Guide · Planning

Organising a school trip or staff outing

Arranging a coach isn't difficult, but the order matters. If you ask for prices first and settle your programme afterwards, you end up requesting two or three times and comparing apples with oranges. Below is the order that does work, with the things organisers most often forget.

Part 1 of 7

Settle three things before you ask for prices

All three determine the price, and all three are up to you, not the coach company:

The number of people, including supervisors. Go through the group once on paper; the forgotten supervisor is the classic mistake.
The date, or two dates you'd be happy with. Weekend, night, public holiday and season are all in the price, so putting two options side by side almost always pays off.
The starting point, as precisely as you can: street and house number, or a postcode. With only the name of a village we don't recognise, we calculate with an indicative distance, and then the price is an estimate.

Part 2 of 7

One starting point or more?

Two schools travelling together, or a staff outing where half get on at work and the other half at the station: that's one journey with a stop on the way, not two journeys. Enter those stops in your request; the link is below the search form. If you make two separate requests, no coach company will see that it's one journey, and it will charge the positioning journey twice. Our kilometres include the detour via the stops; the coach company includes the rest in its final amount.

Part 3 of 7

Does the return journey end somewhere else?

Usually a group returns to where it set off, and then you don't need to fill anything in. But a school trip that stops at the second school, or guests who get off at the hotel after a wedding, ends somewhere else. That's a separate field with the stops. Without that field you used to have to make two requests; now it stays one journey, with the coach coming out only once.

Part 4 of 7

What belongs in the comments field

This field is the reason a final amount sometimes differs from our estimate, and it takes you thirty seconds. Put in what we can't know:

Luggage beyond hand luggage: suitcases, skis, instruments, a trailer.
Wheelchairs, or someone with limited mobility. A wheelchair space takes up the room of several seats.
Whether the group will go out with the coach during a stay of several days. For a trip of several days, our calculation covers the outward journey, the return journey and the overnight stays, and no kilometres for the days in between.
Eating and drinking on the coach, or a programme along the way. Some companies have rules about this, and you'd rather hear them in advance.
The latest time you have to be back, if that's fixed. On a school trip it usually is.
On a school trip with young children: that every seat must have a seat belt, if you want to be sure. What the law says about seat belts and children on the coach is in a separate guide.

Seat belts and children on the coach Example protocol for a school trip by coach

Part 5 of 7

Compare on the total, not on the hourly rate

Two quotes can only be compared if they contain the same things: the same size of vehicle, the same times, and both a total including VAT. An amount that looks lower because the tolls, parking or return journey aren't included isn't lower. Your price overview shows one total per company, with the items we pass on below it, so you can check the sums. Tick two or three providers and you get them side by side in one table. That's what the whole site is for.

Part 6 of 7

Not deciding alone? Forward the overview

At a school, a club or a staff association, it's almost never one person who decides. Your price overview has its own web address you can share, and there's a button to send it to your own email address so you can find it again in a meeting. The ticked comparison is part of that address, so the person you're consulting sees exactly the two or three companies you had put side by side.

Part 7 of 7

The order, in brief

For anyone who wants to tick off the list:

Count your group, including supervisors.
Fix the date and the times, and consider whether another day would also work.
Enter the starting point, the destination and any stops on the way.
Request your price comparison and check the calendar to see whether another day is cheaper.
Put any special requirements in the comments field.
Tick two or three companies, share the overview with whoever is deciding with you, and request a final amount there.

Written and checked by Martijn Smeets, founder of BusOffer.com. Last updated on 10 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How far in advance should I arrange a coach for a school trip?

For the busy periods (late May and June, and the weeks around the holidays) the rule is: the sooner the better, because otherwise the coaches are gone. See the guide on how far in advance to book.

Do I need to count supervisors?

Yes. Everyone travelling needs a seat, except the driver. A group of forty-eight children with four supervisors needs a coach for fifty-two.

Can the coach pick people up in two places?

Yes, you enter that as a stop in your request. Do it in one request, not two, otherwise the coach company will charge for coming out twice.

What if the number of participants still changes?

Request for the number you expect now and pass it on as soon as it's fixed. You can change your trip details yourself on your overview as long as there's no confirmed booking yet.

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