountain Goat covering the Lake District, Yorkshire and North and Go Cotswolds regularly get mentioned on the travel forums and are both highly regarded. There may be other companies I've not heard of...

 

[Frank Gerace]

Many thanks, Eleanor. A wonderful, complete, informative response! Very tempting...

 

[artnbarb]

We've found that the small small group tours - the ones who use 17 passenger busses - have been slower paced and more flexible about schedules.

If you're still willing to drive, I recommend looking at several tour companies itineraries, then make variations on their ideas to suit your style. We did this in Ireland, using Rick Steves itienrary as a guide, and adding one, often two additional nights so that we could see nearby sites at a more leisurely pace.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Coming back to day trip tour options, some tourist office sites have good listings. e.g., Torino, Bologna, with potential you'll get guided in Italian (and probably English as well on some).

 

[Eleanor]

If you are wanting a UK based company for foreign holidays then I can recomment Riviera Travel, Jules Verne or Titan Travel