Think of coach trips, and you may conjure up an image of a rather naff way to see the world, favoured by people of retirement age.
Now, though, coach trips are having something of a renaissance – and they’re actually a great way to explore countries with ease and in comfort.
The Geneva-headquartered International Road Transport Union (IRU) is backing this trend and singing its praises.
“Coaches bring visitors from airports, ports and railway stations to historic cities, coastal destinations, mountain villages and cultural landmarks,” an IRU statement said.
“They make school trips possible, support business events and conferences, enable group travel and provide affordable holidays for families, young people and seniors alike.”
The body also points out coaches have the flexibility to reach smaller towns, rural regions and emerging destinations, something that’s not always possible with other forms of transport.
It says they’re relatively excellent for the environment, as high passenger capacity combined with greenhouse gas emissions per passenger means they’re comparable to long-distance rail, and coach trips are often more affordable than other holiday options.
If you’re keen to experience a coach trip for yourself, these are some of the best options currently running across Europe.
The Road to Rome – Insight Vacations
The quality and comfort of coaches can vary significantly, but Insight Vacations offers luxury coaches with double legroom and a decent Wi-Fi connection.
Its “Road to Rome” package is a great way to take the plunge into the world of coach trips. Starting in Paris, this 12-day tour will take passengers through France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, and the Vatican City.
Guests will stay at a variety of four-star hotels and experience the destinations with expert guides and skip-the-line access at top attractions.
Best of Italy – Trafalgar Coach Tours
Starting and ending in Rome, Trafalgar’s tour of Italy is a great option if you’d rather get to know one place in particular.
This tour, the operator’s most popular, takes passengers from the Eternal City to the likes of Tuscany, Venice, Florence and Pompeii over 13 days.
Guests will also get the chance to visit beautiful Capri by boat, and see underrated Lake Maggiore, a rival to hugely popular Lake Como, which is also a stop on this trip.
The benefit of exploring just one country is that you can get to know a lot of the culture and learn more of the language and customs, without the need to learn to say “hello” and “thank you” in multiple vernaculars.
Balkan Kaleidoscope – Penguin Travel
If the Balkans are on your travel bucket list, you may want to consider a coach trip around the region.
Penguin Travel’s Balkan Kaleidoscope kicks off in Sofia, before heading to Belgrade in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital of Sarajevo.
The air-conditioned coach also rolls through Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia, and takes in UNESCO sites including Dubrovnik’s Old Town and Kotor Bay.
Guests, who will have stayed in comfortable three-star hotels, will end the trip where they started in Sofia, where they can head home or continue exploring the fascinating Balkans.
The Best of Eastern Europe – Globus
Beginning and ending in Berlin, this Globus tour takes 14 days and offers a comprehensive overview of what it calls Eastern Europe (although some may argue the countries explored are technically Central Europe).
From the German capital, a luxury coach will ferry passengers through Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and Czechia.
Guests can see Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, Warsaw’s Gothic Cathedral of St. John, and Prague’s iconic Astronomical Clock.
The route, which covers some 2,048km, also features stops at Auschwitz, Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland, and Dresden’s Zwinger Palace – all accompanied by expert commentary.
Berlin-Prague-Vienna-Budapest – FlixBus
If you’re not a fan of organised holidays, it’s actually entirely possible to go it alone and plan your own European coach trip.
Enter FlixBus, which recently revealed its favourite options for “trip-maxxing” using its buses.
As Euronews Travel reported at the time, FlixBus named several four-stop routes with journeys under five hours apiece, and a trip from Berlin to Prague and onto Vienna and Budapest came out on top.
That particular route offers great nightlife, particularly in Berlin, and solid history and culture in all four cities.
Going it alone also means you can choose where you stay each night, and budget accordingly. There are also slightly fewer opportunities to make friendships on the coach due to the short journeys, but that might be something which appeals to a certain type of traveller…