How we calculate the price of a coach with driver

First the trip itself

Every price starts with your trip: where the coach picks you up, where it goes, on which day and at what time, and how many people are travelling. From that we work out how many kilometres the coach drives, how long that takes and how long it waits at the destination.

We take the distance from the route by road. If we don't know it yet, we estimate it from the distance between the two places, and then we say with your request that it is an estimate. With stops along the way we add up the route section by section, and we calculate the outward and return journeys separately.

What determines the price

• Distance and travel time. The further you go, the longer the coach and the driver are on the road and the more kilometres are driven. For the travel time we use a lower speed on the first stretch, through towns and villages, than on the motorway.
• Driving and rest times. By law, a driver must take a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving. Those breaks count towards the time of the trip, because the coach and the driver are there too. More about this in the guide on driving and rest times.
• Travelling from the base. The coach comes from the coach company's depot to your pick-up point, and drives back again afterwards. That part is included in the price. A coach company based nearby therefore often starts lower.
• Waiting time. On a day trip the coach usually waits at the destination until you want to go back. An hour of waiting usually costs less than an hour of driving, and where possible the driver's break falls within that waiting time, so you don't pay for it twice.
• Tolls and vignettes. If the coach drives through a country with tolls or a vignette, that is added, per country on the route. These are estimates per country and not current rates of those countries; that is stated with your price too.
• A second driver, per driving day. If a driver is behind the wheel for more than nine hours on one day, a second driver is mandatory. We calculate that per day: only for the days on which it is needed, and not for the whole journey.
• Overnight stay. On a trip of more than one day, the coach stays with the group, or drives back to the depot in between. If it stays, the driver sleeps at the destination and his overnight stay is added. If you say nothing, we calculate both and take the cheaper one.
• Night service. If the outward or return journey departs between 23:00 and 06:00, a surcharge applies for that day, and only for that day.
• Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. On a Saturday, a Sunday or an official public holiday a surcharge applies, as the collective labour agreement for private coach transport also does. On a trip of several days it only counts for the days that fall on them.
• The season. In the busiest months of the year a coach is more expensive, in the quietest cheaper. Below you can see by how much.

Three amounts, and the difference between them

• Our calculation. As long as a coach company has not entered its own rate yet, we calculate with our standard rate for that type of coach. The price then says that it is an estimated price.
• The price from the coach company. If a company has entered its own rates, we calculate with its rates. And if a company gives an amount for your trip itself, that amount takes precedence over our calculation: on the price tile, in the comparison and in the order of the list.
• The confirmed price. You agree the final amount with the coach company itself. It may differ from the estimate, for example because of a different route or extra waiting time. Only when the coach company confirms your trip is it fixed.

What is always included, and what we don't show

The coach, the driver and VAT are included in every amount you see; VAT is not added again. Costs we pass on, such as tolls, a ferry, the driver's overnight stay or parking, are listed separately under the price, so you can check what the amount is made of.

What we don't show is what a coach company charges per hour or per kilometre. That is its own business information, and it doesn't belong on a public page.

How often we update it

We calculate every price with the rates and surcharges that apply at that moment. If a coach company changes its rate, or a surcharge changes, the next calculation uses that. A price that has already been agreed does not change after that: the amount is stored with your booking.

We recalculate the example trips on the prices page every hour, with the same calculation as for your own trip. Want to know more about what makes a trip more or less expensive? Read the guide what determines the price of a coach.

The season, in percentages

In July and August a coach is 15% more expensive than in an ordinary month, in January and February 10% cheaper. That is already included in every price you see; you don’t need to add or subtract anything.

This explanation was last updated on 10 October 2026.