Not sure which tour operator to book with when deciding on a coach tour?
Don’t know who provides what and when?
Just too much choice out there!
Well worry no more as I can explain what some of the leading tour operators have to offer. There is a simple way to decide on which Tour Operator to look at first – by age group and budget.
The number game!
Contiki tours are ‘fun and funky’ but only available to you if you are 18-35 years old.
It’s a shame if you are young at heart, but this policy is strictly adhered to. If there are two of you travelling as a couple, Contiki will consider you if ONE of the partners is 17 and has permission from a parent or guardian. Or 36/37 might be considered if ONE partner is 35 or under. They have a worldwide choice of destinations at competitive prices. In Europe they have tours for different budgets such as hotel, resort and camping. There is even a boat option!
The minimum age on a Trafalgar and Insight tour is 5 years but 8 years on a Cosmos tour.
The tour operators decided years ago that small children don’t enjoy coach touring and they introduced these lower age restrictions. There is no upper age restriction. Apart from the Contiki brand, the average age on most coach touring vacations is 50 with a fair mix of 20’s-40’s and retired folks. Age 50 is just an average and it’s impossible to know the exact age groups on any given tour.
If you are in good health and can walk at a gentle pace without difficulty then coach touring is for you. If you can’t walk very far, but can manage the steps on and off the coach you will still be able to participate in most of the tour. If you use a wheelchair let the Tour Operator know about this in advance, it must be the fully collapsible, manual kind, not electric. You must also be accompanied by an able-bodied companion who is capable of helping you on and off the coach and pushing your chair.
Premium, First Class, Cost-saver or budget?
If you look at individual tour pages at Global CoachTours you will see a price per day for the tour. This is shown so you can easily compare the cost of one tour with another. It varies considerably from country to country. For example the cost of premium touring in Morocco is much less than in Scandinavia. For all brands, all hotel room bathrooms are private so you don’t have to leave your room!
Insight is a premium first class brand. Insight guests expect and receive personalized service, balanced itineraries and carefully chosen, well located first class and premium first class hotels. The coach has a maximum of 40 guests and extra legroom seating.
Trafalgar has both a First Class and Cost Saver brand. Both provide exceptional value for money, with the same professional service of a Tour Director and Driver and comfortable coaches. First Class tours include First Class Hotels, buffet breakfast daily and more sightseeing inclusions. Cost Saver hotels are guaranteed Superior Tourist class or better and continental style breakfast daily. Dinner is provided on selected nights.
Cosmos provide great value budget tours – hotels vary between 2-4 star, but are usually in edge-of-city locations or at airports. For European tours they include breakfast and some dinners. They don’t include any food on their USA tours.
When travelling alone, some clients do not want to incur the expense of an additional single room supplement. However, to avoid having to pay this supplement, Contiki, Cosmos, Insight and Trafalgar all offer a twin share option whereby you agree to share a room with someone (same sex of course) at no extra cost. As you can imagine, this is a very popular option.
Whichever brand of tour operator you decide to choose, you can be sure that Global Coach Tours will look after you and handle your booking with the utmost care and personal attention.
Whatever you’re looking for, we can guarantee you’ll find a coach tour that’ll take your fancy.