In the last two and a half months, I have been lucky enough to accompany two schools on their ski trips, flying in February and travelling by coach at Easter. Having experienced both types of journey, it made me consider one of the biggest debates that ski party leaders have – flight vs. coach.
Why travel by plane?
- Speed – The main reason any group chooses to fly is that it is much quicker than travelling by coach, meaning that on most occasions the group will arrive in resort on the same day that they depart.
- Additional Day’s Holiday – Flying is the quicker option, which means that teachers and pupils get to enjoy an extra day of their school holidays. As many teachers give up a week of their holidays, that additional day can really make a difference as not only does it give them a further day’s holiday, it also means they have a little longer to unwind before returning to school.
- Comfort – As the journey is much quicker, this also means it is more comfortable as you aren’t sat in the same position for long periods of time. The journey is also broken up by airport transfers and flights so there are more opportunities to stretch your legs on route to resort.
Why travel by coach?
- Cost – Filling a coach is by far the most cost effective way of running a ski trip as the daily expense of hiring a coach is shared between more people. If a group is smaller, there is then the option to travel on one of our set departure trips where the coach costs are shared with another group.
- Interaction – One thing that was really noticeable about travelling by coach was how the children interacted with those they may not necessarily speak to at school. I heard several conversations between people saying they’d never really spoken at school, yet to me it looked like they had been friends for years.
- Flexibility – Having your own coach means that timings don’t have to be set in stone, as it is easier to make a few tweaks to your itinerary. The coach can also be used to store a few extra items at the end of each day, which is always useful for a ski trip.
Every school has their own wishes and requirements for running a trip. Whatever those requirements and whatever the mode of transport, you can be sure that you will have a memorable experience with Rayburn Tours.
Blog written by Andrew, Tour Consultant