I currently work as a nursery nurse, I also chair my local after school club committee and am studyi...
I currently work as a nursery nurse, I also chair my local after school club committee and am studying at uni too. Hobbies include foreign travel, graphics/webdesign and jewellery making. Busy, busy, busy!
Member since:24.06.2006
Reviews:15
Members who trust:5
Let me start by saying that I LOVE coach holidays!! I first travelled with Shearings (they've now merged with Wallace Arnold) with my parents when I was 13. We went to Lido Di Jesolo in Italy. I'm now 36 and have been to Spain, Italy, Slovenia and Poland with Shearings (in 3 weeks I'm off to Belgium with them) and I've been to France and Austria
with rival coach companies.
There's a huge range of destinations, but I'll put them into 2 simple categories. 1) Overnight Express: you stay on the coach overnight (and try to sleep) This means the holiday will be considerably cheaper and you arrive at your resort considerably earlier. 2) No overnight travel: You stay in hotels en route which means the holidays will be more expensive but easier for those of you who shudder at the thought of trying to sleep on a moving vehicle!
POSITIVES: Coaching holidays are great for the camaraderie. Because you are on the coach for such a long time, there is a real sense of community (ok, not so good if you end up with a bunch of moaners!) and you don't really get that with flight holidays. There is also a bigger variety of destinations to get to, many of them would probably be very expensive to fly to. If you have young kids, it is a very economical way of travelling although to be honest, the kids prices really only apply to Spain and some of Italy. You can stay in family rooms there which obviously cuts down the cost! They tend to stay in areas that are near to another top resort/country. For instance, we holidayed in Italy but we were on the borders of the south of France so we enjoyed trips to Cannes, Nice and Monacco. This is a great way of visiting places that would possibly be otherwise out of your price bracket! Shearings regularly give discounts for late bookings so if you are not restricted to any particular time, you could save up to £100 each (on average) Coaching holidays in general tend to attract a more mature clientel. I'm putting this in positives because it means you won't be stuck with a load of lager louts as they tend to go on short boozy weekends with the cheap airlines. You'll find a lovely mix of people (many of them teachers!) and I've know of many who get back together year after year.
NEGATIVES: A sore bum! Ok, now I love it......but it can be gruelling in parts, it all depends on where your final destination is and whether you are on the overnight express or are staying in hotels en route. I travelled to Poland on the overnight express and it took almost 2 full days to get there (well worth it though!!!!) Leg room........well, with Shearings (as compared to a coach company called Siesta) you don't get much!!! It's not too bad if you are staying in hotels along the way, but nearer the end of your journey if you've opted for the overnighter, it can start to feel very cramped. You won't get much sleep!!!!!!! I travelled to Spain with rival firm "Siesta" last year and you get a LOT more legroom and the seats go right back!! However, you still don't get much sleep and I think this is mainly due to the rocking motion of the coach (which you think would put you to sleep!) It's probably not the sort of holiday to go on with young kids unless they are used to lots of travelling and appreciate other people's feelings (no one likes a screaming kid!) My kids love it (my daughter was only 2 when we first went but because she was so well behaved, she aquired lots of temporary granparents!
TOP TIPS: Take a pillow if you are on the overnighter!! I know they are a bit cumbersome, but you'll be so glad you did! They make sleeping much more comfortable (better than those blow up efforts that give you a sweaty neck) Take a little tot of your favourite tipple in a bottle and fill with a mixer of your choice. When night time comes it's very enjoyable to sit back and enjoy a drink. We got roughly about 2 hours more sleep than when we didn't do this! LOL. If you find yourself seated at the front of the coach, ask to move!! The first two seats in each row offers restricted leg room. The views out of the window are great but you get about 2 inches less room. If you are tall, suffer with your legs, or just hate being hemmed in, you'd be best to not sit there. Shearings have, on several occasions, sat us at the front with young kids. This is ok in the UK but they will fine you in France! Our drivers didn't know this, we were told by some of the passengers! This was several years ago now so I think they are more aware now.
Coaching holidays are well worth a shot. You'll fall into one of three categories: 1) You'll love it. 2) You'll hate it 3 You'll put up with it because it's cheap.
Luckily, I fall into category one!
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You are a glutton for punishment doing the overnight ones! x
lipsalve 09.07.2006 22:11
Good point about taking a pillow. I got a really bad back on a coach hol and had to buy a cushion while travelling. x
loum70 09.07.2006 20:21
You are right about the hotels in Italy rowei. They are not all bad but for some reason Italy's hotels in general I've found worse than anywhere else! I personally wouldn't do one of the touring holidays as they are for die hard travellers!
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alliedprawn 12.09.2007 (12.01.2008)
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Review of Shearings Coach Holidays
Advantages: Affordable holidays in the Sun. Great Staff, a good choice of locations Disadvantages: Coaches not what they are hyped up to be. Lower Decks uncomfortable and cramped.
Jul 9th, 2006
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