When it comes to school trips, one of the best ways to reduce the carbon footprint of your tour is to take a coach rather than fly, where possible.
Why should we choose to travel by coach rather than fly?
It's greener
For distances under 700 miles, coach travel is far greener than air travel. It's estimated that, on average, coaches emit 10% less carbon dioxide than planes.
Take school trip favourite, Paris, for example. Depending on where you’re travelling from, the journey by coach could produce around 0.02 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The same journey by air could produce around 0.09 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
With road vehicles there has been a real concerted push towards greener solutions, such as the development of electric cars, and fuel economy.
And coach engines are constantly optimised for more economic fuel consumption and to produce lower emissions of diesel particles.
But there’s yet to be found an effective greener alternative to jet fuel.
It's more convenient
One of the reasons many group leaders may choose to fly instead of travel by coach is the idea that it's quicker and more convenient. That's not always true, especially if you're planning a ski trip.
As an example, take a school ski trip to one of our resorts in Piedmont. If you travel by coach, you can expect the journey to take 18 hours, door-to-door. You could leave school at a sensible time and arrive in resort mid-afternoon the next day (giving you time for ski fit so you don't have to squeeze that in before lessons start the following day).
If you flew, the journey would probably take a little less time door-to-door (around 13 hours). But because of flight times, you'd probably need to leave home in the middle of the night (which is unlikely to be super popular with parents who'll have to run them to the school or airport at that time and potentially still get up for work the next day).
Flight groups also tend to arrive into their ski resorts later in the afternoon, after the ski hire shop has closed, meaning another early start is on the cards to squeeze in ski fit before lessons start the next day.
Coach groups usually return home before flight groups too, giving everyone more time to recover before going back to school.
Choosing to travel to your ski trip by coach will also open up more accommodation options, as you'll be able to consider options that require a short transfer from the slopes. These hotels are often in small, welcoming villages, where students will have the chance to immerse themselves in the local culture (which isn't always possible slopeside).
And being slightly out of the resort will probably mean you can afford a better standard of accommodation. Plus, it's worth remembering that 'doorstep skiing' isn't always as convenient as it sounds - it can often mean a bit of a schlep to the lifts while carrying fairly heavy skis.
Even for non-ski groups, coach can actually be the more convenient option. The journey itself is so much more straightforward. You can literally hop on the coach at school and hop off at your accommodation. Which makes group management and supervision so much easier.
Plus, if you travel by coach, your coach will stay with you throughout the trip. So, you can use it to get to visits and activities. You will need to be mindful that drivers get their rest breaks as required by law, but your Itinerary Coordinator will have made sure they've taken account of that when planning your trip.
It's cheaper
Aside from being more environmentally friendly, coach travel is generally cheaper, so it’s a great option if you’re trying to keep costs down.
In fact, the average price difference between a ski trip by air and one by coach (for example) is around £250 - £300. This could make all the difference to how accessible your trip is to students.
You can make the journey part of the experience
If you fly, you'll share the airport and plane with members of the public. Your group will need to be considerate of them, so you'll likely all just quietly occupy yourselves reading books, watching your favourite show or playing games on your phone.
If you go by coach, you'll have the entire coach to yourself, so you can do what you want (as long as you all stay seated and don't distract the driver, of course). So, you could watch a film together, have a singalong, or even have a coach quiz.
Thinking about a school trip?
If you’re thinking about a school trip and would like more information on the transport available, or destinations which are easily reached by coach, then please don’t hesitate to contact us, as we’ll be very pleased to help.
Top school trips by coach
WW1 Battlefields
You really have to take a coach to get the best out of the WW1 battlefields. Having the coach with you means that you’ll be able to travel around the area according to your own tailor-made itinerary, so that you can take in the visits that best support your curriculum and learning objectives.
Paris
Paris is another of our top destinations for school coach trips. By taking a coach, you’ll be able to travel by ferry to France, which is usually the cheapest option.
And once you’re there, Paris offers fantastic educational opportunities for almost every subject, from French to fashion and food technology, and from science and art to business studies. And because it is such a versatile destination, Paris is perfect for a cross-curricular school trip, which is a great way to increase numbers and bring down the cost per person of your school trip!
Normandy
Normandy is a spectacular region of France that is close to the UK both geographically and historically, offering short journey times for British groups travelling by coach. It also offers students a wonderful insight into French culture, with plenty of opportunities to practise their French with friendly native speakers.
Normandy is also a region that is famous as a bit of a paradise for foodies and so it’s a great choice for food technology groups too, although any school groups visiting will want to include some food-related activities while they’re here!
And, of course, the region played a pivotal role in WW2, so history groups will love the chance to explore further what life was like in occupied France and what the impact of the Normandy landings was on the course of the war.
Barcelona and the Costa Brava
You may not have realised that it’s possible to visit Spain by coach on a school trip…but it is! Barcelona and the Costa Brava actually make for a great school trip by coach. And having the coach with you means that you can actually stay in one of the lovely seaside resorts along the Costa Brava and travel into Barcelona by coach for your visits.
This gives you the best of both worlds – you’ll enjoy the quieter, more relaxed seaside resort, where you can spend time on the beach after you’ve finished exploring all the wonderful sights of Barcelona during the day.
And, of course, Barcelona and the Costa Brava is another destination that works well as a cross-curricular school trip, as it works so well for so many different subjects. It’s great for Spanish, art, geography, fashion and business studies!
Rhineland
You also may have thought that Germany was a little bit too far to visit by coach, but that’s not the case! In fact, many of our groups who visit the Rhineland prefer to travel by coach. Again, it’s cheaper and it’s more convenient once you’re in resort as you can use the coach to travel around, rather than having to shepherd students on and off public transport.
The Rhineland as a wider area is perfect for German language groups, and its capital, Cologne, also works well for German and science groups.
