Coach Travel

thebullsback

We are both in our 60s with slight mobility issues.
Never done coach travel before but fancy a all in tour of any part of southern Ireland except Dublin. Have heard some coach tours can be quiet trashy so wondering if anyone can suggest any nice hassle free company's to check out. we are North East based but could travel other parts  uk for right set up. 

Brie

Is this the sort of thing you are after?  A company like Saga would be well used to dealing with individuals with mobility issues.  

The Best of Ireland Heritage (North and South) Tour – UK Break (saga.co.uk)

jimbo6977

Depends on budget. Trafalgar are excellent but pricey. Alfa Travel operate from the NE and are good value but have fewer Irish tours.

XzavierWalnut

I will report back after 8 June. My wife and I are in our 60s, live in the North East and have never done a coach trip before.
We have been planning to tour southern Ireland in our car for years, but when I looked at it this year, the cheapest ferry return prices I could find was £335, with crossings at 2.00a.m. going up to £500 with reasonable time crossings. Along with cottage rentals, fuel, food etc. we would have spent over £2,000 for 2 weeks.
So this coach trip is a good taster @ £918 for 2 of us for 5 days.

daveyjp

One point of order, if you aren't visiting Northern Ireland you are visiting Ireland.  

thebullsback

Thanks for replies will look them up where suggested and also look forward to the report on Tour of Ireland .

XzavierWalnut

Reply to OP.
I will start with the positives.

• Ireland is beautiful, I now understand why it is called the Emerald Isle.

• People are very friendly, I have never experienced hospitality as good anywhere. 

• I think most tour operators do the same trips so you do not have to go with the one we used. We did the Circle of Kerry (beautiful scenery), Cork (big city with lots of shops, bars and restaurants), Killarney (preferred this to Cork as smaller and less big well know store names and one of the best indoor markets we have been to. If you do go on this trip, although we did not go on it, I would suggest going on the additional lake tour @ 30 Euros which takes about 1 hour, as we thought the trip to Killarney was one and a half hours too long).

• The driver we had whilst in Ireland was brilliant.

• Hotel we stayed in Abbey Inn, Ballyvourney was good, with a room and food much better than we expected.

• For your needs, there were a number of people with mobility issues but no one had any problems. A few with walking sticks and one  89 years old lady who had an electric wheelchair.

• There was a toilet on the bus, but we had plenty rest breaks. Longest we travelled without a break was two and a half hours.

Negatives.

• Do not use Caledonian Travel.
• Wrongly assumed that we would sail from Holyhead or nearby area to Dublin at time of booking. Only realised a few days before departure that we were going all the way up to a port near Stranraer in Scotland and across to Belfast, then bus back down passing Dublin to our hotel.
• Also wrongly assumed that the bus that picked us up in Newcastle with our pre booked dedicated seats would be the one to take us all the way. We got picked up in Newcastle then drove to Gretna Green, where another driver took over. Then drove somewhere else in Gretna to pick 2 people up and then to the port. Then had to get on another coach with a different driver where we did have our pre booked seats.
• Once we got to our destination and hotel everything was great, but prior to that was where it all went wrong.
  First driver that picked us up in Newcastle got off the coach to take our cases and immediately lit a cigar (not very professional).
  He did not have a manifest of who should be on the coach, so we waited half an hour to see who turned up. He eventually got the number of people  from head office and we had left 2 people behind in Sunderland.
  He told their friends that the 2 people were 10 minutes late and we did not have time to go back for them.
• Same driver told everyone that he had severe hay fever and wanted to get back home to get some sleep.
  We were sat right behind him and on a number of occasions he closed his eyes and crossed over the central road markings. My wife was terrified.
• When we got to the port there were 3 buses. 2 drivers had the list of passengers and one did not. We weren't on the list with the 2 drivers so assumed we were on the other one, but driver would not let anyone on.
  Another bus turned up and that was our one.
• It's a personal thing but for us, it is not the kind of holiday we would do again. We don't mind talking to people but we did not like the regimental fixed meal times and having to have dinner sitting with other people.
  
  Hope this helps.

Newly_retired

I have done two holidays with a local coach company. They go to many destinations, including Ireland. The main advantage is that you stay on the same coach throughout the whole trip, in the same booked seats. Being a small independent family company, they are very caring, especially for people with mobility issues. I suggest you look for a very local company.
i would think on all coach tours you have to sit with others at meal times. That’s how they keep their prices cheap, by block bookings. We had opportunities at all visits to go off independently, but it is vital that everyone sticks to the timings given, otherwise you risk getting left behind.