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5 Best Isle Of Wight Coach Tour Holidays And Trips 2024
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 hotel ratings, customer reviews and excursions.
For our price comparison, we looked for the cheapest coach holiday available for two people in March 2023 including coach travel and food. You don't need to travel as a couple, but you sometimes pay a supplement for a single room.
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 hotel ratings, customer reviews and excursions.
For our price comparison, we looked for the cheapest coach holiday available for two people in March 2023 including coach travel and food. You don't need to travel as a couple, but you sometimes pay a supplement for a single room.
1. Alfa Travel
Alfa Travel isn't the absolute cheapest in our top five, but it's also not the most expensive - and it gets better customer reviews than most other Isle of Wight coach trip providers.
The company runs two 'Leisureplex' hotels on the Isle of Wight and they both get decent reviews and offer good value for money.
The hotels on offer are Bayshore Hotel in Sandown and The Shanklin Hotel, both of which score a very decent 4/5 on TripAdvisor. Personally, I prefer Shanklin to Sandown, but both have plenty going for them including a sandy beach.
Overall, Alfa Travel scores an impressive 4.3/5 on Trustpilot and 4.2/5 on Google reviews.
There is a good choice of Alfa holidays on offer, ranging from three nights to seven nights. It's worth mentioning that 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 to places like Newport, Cowes and Alum Bay and The Needles. They also do 'solo' holidays where you don't pay a supplement for booking a single room.
Price comparison: £538 for two people for five days/four nights dinner, bed and breakfast, staying at the Bayshore Hotel in March 2023. The holiday is described as 'Seaside Isle of Wight towns and the Needles'. For a solo traveller, the lowest price we found was £269.
The company runs two 'Leisureplex' hotels on the Isle of Wight and they both get decent reviews and offer good value for money.
The hotels on offer are Bayshore Hotel in Sandown and The Shanklin Hotel, both of which score a very decent 4/5 on TripAdvisor. Personally, I prefer Shanklin to Sandown, but both have plenty going for them including a sandy beach.
Overall, Alfa Travel scores an impressive 4.3/5 on Trustpilot and 4.2/5 on Google reviews.
There is a good choice of Alfa holidays on offer, ranging from three nights to seven nights. It's worth mentioning that 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 to places like Newport, Cowes and Alum Bay and The Needles. They also do 'solo' holidays where you don't pay a supplement for booking a single room.
Price comparison: £538 for two people for five days/four nights dinner, bed and breakfast, staying at the Bayshore Hotel in March 2023. The holiday is described as 'Seaside Isle of Wight towns and the Needles'. For a solo traveller, the lowest price we found was £269.
The dining room at the Bayshore Hotel overlooks the sandy beach at Sandown
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Most Isle of Wight coach holidays include a trip to Alum Bay
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2. Just Go! Holidays
Jauntily-named Just Go! Holidays gets an average of 3.9/5 on TrustPilot whilst it scores 3.4/5 on Google reviews.
They have a choice of seven different Isle of Wight coach holidays, with a few dates available when we searched. You could pick from three, four or five days, and there were day trips to popular spots like Osborne, Yarmouth and Alum Bay and The Needles.
When we searched, they were offering accommodation at four hotels in Sandown and Shanklin - Channel View Hotel in Sandown (3/5 on TripAdvisor), Holliers Hotel in Shanklin (3.5/5), Shanklin Beach Hotel (3/5), Medehamstede Hotel in Shanklin (3.5/5). You'll notice that these review scores are a little lower than the two hotels offered by Alfa Travel.
However, Just Go! also offer slightly more expensive coach tours based at Warner's Norton Grange Hotel in Yarmouth, which scores 4/5 from reviewers.
Price comparison: £438 for two people staying at the Shanklin Beach Hotel or Holliers Hotel in Shanklin for five days and four nights in March 2023. Includes dinner, bed and breakfast. If you are travelling alone then the cheapest price we could find was £279.
They have a choice of seven different Isle of Wight coach holidays, with a few dates available when we searched. You could pick from three, four or five days, and there were day trips to popular spots like Osborne, Yarmouth and Alum Bay and The Needles.
When we searched, they were offering accommodation at four hotels in Sandown and Shanklin - Channel View Hotel in Sandown (3/5 on TripAdvisor), Holliers Hotel in Shanklin (3.5/5), Shanklin Beach Hotel (3/5), Medehamstede Hotel in Shanklin (3.5/5). You'll notice that these review scores are a little lower than the two hotels offered by Alfa Travel.
However, Just Go! also offer slightly more expensive coach tours based at Warner's Norton Grange Hotel in Yarmouth, which scores 4/5 from reviewers.
Price comparison: £438 for two people staying at the Shanklin Beach Hotel or Holliers Hotel in Shanklin for five days and four nights in March 2023. Includes dinner, bed and breakfast. If you are travelling alone then the cheapest price we could find was £279.
