I recently wrote an article about bus tours in the U.S. as an affordable, more environmentally friendly travel alternative, and soon after a reader posted a comment asking for an international version. In the spirit of giving the readers what they want, here are a few ideas for European bus trips on a budget.
Although many of the multi-country European bus tours are geared towards the younger traveler (18 to 35) and those on a tight backpacker budget, there are also companies that provide touring options for slightly older independent travelers and families who still want value for money with a group travel atmosphere. Bus tours aren't for everyone -- there are pros and cons depending on the way you like to travel. Likewise not all bus tours are the same. Some are happy to deviate slightly from a set itinerary or make additional stops to suit the requests of their passengers, while others strictly adhere to a formal timetable, with no extra pit stops for unique photo opportunities.
For some people, the fact that you pay for everything up front (so there's no currency exchange or dealing with currency fluctuations) is a big plus for bus tour travel. You also have the benefit of pre-booked hotels and all your transportation covered in advance, plus no language barriers for to contend with for English-only speakers, unless you go off without the group. For others, these challenges are unique to international travel and part of the joy of the travel experience. Especially if this is your first European travel experience, you should research and choose wisely.
Busabout Explorer Europe Travel (www.busabout.com) offers two different ways to travel through Europe by bus between May and October each year. The first is their hop on hop off system that lets you decide how long you'd like to stay in each destination and the second is a more traditional fixed itinerary short tour adventure of an individual countries and regions like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Croatia. Either way, traveling with Busabout is economical and fun, designed for independent-minded travelers who would normally run the other way at the thought of a traditional bus tour. Their hop on hop off option is definitely their most appealing option because it combines the benefits of traveling solo with the support network that you would generally get on a group trip. Buses visit each of their 30 destination cities in ten countries every two days so you can take your time and travel at your own pace. Busabout Loop passes enable you to focus on a few corners of Europe or cover the entire network. Each pass costs $579 for adults and $549 for students.
The Northern Loop includes cities like Berlin, Bruges, Amsterdam, Paris, Prague, Dresden, Cesky Krumlov, Vienna, Munich, Salzburg, and Stuttgart. The Southern Loop takes in Munich, several cities in Italy, Lucerne, Lauterbrunnen, and St Johann. The Western Loop lets you discover Paris, several cities in Spain, Switzerland, and the South of France.
The loops only travel in one direction, though, so are less flexible than their appropriately named Flexitrip passes. The Flexitrip Pass gives you six stops with access to the entire Busabout coach network. You can break away from the network and explore destinations like Greece or Morocco and then rejoin at your leisure. Start and finish anywhere and just keep traveling until you run out of stops, or buy more as you go ($49 each). For example start in Paris and stop at Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Munich, and finish in Rome, staying in each city as long as you like -- all with only six "flexistops." If you'd like to make an extra stop in say Salzburg, simply buy an extra flexistop from your on-board guide. The Flexitrip Pass costs $529 ($20 less for students) and is valid for the entire 2009 operating season. Each sector may only be traveled once and departures from each city are every other day. The minimum recommended travel time is 18 days to make the most of your passes.
Busabout also arranges budget accommodation in hostels, low-star hotels, and camping villages. They aim to provide the cleanest, safest and most centrally located budget accommodation that is available. You can book a variety of rooms online depending on your budget -- from private en suite rooms to shared dorms and prices range from €15 to €25 per person per night. As an added bonus, the Busabout website lets you post travel journal entries so your family and friends can see where you are, check out your photos, and track your journey on a map. They can sell you extra cheap international SIM cards and international mobile phones.
Contiki (tel. 866/CONTIKI; www.contiki.com) is one of the best-known names in group bus tours and has been in the business for decades. Aimed at the 18 to 35 demographic, for many a Contiki tour is their first introduction to overseas travel, often visiting a multitude of European destinations. I remember many of my friends going on a ten-country tour with Contiki back in the 1980s as a sort of rite of passage or coming of age trip after completing high school. Today Contiki is more sophisticated with a broader appeal. Tours will invariably have an international mix of people with predominantly native English speakers like Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, and Americans on board. Their superior standard trips offer accommodations in two-and-a-half and three-star hotel properties while the cheaper budget standard tours provide a mix of accommodation from Contiki-owned properties (villages with cabins, chalets and even chateaux), youth hostels, and hotels.
Their 18-day European Encounter trip is priced from $2,745 per person based on double occupancy (land-only). The tour starts in London and finishes in Paris traveling through Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Monaco, and France. Transportation is by private coach and by ferry and the price includes 15 breakfasts and eight dinners, 17 nights' hotel accommodations and highlights like visits to French chateaux; tours of vineyards; the papal palace at Avignon; the French Riviera; the Leaning Tower of Pisa; Florence, the Vatican; Rome; Venice; the Brenner Pass, Innsbruck; Liechtenstein; Lucerne; a cruise through the Rhine valley; a bicycle ride through the Dutch countryside, and a tour of Amsterdam Red Light district. Book any 2009 summer European bus tour by December 23, 2008 and receive $150 off the price. Mention promo code SUM150OFF to redeem the discount when making your reservation.
