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5 of the best Isle of Wight coach tour holidays and trips
A coach holiday is a hassle free and cheap way to see the Isle of Wight, with billy bargains to be had if you look around.
Occasionally, I’ve seen Isle of Wight coach trips on offer where the whole cost of the holiday is almost the same as taking a car on the ferry on your own - so, you’re effectively getting free accommodation, food and days out.
There are lots of coach companies hoping to persuade your bottom to sit in their seats. We decided to take a look at five of the biggest coach holiday companies to see how they compare on price, hotel ratings, customer reviews and choice.
For our price comparison, we looked for an on-peak and off-peak coach trip of four days, based on two people sharing, with pickup from the Midlands and excursions included. We searched in early June 2019.
Occasionally, I’ve seen Isle of Wight coach trips on offer where the whole cost of the holiday is almost the same as taking a car on the ferry on your own - so, you’re effectively getting free accommodation, food and days out.
There are lots of coach companies hoping to persuade your bottom to sit in their seats. We decided to take a look at five of the biggest coach holiday companies to see how they compare on price, hotel ratings, customer reviews and choice.
For our price comparison, we looked for an on-peak and off-peak coach trip of four days, based on two people sharing, with pickup from the Midlands and excursions included. We searched in early June 2019.
1. Shearings Holidays
**Winner: best value for off-peak coach trips in our price comparison**
Shearings Holidays gets a very similar customer review score to others in this top 5 but the hotels they work with on the Isle of Wight get better customer reviews than most.
When we checked, most Shearings coach holidays were based at Bay Broadway Park Hotel in Sandown (4/5 on TripAdvisor), but they also offered holidays at Warner's Bembridge Coast Hotel, which is towards the posher end of the market (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor).
The choice of holidays was slightly bigger than that offered by rivals such as Just Go! and National Holidays, with 13 different breaks and dozens of dates on offer.
Most Shearings coach trips to the Isle of Wight are either four, five or eight days. Itineraries vary a bit, but typical coach trips include excursions to popular spots like the twee thatched cottages and tearooms of Godshill, the lighthouse and multicoloured sands of Alum Bay and The Needles and the hilly seaside town of Ryde. Other trips include Queen Victoria's former home at Osborne and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
Overall, Shearings scores 5.7/10 on Trustpilot or 8.6/10 on Feefo, though that's the score for all their destinations around the world rather than just their Isle of Wight coach holidays.
Price comparison: when we searched, the cheapest off-peak Isle of Wight coach holiday from Shearings was four days for £264 for two people in November 2019, staying at the Bay Broadway Park Hotel (4/5 on TripAdvisor at the time of writing). The cheapest on-peak holiday was a five day coach holiday in July 2019, which was £574, also staying at Bay Broadway Park Hotel in Sandown. For the purposes of our four day price comparison, we reckon that's the equivalent of £459 for four days for two people. Excursions were included in the cost of trips I looked at.
When we checked, most Shearings coach holidays were based at Bay Broadway Park Hotel in Sandown (4/5 on TripAdvisor), but they also offered holidays at Warner's Bembridge Coast Hotel, which is towards the posher end of the market (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor).
The choice of holidays was slightly bigger than that offered by rivals such as Just Go! and National Holidays, with 13 different breaks and dozens of dates on offer.
Most Shearings coach trips to the Isle of Wight are either four, five or eight days. Itineraries vary a bit, but typical coach trips include excursions to popular spots like the twee thatched cottages and tearooms of Godshill, the lighthouse and multicoloured sands of Alum Bay and The Needles and the hilly seaside town of Ryde. Other trips include Queen Victoria's former home at Osborne and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
Overall, Shearings scores 5.7/10 on Trustpilot or 8.6/10 on Feefo, though that's the score for all their destinations around the world rather than just their Isle of Wight coach holidays.
Price comparison: when we searched, the cheapest off-peak Isle of Wight coach holiday from Shearings was four days for £264 for two people in November 2019, staying at the Bay Broadway Park Hotel (4/5 on TripAdvisor at the time of writing). The cheapest on-peak holiday was a five day coach holiday in July 2019, which was £574, also staying at Bay Broadway Park Hotel in Sandown. For the purposes of our four day price comparison, we reckon that's the equivalent of £459 for four days for two people. Excursions were included in the cost of trips I looked at.
2. National Holidays
**Winner: cheapest for on-peak and off-peak coach trips in our price comparison**
National Holidays is one of the biggest coach trip providers with holidays across Europe and the UK (Ed: Why are you wittering on about Europe on a website about the Isle of Wight? You’re fired). They're part of the same company as Caledonian Travel.
