NAME OF COMPANY: Gee Vee Travel, a coach operator, based in Barnsley, with offices in Barnsley, Chesterfield, Sheffield and Goldthorpe.

ATTRACTIONS: All the coaches that I have been on have seatbelts and air-conditioning, with access at the front (near the drivers seat) and near the toilet. The latter is not used routinely but can be used as an exit or access point in the case of an emergency or if the driver specifically states it is to be used. For example, when we stopped at a viewpoint in Scotland to look at Loch Ness, the driver (Neil) recommended we used the back door and went round to open it for us.

All of the holidays include excursions to local towns and villages or places of interest. Some of the day trips and weekend trips (or special offers) include entry to places of interest. If the day trip visits a place, but does not include the entrance fee, the booklet states this quite clearly. In my opinion, this is a very big plus point.

Taxi fares to and from your house are included in the price (holidays of 5 days or more only), provided you live within a certain distance of the pick up place. If you live further than this set distance, some money is knocked off (I believe £5 per person) the price of the holiday.

All coaches operate a non-smoking policy and most have a drinks machine on board (including soup) for 50p a cup. There is a toilet on board, but there are regular stops along the way down to the hotels, etc.

PRICE: This, of course, varies according to what you have chosen to go on, but starts from as little as £8.50 for a day trip to Liverpool. I often go on the “Early Bird” tours, which are from January to May, and start from as little as £92 (Bideford) per person, for a week (some are for 10 to 14 days here and abroad) in the various hotels in the United Kingdom. Some of the Early Bird deals are for holidays abroad – this year’s list includes Amsterdam (Thursday to Monday £219) and Paris (Friday to Sunday £110).

Liverpool: I have been on several day trips – my first was to Liverpool and this include a drop off at a market and then on to Albert Docks. As Robert and I were not interested in the market, we stayed on the coach and were dropped at Albert Docks, which was where the driver parked until he went to collect those who’d visited the markets. Robert and I spent all day at Albert Docks and managed to see almost all the museums there, with the exception of the Beatles Story and one other. So we returned using the same method, to visit these. BTW all the Liverpool museums (apart from the Beatles Story) on Albert Docks included a years free visit to all the others, which is why we revisited the area so quickly. No admission fees were included in this price.

London: A year after 9/11, Gee Vee Travel, was offering a trip to a London hotel, The Rubens, on Buckingham Palace Road, because the tourist trade was flagging. We had one night and breakfast in this hotel for £60 per person (including transport), when a room should have cost £110 per person. It was a wonderful hotel and very near most of the attractions we wanted to see – Cabinet War Rooms, London Eye, London Aquarium, etc. It was very near Victoria train and Tube stations. After this particular year, The Rubens has no longer been an option, but ever since they have offered a London weekend break.

I am going to a hotel near the Victoria train station, Victoria Park Plaza (I believe) in December, which cost £64 per person. This includes transport, accommodation and breakfast. We will again be visiting London’s many attractions.

Isle of Wight: I have visited the Isle of Wight 3 or 4 times now. We have stayed at Sandown all the time but have used 2 different hotels, the St Moritz and the Malvern and I would recommend both. The Isle of Wight is covered in more detail in one of my other reviews – yes another free plug! Cut and paste this link if you haven’t already read it: http://www.ciao.co.uk/Isle_of_Wight_England__Review_5321458

Great Yarmouth: The Swanvale Lodge Hotel is owned by Gee Vee Travel itself and comes highly recommended by its’ many visitors. I too would strongly recommend a visit to this hotel, which is literally 100 yards from the promenade and the swimming pool. There was great entertainment at this hotel provided by outside entertainers and the hotel proprietors.

We have just been to Weymouth for our latest one and there was entertainment on every night - some provided by the coach driver Neil and my father (see my profile photo). We celebrated Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Eve. Santa came and gave us all a present. The ladies got sewing kits and the men got pens.

Day trips from the hotel included Bournemouth and Poole on Tuesday, Dorchester Market and Swannage (optional £4 extra) on Wednesday with a free day in Weymouth on Thursday. I went on all these trips and enjoyed them all. As most of the holidaymakers were elderly or infirm (at 32 I was the youngest on the bus by at least 10 yrs), we only stayed at Bournemouth for an hour and a half as it is hillier than Poole. As my uncle lives in Dorset, he came over on Thursday and we visited Brewers Quay shopping arcade for lunch. It has 2 museums and lots of quaint shops - ideal for Christmas shopping as they are mainly handmade goods such as seatbelt covers and teacosies, cards with names on, glass ornaments, pottery, etc. The food was reasonable £2.95 for a hot meat baguette and £2 for a large bacon bap.

FOOD: Again, I have never had a bad meal. As regular readers will know, my father is on a gluten free diet. He has always been able to get fed – although he always takes his own bread, biscuits and gravy mix, just to be safe. Many of the hotels have put themselves out to get stuff such as soup, yoghurt desserts, mince pies, etc. The best one for that was The Malvern at the Isle of Wight.

MORE INFORMATION FROM

Goldthorpe Office:
6 High Street, Goldthorpe, S63 9LR Tel: 01709 888150 Ask for: Carol

The latter states that they have 15 coaches in their fleet and cover the North East area (I thought it would be Midlands and the North but hey who am I to say).