Apart from the embarrassment of traveling around Europe in a bright yellow bus, Tucan Travel (www.tucantravel.com) runs adventure-style tours and expeditions covering the continent with a variety of different themes and itineraries, traveling for seven to 57 days. Their Short, Sweet and Split trip is a 14-day journey that begins in Florence and then travels through Rome, Vatican City, Verona, Venice, Ljubljana, Plitvice National Park, and Dubrovnik before finishing in Split (Croatia). Accommodation for this 11-night trip is 100% camping with cabin upgrades available for an additional € 90. The trip price includes 11 breakfasts, six lunches and six diners; driving and walking tours in most major cities; transport in a private fully equipped coach; an average group size of 25-35; and a Tucan Travel Tour Leader, Driver and Cook. The tour is priced at A$840.00 (currently a little over $US550) plus a local payment of €205 (approximately $US257)
Kumuka Worldwide European Coach Tours (tel. 800/517-0867; www.kumuka.com) cater to adults (generally 55 and under, although older participants are welcome) and for certain tours, children over the age of six. Their ten-day Winter Rhapsody tour begins in Vienna and travels north to Prague, then onto Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris before ending in London. The tour is priced at $1,131 per person plus a $150 tour fund (and $400 single supplement if applicable) and highlights include a city tour, the Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square, and Stare Mesto in Prague; the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin Wall, and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; and a red-light district tour in Amsterdam. The tour features nine nights' accommodations; nine breakfasts; four dinners; a Kumuka tour leader and driver; a Eurostar train trip; orientation tours of major cities and all tolls and taxes with regular Tuesday departures from November to March.
If you are traveling with your family, Kumuka's 12-day "Fairytales, Skeletons and Steam Trains" tour may be a perfect fit. Visiting Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany, the trip starts in Vienna and goes to the famous Prater Fun Park and to the bright yellow Hapsburg Schonbrunn Chateau. A tractor ride though the Austrian vineyards, a hike to the Falkenstein Castle Ruins, and the quirky Crazy Village Hernbaumgarten all follow. In the Czech Republic, fairytale cities, a canoe/raft trip, horse riding, sleigh ride, the largest Aqua Park in Central Europe and thousands of skeletons await you. In Germany a riverboat will transport you to Dresden, and travel by steam train to Moritzburg before visiting Potsdam and Berlin, where the family adventure ends. The trip departs between May and August in 2009 and is priced at $2,822 for adults and $2,660 for children aged six to 11.
Then mainstream tour companies like Cosmos, Trafalgar, Brendan, Insight, CIE, and Globus, all provide bus trips across Europe in a variety of standards (budget, first class, deluxe and luxury) and appeal to a wider demographic. A website like Affordable Tours (tel. 800/935-2620; www.affordabletours.com) is a good starting point to compare and contrast what is on offer plus they offer discounts of up to 10% off on published tour rates. In the budget category, the tours range from an eight day Gate One London and Rome experience priced from $249 to Insight's whopping 34-day European Voyager tour for $6,050. Sample trips include:
- The Cosmos budget 13-day European Jewels tour 2009 priced from $1,494 (regular price is $1,660) plus a $610 single supplement. Even in the height of summer this land-only trip is only $1,679 per person based on double occupancy. The tour is technically only ten-days of actual sightseeing (the 13-days accounts for trans-Atlantic flying days and a day on your own in London but the tour part visits Amsterdam, Florence, Innsbruck, London, Lucerne, Munich, Paris, Rhineland, Cortina, and Venice. The price includes 11 nights' accommodations in centrally located hotels, breakfast daily, four dinners and sightseeing.
- Trafalgar's 17-day Cossack Explorer 2009 visits Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Minsk, and Warsaw. The trip includes 15 nights' hotel accommodations; breakfast daily, three three-course lunches and six three-course dinners; touring by luxury air-conditioned coach; an overnight mini-cruise from Sweden to Finland; an afternoon train journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow; and airport transfers. The tour is priced from $2,912 per person for April and May trips to $3,015 in July.
- Insight's Essential Europe is an 11-day bus adventure that visits Amsterdam, Arnhem, Basel, Bonn, Cologne, Heidelberg, London, Lucerne, Paris, Rhineland, and Zurich. The price includes airport transfers, ten nights' accommodations in comfortable first class hotels, luxury, air-conditioned touring coach, cross channel transportation by modern ferry, an experienced professional tour director, local city guides, nine breakfasts, four three course dinners, and sightseeing. Departures throughout the year are priced from $1,665 to $1,688 per person, with the lowest prices actually during the summer months.