Charter Coach in Europe

You are planning on chartering it with drivers, right? Unless your public service license is transferable to each of the countries you will be in, you won't be able to drive it.

Your drivers have to keep records and they have to have a rest break every 2 hours. Will that fit with your plans?

As far as recommendations, using the term Central Europe is extremely vague. Coach companies are local and it will entirely depend on where you will be and want to go.

Central Europe is huge and means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?

Where are you starting, where are you finishing, where are you visiting? When is the trip?

Where are you coming from? Do you already have a PSV license?

Why a bus? You can also book group train tickets on the various national rail sites. I've booked group train fares with both German (Bahn.de) and Swiss (sbb.ch) group booking departments. They're usually very helpful and nice. Our groups totaled between 18 and 21, and that's about the size of your group.

Both Nigel and Tim Thanks a lot for your prompt reply. Let me explain in detail.

We will be around 12 to 15 persons from India. All will be friends and their families ranging between 45 to 55 age. Our tentative Itinerary is as follows:

Time Span Approx 26 May 2016 to 7 June 2016

Arrival Prague (2 nights) - Krakow (2 nights) - Budapest (2 nights) - Zagreb (2 nights) - Bled (2 nights) - Vienna (2 nights) - Back to Prague for Departure back to India. Total approx traveling is 2500 km. Yes we need a Charter bus with local driver.

I think to arrange this with train connection will be little bit difficult. Trains will only take us from & to main stations. Other traveling and sightseeing will be very convenient if we do the Charter Bus. Now here are my doubts again.

1) Can we get such Chartered Coach on rent.
2) If yes, Please let me know 2-3 reputed and competitive Bus hiring companies in Central Europe.
3) What will be the approximate cost for the same
4) Charter Coach OR Local bus from city to city, which option will be more economical and convenient?

Thanks in Regards
Atul

Particularly with such a large group of people, I would do fewer cities. I know nothing about chartering a bus in Europe, but I do know that organizing large groups of people takes time.

First of all are you planning on hiring one coach to drive you between these cities or several coaches to drive you from airports to you hotel?
Secondly I think you have too many destinations in too little time and they are too far apart. You have only allocated two days to you destinations, but one of these days is going to be eaten up by transport.

You all seem to be making something of a meal of this. International coach travel is commonplace in Europe. I have seen coaches from Ukraine in Granada, and coaches from Spain in Norway. In the next few weeks, coaches from Britain will be heading off with school parties on skiing trips to the Alps. Many coach companies specialise in such travel; the problem is identifying a suitable one at a price you like, and organising this from abroad.

A quick Google search came up with Vega Tour (www.vegatour.com) which is based in Prague, and appears to do trips like the one you want to arrange. They have an English website. I would check for other companies, and then contact a number to see if they are interested in your proposal, and can quote you a price.

You are trying to see a lot in a short space of time, but I have seen many itineraries which are even more rushed.

Thanks everyone and I will try and curtail the Itinerary.

Thank you for the additional information.

So, narrowed down, what you want is one coach for 14 days to start and return to Prague.

You will need a Czech driver and coach which is authorised to drive in Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Austria, and other countries you will transit without stopping.

You have already calculated that you will be driving a minimum of 2500 km, and that all that driving will be on the 6 transit days, so that the 28 hours of driving divided by the 6 days gives an average of 5 hours driving plus 2 x 30 minutes mandatory rest stops gives an average of 6 hours driving each driving day.

I don't have the answers of who is reputable in Prague to hire a coach for 2 weeks with 2 drivers (who will also need their days off during the trip so you will need to allow for that) nor how to know if they are reputable and safe - you will need to do some work on that yourself - nor how much that will cost plus tolls plus fuel plus hotels for the drivers plus food for the drivers. I expect it will be quite expensive, but perhaps spread over 14 people it won't seem so bad.

I wouldn't expect them to speak English or any of the Indian languages. Do you have Czech speakers in your group?

When you dismissed the answer about trains it seems that you have answered your own question number 4 in your original post, and have settled on a Coach.

Atul, you've got the same problem that lots of travelers have - they want to see as much as possible with lots of kilometers between each destination and only effectively have 1 full day of sightseeing in each destination. Staying 2 nights in a destination effectively gives you 1 full day of sightseeing.

Do yourself and your traveling companions a favor and narrow your destinations down to just 2 or 3. Choose destinations that interest you, but that also have easy public transport connections.

Atul,

You stated in question #4 that you want an "economical" option. I'm not sure a charter coach will be the most economical solution, especially considering you will not only be paying for the driver's services but also his lodgings and other expenses. Although you seem reluctant to consider it, well planned public transportation (rail or other) will be the most economical solution, especially if the tickets are pre-purchased.

Once you arrive in each city, there are usually good local sightseeing options available, whether hop on / hop off buses or local charter services. You might get some good suggestions by contacting local guides listed in the the guidebooks, as they will know the best options in their respective areas.

Thanks a lot everyone.

All your suggestions will definitely help me in refining my Itinerary and deciding Transportation options.

Regards
Atul

Atul,

please come back after the trip and tell us how it went and what you learned so that others with similar needs can benefit from your experience.

Do tell us what you finally decided and where you went and what you liked and didn't.

Sure

As and when I finalize the things, I will share. And after the trip will let you know how it went.

Atul