A one-page sheet for your coach day.
Guests who know where the coach is, when it leaves and what to bring do not ask the leader forty questions at the hotel door. This is a sheet to print, fill in and hand out, with a note on each line and a filled example for a 36-guest half day.
Why a printed sheet beats a message
A chat message is read once, on the way to breakfast, and is gone by lunch. A sheet in the guest’s pocket is there at 16:00, when someone wonders if the coach goes back to the hotel or on to dinner. It also puts every guest on the same page, which matters when a group is a mix of nationalities and reading speeds.
This page gives you the sheet as a template, tells you what to write on each line, and shows a filled version. Use it with the plan for the day. If you are still building that plan, our guide to an incentive day by coach sets the clock out hour by hour.
Planning this trip? Tell us the date and group size for a fixed price.
Get a quoteThe template: copy it, print it, fill it in
| Line | Write here |
|---|---|
| 1. Group and date | ________________________ |
| 2. Your leader | Name ____________ Mobile ____________ |
| 3. Your coach | Colour or number ______ Seats ____ |
| 4. Meeting point | Place and exact spot ________________ |
| 5. Be there by | ____ (coach leaves at ____) |
| 6. Today’s stops | Time ____ Place ____ How long ____ (repeat) |
| 7. Where the coach waits | Spot and landmark ________________ |
| 8. Back at the hotel | About ____ |
| 9. Bring with you | Water, sun protection, comfortable shoes, charged phone, this sheet |
| 10. Leave on the coach | Large bags, shopping, anything you will not need on foot |
| 11. If you are late or lost | Call ____ . Do not wait at the kerb. |
| 12. Notes | Meals included, dress notes from each venue, tickets held by the leader |
Print it on one side of one page, in the guests’ language if that is not English. Translate it yourself. The driver’s job is to drive, and the sheet is yours.
How to fill each line
- Line 3: guests need a way to tell one coach from another in a row of identical ones. A number on a card in the windscreen, which you tell us before the day, is enough. If you split the group across coaches, add the seat count.
- Line 4: name the exact spot, not just the hotel. “Main lobby doors, left of the taxi rank” is a meeting point. “The hotel” is not. If the hotel has two entrances, say which.
- Line 5: write a time earlier than the coach leaves. The driver arrives ten minutes early, but guests do not. Fifteen minutes between “be there” and “leaves” is a good habit.
- Line 6: give the stop, the time you expect to arrive and how long guests have. A guest with the end time in hand does not need to ask.
- Line 7: at each stop, where is the coach after the drop? Some venues set their own rules for where a coach may stop and wait, so we check the drop-off point and the waiting area with the venue before the day. Add the answer and one landmark.
- Line 11: decide your own late rule before the day, print it, and tell us so the driver knows it. “Call me” is a rule. “The coach waits” is a promise, so only write it if you mean it.
A filled example: 36 guests, one coach, half a day
The times below are examples, not journey times. Swap in the times from your own plan, checked at the hour you will travel. The coach is a 50-seater, since 36 guests plus a leader and two hosts is 39 and a 30-seater mini coach tops out at 22 to 30 seats.
| Line | Filled in |
|---|---|
| 1. Group and date | Spring study group, Thursday |
| 2. Your leader | Maria, mobile on the card |
| 3. Your coach | Number 2, 50 seats |
| 4. Meeting point | Main lobby doors, left of the taxi rank |
| 5. Be there by | 13:15 (coach leaves at 13:30) |
| 6. Today’s stops | 14:00 old quarter on foot, 90 minutes. 16:00 Downtown, 90 minutes. 18:00 coach leaves |
| 7. Where the coach waits | Marked bay beside the museum gate, then the north car park |
| 8. Back at the hotel | About 19:00 |
| 11. If you are late or lost | Call Maria. Stay at the last stop. |
Lines 9, 10 and 12 stay as printed. The sheet is shorter in practice than it looks, because most lines are the same from one day to the next.
What to carry, and what to leave on board
Keep the carry list short and practical. Water, sun protection, comfortable shoes, a charged phone and the sheet itself are the basics. The coach has under-floor luggage holds, so guests can leave shopping and bags they will not need on foot with the driver. Check each venue for its own entry and dress notes and put them on line 12, because they are set by the venue and change from place to place.
Tickets, passes and guide fees are yours to book and hold. We provide the coach and the driver, and our drivers are not licensed guides. If you want commentary on board, bring a guide and use the PA system on the coach.
The leader’s copy
Keep a second page for yourself with the same twelve lines plus four extras: the driver’s mobile, our contact number, the passenger list and the time of the last stop. We send the driver’s details before the day, and your mobile goes to the driver. Both numbers should be on your phone before breakfast.
On re-boarding, count heads with the list. We assume about ten minutes to count a group this size, and building that time into each stop is what keeps a day on schedule. The big group arrival guide shows how the same list is used at the airport.
Sending the sheet to us
Send us a copy once it is filled in, along with the pick-up time, the stops and the venue names. We check the stopping points against it and tell you if one needs changing. If your day is a classic circuit of the old districts, our city tour guide and the coach rental page explain how a coach day is booked, and hotel group transfers for tour operators covers the airport side. Ask for a fixed written quote and send the group size first, so we pick the right vehicle.
Keep reading
- City tour by private minibus: A one-day Dubai city tour route for a group, how a private minibus compares with a hop-on hop-off bus, and what each option costs per head.
- Stopover tour: A private Dubai stopover or layover tour from DXB: met at arrivals, shown the city at your pace, back at the terminal in good time for your next flight.
- Group transfers for tour operators: A planning guide for tour operators and destination management companies: arrival waves, manifests, hotel driveways, luggage, coach sizes and what to send for a quote.
- Event & conference transport: Delegate shuttles, VIP cars and tour buses with drivers for conferences, exhibitions, galas and sport, run from one plan.
- Property viewing tour transport: Transport for a one or two day property viewing tour in Dubai: pick the vehicle by party size, build the day on a clock, hand the driver a day sheet. Transport only.
- MBA and university study tours in the UAE: How ground transport works for a business-school study tour across Dubai and Abu Dhabi: the day-by-day arithmetic, vehicle choice, waiting at hosts and the luggage days.
Frequently asked.
Quick answers for this trip.
What should go on a tour leader’s briefing sheet?
The meeting point, the times, the stops, where the coach waits, what to carry and what to do if someone is late or lost. The template above has twelve lines for that.
How early should guests arrive before the coach leaves?
Fifteen minutes is a good habit. The driver arrives ten minutes early, but guests are the ones who need the margin.
Can the driver translate the sheet or give commentary?
No. Drivers are not licensed guides. Write the sheet in your guests’ language yourself and bring a guide if you want commentary.
Do you send the driver’s details?
Yes, before the day. Your mobile number goes to the driver as well, so you can reach each other.
How does a guest tell our coach from the others?
Agree a number or a colour with us before the day, put it on the sheet and on a card in the windscreen.
Where will the coach wait while we are at a stop?
Venues set their own rules for where a coach may stop and wait. We check the drop-off and waiting area before the day and you add it to line 7.
Can I use the sheet for a day with more than one coach?
Yes. Give each coach a number, and print a separate page for each if the stops differ.
Got the plan? Send us the sheet.
Two questions now, a fixed price in your inbox shortly after.