On the Coach Again: Returning to the Joys of Guided Travel with Trafalgar

On the coach again,

I just can’t wait to get on the coach again,

The life I love is seeing new places with new friends,

And I can’t wait to get on the coach again.

*With apologies to the great Willie Nelson.

Thirty years ago, as I prepared for my first coach tour, I never thought I’d write (okay, adapt) the words above. “I’m an independent traveller,” I smugly thought to myself. “Who needs their hand held? Who wants to follow someone waving a lollipop and herding around a group of sheep-like tourists?”

Ten days later, emerging from a Contiki coach, hungover and replete with memories of great art, fabulous architecture and delicious food, my mindset had done a 180-degree shift.

The coaches were really comfortable. Someone delivered my luggage to my room. The person with the lollipop was not only cool, but massively knowledgeable. The folks I travelled with, from Australia, the U.S., Singapore, the UK and fellow Canadians, had become fast friends. 

As each day began and the strains of our travel director’s morning song (Crowded House’s Weather With You) rang out on the coach, I no longer thought about the mocking coach tour insult “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium.” No, I was thinking “What amazing adventure am I going to have today?”

Back home, my backpacking buddies teased me relentlessly about travelling like a geriatric. I let them have their fun. Three decades and many, many miles later, I’m now verging on geriatric, and I couldn’t give a flying flugelhorn what anyone thinks about how I travel (or most anything else).

So here I am again, 61 years old, clambering onto a Trafalgar coach with 30 international travel advisors to explore The Highlights of Germany and catch up on the evolution of guided travel. I’m a little less hungover, a little slower to get up the coach steps, but I have the same smile on my face as I did three decades ago. And I still love Crowded House.

I’m a firm believer in the power of travel to break down barriers, erase prejudices and foster friendships. Now, as our guide Maria Holzamer is quick to tell us – “there will be no politics on the coach.” It’s a solid policy, but as many of you know, there’s a bit of a thing going on right now between Canada and the U.S. And to be frank, many Canadians are hurt and angry. I’m one of them.

Let me just say this: the Americans on the coach – and they are the majority – have been nothing but friendly, generous, kind and fun. That’s how I’ve always thought of our neighbours, but in troubled times, I needed that reassurance. To new friends Trip, Tracee, Steve, Sue, Krista, Audra and others, thanks for being pals.

The tour I’m on is part of TTC Tour Week, a first-time initiative from TTC Tour Brands. Over a 2.5-week period, more than 500 travel advisors from around the world are embarking on 13 unique itineraries around the world, on six different brands – Trafalgar, Insight, Luxury Gold, CostSaver, Contiki and Brendan Vacations.

In a previous story about this trip, we looked at some of the benefits of touring by coach – the absence of hassle, the safety and security – especially for solo female travellers – the bonding experience between curious, friendly people from a variety of nations, and very often the significant cost savings versus independent travel.

For travel advisors, the advantages of selling TTC Tour Brands include robust support, substantial commissions and damn near guaranteed client satisfaction – the trifecta of product performance.

As we made our way from Berlin to Dresden, Krista Erickson, a Minneapolis-based Sales Manager for TTC Tour Brands, gave the travel advisors on the trip a primer on the points of differentiation between the six brands. 

Here’s a quick summary of each brand’s attributes:

Brendan Vacations: The company’s UK and Ireland specialist, Brendan Vacations offers 24 different guided itineraries with a mix of premium level similar to Insight and more value-based similar to Trafalgar. It also offers fully-customized travel, including chauffeur-driven private tours and self-drive holidays, along with partially customizable rail vacations.

CostSaver: Designed for the budget-conscious traveller, CostSaver delivers great value for up to 53 guests on each of some 80 itineraries. The product includes comfy 3-star hotels, daily breakfast and some dinners, basic included sightseeing and plenty of optional choices.

Contiki: Ideal for 18-35-year-old travellers looking to see the world in a social setting, Contiki carries a maximum of 53 guests. Accommodations include hostels, 3-star hotels and iconic special stays. Breakfast is included daily, along with select other meals. Both included and optional sightseeing a integral to the product.

Trafalgar: This is the largest of the TTC Tour Brands with more than 300 itineraries around the world. Hotels are generally in the 4-star category, and hotel breakfasts and some dinners are included. There’s a mix of included and optional sightseeing on coaches that accommodate up to 50 guests. 

Insight: This is TTC’s premium or ‘business class’ product. Groups are 40 or less and accommodations generally in the 4.5-5-star category. There are more inclusions and fewer optional add-ons than Trafalgar. Insight offers more than 100 itineraries.

Luxury Gold: “Think castles and Michelin-starred restaurants,” says Erickson. Luxury Gold is TTC’s boutique touring brand. The groups are smaller (maximum 24), the accommodations are exquisite and there are premium inclusions like private transfers from your clients’ home to the airport and back. There are currently about 30 Luxury Gold itineraries.