Norton Grange near Yarmouth is one of the hotels used by Just Go Holidays
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The accommodation at Norton Grange is chalets rather than one big hotel
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3. National Holidays
National Holidays is part of the same company as Just Go! holidays. As a result, a lot of the holidays are the same as those offered by Just Go! (I would like to point out that my use of an exclamation mark at the end of that sentence is because it is within the Just Go! name rather than because I felt it was an extraordinary thing to say).
For 2023, excursions include holidaymaker hotspots:
Hotels on offer include the Burlington Hotel in Sandown (3.5/5 on TripAdvisor), Holliers Hotel in Shanklin (3.5/5), Shanklin Beach Hotel (3/5), Medehamstead Hotel (3.5/5) and the Royal Pier Hotel in Sandown (3.5/5) and Channel View Hotel in Sandown (3/5).
Overall, customers give National Holidays a score of 3.9/5 on TrustPilot (checked in November 2022).
Price comparison: £418 for two people staying for five days and four nights in March 2023. Includes dinner, bed and breakfast the at the Channel View Hotel in Sandown. The best price we could find for someone travelling alone was £279.
For 2023, excursions include holidaymaker hotspots:
- The Needles Lighthouse and Alum Bay (world-famous lighthouse with attractions)
- Osborne House (Queen Victoria's home)
- Sandown and Ventnor (sandy beaches and chips on the seafront)
- Isle of Wight Steam Railway (heritage railway which trundles through some pleasant countryside).
Hotels on offer include the Burlington Hotel in Sandown (3.5/5 on TripAdvisor), Holliers Hotel in Shanklin (3.5/5), Shanklin Beach Hotel (3/5), Medehamstead Hotel (3.5/5) and the Royal Pier Hotel in Sandown (3.5/5) and Channel View Hotel in Sandown (3/5).
Overall, customers give National Holidays a score of 3.9/5 on TrustPilot (checked in November 2022).
Price comparison: £418 for two people staying for five days and four nights in March 2023. Includes dinner, bed and breakfast the at the Channel View Hotel in Sandown. The best price we could find for someone travelling alone was £279.
Sandown is a traditional bucket-and-spade resort with a pier
4. Daish's Holidays
Daish's Holidays are similar to Alfa Travel, in that they own their own hotels. Daish's Hotel on the Isle of Wight is in Shanklin and gets terrific 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.
I struggled to find reviews on Trustpilot for Daish's.
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.
Excursions on offer included Godshill, Osborne House (Queen Victoria's home) and - unsurprisingly - Alum Bay.
Price comparison: £468 for two people for four nights and five days at Daish's Hotel in Shanklin in March 2023. Includes dinner, bed and breakfast. There is a single supplement, which by my calculations means that a solo traveller would pay from £244.
I struggled to find reviews on Trustpilot for Daish's.
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.
Excursions on offer included Godshill, Osborne House (Queen Victoria's home) and - unsurprisingly - Alum Bay.
Price comparison: £468 for two people for four nights and five days at Daish's Hotel in Shanklin in March 2023. Includes dinner, bed and breakfast. There is a single supplement, which by my calculations means that a solo traveller would pay from £244.
Shanklin has plenty of hotels for coach trips
5. Shearings Holidays
Shearings Holidays offers six different Isle of Wight coach trips at the time of writing. The company currently scores 3.7/5 on TrustPilot.
The holidays on offer were 4 or 5 days, which is quite typical for a coach holiday.
Shearings coach trips to the Isle of Wight involve stays at a number of different hotels, including Broadway Park Hotel in Sandown (4/5 on TripAdvisor), Daish's Hotel in Shanklin (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor) as well as Warner Leisure's two Isle of Wight hotels - Bembridge Coast (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor) and Norton Grange (4/5 on TripAdvisor).
Excursions include Ryde, Osborne House and - remarkably - Alum Bay and The Needles.
Price comparison: £598 for the cheapest room available for a Shearing Holiday for two people on the Isle of Wight in March 2023. Includes five days and four nights at Daish's Hotel in Shanklin. A solo traveller would pay £378 for the same holiday.
The holidays on offer were 4 or 5 days, which is quite typical for a coach holiday.
Shearings coach trips to the Isle of Wight involve stays at a number of different hotels, including Broadway Park Hotel in Sandown (4/5 on TripAdvisor), Daish's Hotel in Shanklin (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor) as well as Warner Leisure's two Isle of Wight hotels - Bembridge Coast (4.5/5 on TripAdvisor) and Norton Grange (4/5 on TripAdvisor).
Excursions include Ryde, Osborne House and - remarkably - Alum Bay and The Needles.
Price comparison: £598 for the cheapest room available for a Shearing Holiday for two people on the Isle of Wight in March 2023. Includes five days and four nights at Daish's Hotel in Shanklin. A solo traveller would pay £378 for the same holiday.
Warner's Bembridge Coast Hotel is used for Shearing's coach holidays on the Isle of Wight
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