BE · EN

Country

Language

Guide · Choosing a coach

What size of coach you need

Most people choose a coach first and count their group afterwards. That's the wrong way round, and it costs money. Below is how to get from a group to a vehicle size, and where the limits are at which the choice narrows.

Part 1 of 6

Count your seats, not your guests

A school trip for forty-eight children isn't a coach for forty-eight. Four supervisors come along, perhaps a first-aider, and on an outing sometimes someone who has to go somewhere else on arrival. That's fifty-two seats. So go through your group once on paper: participants, supervisors, committee, photographer, and anyone who gets on along the way. One forgotten supervisor is why an organiser ends up having a taxi follow the coach on the day itself.

Part 2 of 6

Coaches come in steps

There is no coach for exactly your number. A coach company has a handful of sizes in its fleet, and your group falls into one of those steps: from a people carrier for a small party, via a minibus, a midibus and a coach, to a double-decker for the largest groups. The table below lists them. The seats per type are the limits we use across the whole site; next to them is how many seats the vehicles of that type most often have at the affiliated companies, counted from their fleets. The limits overlap: a large midibus and a small coach can have the same number of seats.

Type	Seats	Most common at affiliated companies
People carrier	up to 8 seats	most often 8
Minibus	8 to 19 seats	most often 19
Midibus	20 to 39 seats	most often 20
Coach	35 to 66 seats	most often 50
Double-decker	64 to 92 seats	most often 90

Part 3 of 6

One person over a limit costs a size

This is where the biggest savings are, and almost nobody thinks of it. If a company's coaches seat fifty-five, then with fifty-six people you won't fit in any of that company's coaches. The answer is then not one extra seat but a size bigger, or two vehicles instead of one, and that's a very different amount. If you're just over a limit, see whether you could manage with two fewer. That's a five-minute conversation that can save hundreds of euros.

Part 4 of 6

One big coach or two small ones?

One vehicle is almost always cheaper. You pay the fixed costs once, one driver, and the positioning journey from the depot once. Two smaller vehicles only make sense if no single coach is big enough, or if your group really has to get on or off in two places. On your price overview we work out both: if one vehicle fits, we offer that; if none does, we look for the cheapest combination at the same company. So you don't have to work it out yourself.

Part 5 of 6

Seats aren't the only limit

A group of fifty with hand luggage is different from a group of fifty going on a week's ski trip, or a brass band with instruments. There the luggage space is the limit, not the number of seats. The same goes for a wheelchair: a wheelchair space takes up the room of several seats, so a coach for fifty seated passengers won't carry fifty people once there are two wheelchairs. Always put that in the comments field of your request; the coach company will take it into account.

Part 6 of 6

If in doubt, look at two sizes

If your numbers aren't fixed yet (for a staff outing or a reunion that's the rule rather than the exception), the trick is not to guess. Make your request for the number you expect now, and look on your overview at what happens with a size bigger. Every offer shows, per company, the vehicles that fit, so you see the difference without making a second request.

What you save by choosing tight, you lose twice over if someone is left standing next to the coach on the day.

Written and checked by Martijn Smeets, founder of BusOffer.com. Last updated on 15 October 2026.

Counted, not estimated

What the fleets tell us

We have the fleets of the affiliated coach companies. These numbers come from them, and change when a coach is added.

Where the choice narrows, with 50 people as an example

This many coaches at the affiliated companies have at least this number of seats:

42coaches for a group of 49at 18 companies

41coaches for a group of 50at 18 companies

34coaches if you were 51at 16 companies

Counted in our own overview of the affiliated fleets, not estimated. A larger group can also travel in several coaches from the same company; we include that as soon as you enter your trip.

Coach types

View these coach types

Frequently asked questions

How many people fit in a coach?

A coach has 35 to 66 seats. Exactly how many a vehicle has differs per vehicle, even within one company; the table in part 2 puts the sizes side by side. Fill in your trip and you see, per company, the vehicles that suit your group.

Do I need to count the driver as a passenger?

No. The number of seats given is for passengers; the driver has their own seat. Supervisors, committee members and anyone else coming along do count.

Is one big coach always cheaper than two small ones?

Almost always, because you pay the fixed costs, the driver and the positioning journey once instead of twice. Two vehicles make sense if no coach is big enough or if you have to get on in two places.

What if my group might still grow?

Request for the number you expect now and also look at a size bigger on your overview. Pass on the number as soon as it's fixed. The coach company can usually switch until shortly before the journey, if it has the vehicle.

Know enough? See what your trip costs

Fill in your place of departure, your destination and your group, and compare the coach companies with their prices.

Compare providers