When we searched, there was a choice of seven different coach trips to the Isle of Wight with various dates available. Most were four day holidays. All the accommodation was hotels around Sandown and Shanklin, which is unsurprising as those are hotel-central on the Isle of Wight.
The hotels they were using when we searched included The Shanklin Beach Hotel (3.5/5 on TripAdvisor at time of writing), Bay Broadway Park Hotel in Sandown (4/5) and Burlington Hotel in Sandown (3.5/5). Personally, I prefer Shanklin as a resort, but Sandown has more beachfront accommodation with sea views.
National Holidays was scoring 5.7/10 on TrustPilot when we checked, though that is for the whole company not just their Isle of Wight coach holidays. Feefo reviews were much higher, with an average of 9.2/10 (it was actually 4.6/5 but I changed it for those who are less mathematically minded).
Price: the cheapest off-peak coach holiday was £258 for two people for four days in Sandown in November 2019. The cheapest on-peak coach trip was only slightly more at £278 for two people for four days, staying in either Shanklin or Sandown (you could choose obviously, it wasn't a lucky dip). Excursions were included in the cost of the trips I looked at.
When we searched, there was a choice of seven different coach trips to the Isle of Wight with various dates available. Most were four day holidays. All the accommodation was hotels around Sandown and Shanklin, which is unsurprising as those are hotel-central on the Isle of Wight.
The hotels they were using when we searched included The Shanklin Beach Hotel (3.5/5 on TripAdvisor at time of writing), Bay Broadway Park Hotel in Sandown (4/5) and Burlington Hotel in Sandown (3.5/5). Personally, I prefer Shanklin as a resort, but Sandown has more beachfront accommodation with sea views.
National Holidays was scoring 5.7/10 on TrustPilot when we checked, though that is for the whole company not just their Isle of Wight coach holidays. Feefo reviews were much higher, with an average of 9.2/10 (it was actually 4.6/5 but I changed it for those who are less mathematically minded).
Price: the cheapest off-peak coach holiday was £258 for two people for four days in Sandown in November 2019. The cheapest on-peak coach trip was only slightly more at £278 for two people for four days, staying in either Shanklin or Sandown (you could choose obviously, it wasn't a lucky dip). Excursions were included in the cost of the trips I looked at.
3. Just Go! Holidays
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Jauntily-named Just Go! Holidays gets similar reviews to National Holidays, with an average of 5.5/10 on TrustPilot. We couldn't find Feefo reviews, but it scored 3.3/5 (or 6.6/10) on Google reviews.
They had a choice of three different Isle of Wight coach holidays, with a few dates available when we searched. You could pick from four or five days, and there were day trips to popular spots like Osborne, Yarmouth and Alum Bay and The Needles. |
Most Isle of Wight coach holidays include a trip to Alum Bay
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When we searched, they were offering accommodation at three hotels in Sandown and Shanklin - Holliers Hotel, Medehamstead Hotel and Royal Pier Hotel, all of which were scoring 3.5/5 on TripAdvisor. They also offered slightly more expensive coach tours based at Warner's Norton Grange Hotel in Yarmouth, which scores 4/5.
Price: an off peak holiday for two for four days was £320 in Shanklin in October 2019. An on-peak holiday for two in July 2019 in Shanklin was £638 (as that's an extra day, we reckon it's the equivalent of paying £510 for 4 days, so we'll use that figure for our price comparison). Most excursions were included in the trips we looked at, with one optional extra.
Price: an off peak holiday for two for four days was £320 in Shanklin in October 2019. An on-peak holiday for two in July 2019 in Shanklin was £638 (as that's an extra day, we reckon it's the equivalent of paying £510 for 4 days, so we'll use that figure for our price comparison). Most excursions were included in the trips we looked at, with one optional extra.
4. Alfa Travel
Alfa Holidays wasn't a name I was familiar with, but they work with good hotels and offer some competitive deals.
I couldn't find Alfa Travel on Trustpilot, but they were scoring 6.2/10 on Reviews.co.uk or 7.4/10 on Google reviews. The accommodation on offer when I searched was Bayshore Hotel in Sandown and The Shanklin Hotel, both of which were scoring a very respectable 4/5 on TripAdvisor.
There was a good choice of holidays on offer, ranging from three nights to seven nights. By the way, some coach holiday companies give holiday durations in 'days' and some give the duration in 'nights'. A 'three night' holiday is the same as a 'four day' holiday.
