Coach hire for a school trip

A coach with driver for one class or a whole school: a day trip to a museum or a theme park, a sports day, or the journey to a residential stay in the woods, by the sea or in the snow.

A coach for your school trip

A school trip begins long before the day itself. The head approves the plan, the parents get a letter, and the teacher juggles the times: leave at half past eight, back before the four o'clock bell. A coach that is at the school gate on the dot and drops the class off safely again is the part you least want to have to think about.

In Flanders the destinations are nearly always of the same kind: a museum that ties in with the lessons, a nature reserve, a theme park at the end of the school year, or a residential centre for a class stay of several days. For a stay in the woods, by the sea or in the snow (a bosklas, zeeklas or sneeuwklas), the coach usually makes two journeys: there on the first day, back on the last.

In primary education a trip is also a question of what parents pay. The Flemish government sets out what a school may ask a contribution for; the coach is part of what a trip costs, and a school weighs that up.

BusOffer.com in Flanders has just started

Enter your trip and you will see the prices of the participating coach companies side by side, including companies from the Netherlands that drive in Belgium. The Flemish coach companies on this page are not taking part yet: they are listed without a price with your trip, and you can invite them from there.

Arranging the coach

In your request, give the number of pupils and accompanying adults together: everyone needs a seat, the teachers included. Say whether children who use a wheelchair are coming along, because then an adapted coach is needed. Agree a pick-up point where the coach can stop safely, preferably not at the school gate in the middle of the morning rush, and give a mobile number on which the driver can reach one of the accompanying adults.

Good to know, with the source

A primary school receives operating funds from the government that it may spend on school trips, among other things.
A primary school may ask parents for a contribution to activities within the strict maximum bill (scherpe maximumfactuur), and to trips of several days within the less strict maximum bill.
These maximum bills were introduced in 2007, with the circular on cost control in primary education.

Source: Flemish government, education: keeping costs down for parents at a primary school, read on 9 October 2026.

Destinations for a school trip

For each place, what the park or the city itself says about the coach: where it stops, where it parks and what the driver gets.

Plopsaland De PanneDe Panne, West Flanders Pairi DaizaBrugelette, Hainaut Walibi BelgiumWavre, Walloon Brabant BobbejaanlandLichtaart (Kasterlee), Antwerp ZOO AntwerpenAntwerp EftelingKaatsheuvel, the Netherlands

Frequently asked questions

Questions about a coach for your school trip

Do the teachers and accompanying adults count towards the number of people?

Yes. Every person on the coach needs a seat, so add up the pupils, teachers and parents who are coming along.

Does the coach stay with the class during a residential stay of a few days by the sea or in the woods?

Usually not. The coach takes the class there on the first day and picks them up again on the last. If an outing is planned in between, mention it separately.

Can the coach leave before school starts?

Yes. Agree the time and the place; the driver will then be there in good time. An early-morning departure counts towards the hours the driver is allowed to work.

Other occasions

Company outing Day trip Wedding Airport transfer Multi-day trip Ski trip

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