I found the Alfa Travel website navigation a little tricky (I couldn't figure out how to put the holidays in price order) but once I'd done some tinkering I found some good deals which included excursions.
Price: an off-peak coach holiday in March 2020 cost from £348 for two people for four nights/five days, staying in Sandown at Bayshore Hotel (reviews of 4/5). Included trips to Cowes, Newport and Alum Bay. For our price comparison, that's the equivalent of £278 for a four day holiday. On-peak, the same holiday cost £588 (that was in July 2019 but other dates were available) so the equivalent of £470 for four days.
I couldn't find Alfa Travel on Trustpilot, but they were scoring 6.2/10 on Reviews.co.uk or 7.4/10 on Google reviews. The accommodation on offer when I searched was Bayshore Hotel in Sandown and The Shanklin Hotel, both of which were scoring a very respectable 4/5 on TripAdvisor.
There was a good choice of holidays on offer, ranging from three nights to seven nights. By the way, some coach holiday companies give holiday durations in 'days' and some give the duration in 'nights'. A 'three night' holiday is the same as a 'four day' holiday.
I found the Alfa Travel website navigation a little tricky (I couldn't figure out how to put the holidays in price order) but once I'd done some tinkering I found some good deals which included excursions.
Price: an off-peak coach holiday in March 2020 cost from £348 for two people for four nights/five days, staying in Sandown at Bayshore Hotel (reviews of 4/5). Included trips to Cowes, Newport and Alum Bay. For our price comparison, that's the equivalent of £278 for a four day holiday. On-peak, the same holiday cost £588 (that was in July 2019 but other dates were available) so the equivalent of £470 for four days.
5. Daish's Holidays
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Daish's Holidays are a bit different to the others on this Isle of Wight coach trip guide, and they have some plus points which are worth considering.
Rather than working with several hotels, they just have their own chain of Daish's Hotels. The Isle of Wight one is in Shanklin and gets reviews of 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor. It's in Shanklin village rather than by the sea, but it was refurbished in 2015 and is a nice old building. |
Shanklin has plenty of hotels for coach trips
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I couldn't find any reviews on Trustpilot or other big reviews websites for Daish's as a whole company.
Unlike some other coach trip providers, you pay for each excursion so you need to factor that in unless you are happy to just explore Shanklin (I would suggest that you can do everything in Shanklin in a couple of days unless you want to spend a lot of time at the beach). Most excursions were £10 per person per day when I checked, with some higher-priced because of entrance fees.
Price: the cheapest off-peak holiday we found was £438 for two people in December 2019 for five days. However, excursions weren't included, so we added on £60 (assuming that a couple would go on three excursions over five days). We then calculated the price for four days, for the purposes of our comparison (are you keeping up?). So the total was £398 for two people in December 2019 including excursions. Using the same calculations, an on-peak holiday in July 2019 was £502 for two people.
Unlike some other coach trip providers, you pay for each excursion so you need to factor that in unless you are happy to just explore Shanklin (I would suggest that you can do everything in Shanklin in a couple of days unless you want to spend a lot of time at the beach). Most excursions were £10 per person per day when I checked, with some higher-priced because of entrance fees.
Price: the cheapest off-peak holiday we found was £438 for two people in December 2019 for five days. However, excursions weren't included, so we added on £60 (assuming that a couple would go on three excursions over five days). We then calculated the price for four days, for the purposes of our comparison (are you keeping up?). So the total was £398 for two people in December 2019 including excursions. Using the same calculations, an on-peak holiday in July 2019 was £502 for two people.
Price comparison of Isle of Wight Coach trip holidays and tours
OK, so this price comparison needs a few caveats. We tried to figure out the cost of a four day coach trip holiday to the Isle of Wight for two people. We looked for the cheapest option available during a peak month (i.e. June, July or August) and during an off-peak month (October to February). We included pick up from the Midlands and included the basic excursions package and food. If a four day trip wasn't available, we looked for the next best thing and calculated the equivalent price.
Off-peak coach holiday tour price comparison:
On-peak coach holiday tour price comparison:
Off-peak coach holiday tour price comparison:
- National Holidays - £258
- Shearings Holidays - £264
- Alfa Holidays - £278
- Just Go! Holidays - £320
- Daish's Holidays - £398
On-peak coach holiday tour price comparison:
- National Holidays - £278
- Shearings Holidays - £459
- Alfa Holidays - £470
- Daish's Holidays - £502
- Just Go! Holidays - £510
The-Isle-of-Wight-Guru-Don't-Blame-Us-Disclaimer™ The information on this website is correct, as far as we know, but please contact us if you find anything inaccurate.
