A hundred people or more, how many coaches?
One hundred people do not need one big decision. They need four small ones in the right order: how many people a coach really takes, how many bags it really takes, where each coach loads and who stands at the door with the list.
The short answer
Count coaches twice, once by people and once by bags, and use the larger number. A 50-seater coach has 50 seats and room for about 50 medium suitcases. Planners who fill every seat find the late arrivals and the VIP who joins at the second hotel have nowhere to sit, so we plan on 45 people per coach, the same 90 per cent habit used in our guide to how many shuttle buses an event needs.
Seats are passenger seats and the driver is not counted. Bags are medium suitcases, roughly 65 to 70 cm tall. We do not print journey times or a vehicle count for any date here. Vehicles are confirmed against the dates on your written quote, so send the dates first.
Planning this trip? Tell us the date and group size for a fixed price.
Get a quoteThree groups, counted two ways
| Group | By people (45 per coach) | By bags (50 per coach) | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120 guests, one case each | 3 coaches | 3 coaches | Three 50-seaters, 30 seats spare |
| 130 guests, 182 bags | 3 coaches | 4 coaches | Four 50-seaters, or three plus a luggage vehicle |
| 180 guests, one case each | 4 coaches | 4 coaches | Four 50-seaters, the last one fuller |
Look at the 130. Three coaches seat 150, so people alone say three. Bags say otherwise: 182 cases against 150 places leaves 32 on the kerb. The two honest answers are a fourth coach, which gives 200 places, or three coaches and a separate luggage vehicle with its own driver that leaves with the group and unloads at the hotel. The luggage vehicle suits a group where only a few bags are over, and the fourth coach suits a group that is travelling heavy all round.
The 180 shows the opposite. Four coaches at 45 take exactly 180, so there is no spare seat anywhere. If your list is not final, add a fifth coach or a 30-seater mini coach as the stand-by. Our coach rental page lists the usual split, two 50-seaters for 81 to 100 and three for 101 to 150.
Split by hotel before you split by coach
A hundred people almost never sleep in one place. Group the guest list by hotel first, then give each hotel its own coach or coaches. A coach that visits three hotels collects its first passengers early and its last passengers late, and the total is longer than three coaches each taking one hotel.
If a hotel has 30 guests and the next has 18, do not fill one coach across both by default. Ask whether the two hotels sit close enough to gather the 18 at the larger one. Every extra pick-up adds a stop, a head count and a few minutes of driveway. We allow around ten minutes per pick-up without luggage, and fifteen to twenty when suitcases go into the holds. Multiply that by the stops on your longest loop before you promise a departure time.
Some hotels cannot take a full coach at the door. A mini coach turns into forecourts where a 50-seater has to stop on the road, and the one quote can hold both sizes. Ask each hotel which entrance, coach bay or side door takes a coach, and tell us.
The loading order
With one coach, loading is easy. With four, it needs a rule that every guest can read. Here is the one we suggest to planners.
- Give each coach a number and a colour, printed on the guest’s lanyard, key card or message.
- Name one person from your side per coach. They hold the list and count heads, and the driver drives.
- Load bags first, then guests, with the last coach to leave carrying the people who ran late.
- Fix departure times and publish them. A coach that leaves at the posted time with whoever is aboard is easier to run than one that waits.
- Keep one spare seat count at the end: the number left in the lobby after the final coach has gone.
On larger events a coordinator stays on the ground and calls the loads. That is part of the plan, not an extra you discover on the day. See the airport shuttle plan for 100 to 500 delegates for waves cut from a flight list.
Airport arrivals and venue runs differ
At the airport, people arrive as a stream, not a block, and it takes time to get from the aircraft to the coach. Our big group arrival guide explains the stream and why a wave leaves when it is loaded. At a venue the pattern reverses: everyone wants to leave at the same minute. For a loop between hotels and a venue, the event transport page covers timed waves, and the shuttle service page covers a coach that circles all day.
Peak months are the other pressure. Between October and March, ask for your dates to be confirmed early. Our peak season guide says why.
What to send for a quote
- Head count by hotel, with hotel names and areas.
- Bags counted, and anything oddly shaped.
- Dates and times of each move, and the flight list for airport runs.
- Whether one person per coach will hold a list.
- Whether you want a spare vehicle on the quote.
We reply with one fixed written quote that lists every vehicle by day. Read it with the guide to what is in a bus rental quote, and start on the booking page.
Keep reading
- Transport for 9 to 13 people: Nine to thirteen people and their suitcases: when the 13-seater van is enough, when the bags tip you into a bigger vehicle, and when two vehicles beat one.
- Transport for 31 to 50 people: Thirty-one to fifty people on one coach: what a 50-seater carries, how leaders and guides eat into the seats, and the places a full-size coach cannot go.
- Transport for 5 to 8 people: one van or two cars: Five to eight people with luggage in Dubai: the bag arithmetic that decides between one V-Class or van and two cars, worked through party by party.
- Conference airport shuttle plan: How to turn a flight list into airport shuttle waves for a conference of 100 to 500 delegates, with a luggage limit per coach and a worked example.
- Transport for 17 to 30 people: Seventeen to thirty people: one mini coach or two vans or Sprinters. A seat-count check, a luggage table for 26 people and a rule for choosing.
- Transport for 14 to 16 people: Fourteen to sixteen people is one over the 13-seat van. When a Sprinter fits, why the layout matters as much as the seat count, and when two vehicles are the better answer.
Frequently asked.
Quick answers for this trip.
Do you have enough coaches for 100 people?
We confirm vehicles against the dates on your written quote, so we cannot say for a date before you send it. Send the dates and the head count and we reply with what is confirmed.
How many coaches for 150 people?
On people alone, 150 at 45 per coach is four coaches. Our coach rental page lists three 50-seaters for 101 to 150 on a full-seat basis. Count the bags too, and ask for a spare.
Can we mix coaches and mini coaches?
Yes. Use 50-seaters for the larger hotels and a mini coach for a forecourt that cannot take one, all on one quote.
Who runs the loading?
You name one person per coach to hold the list. On larger events a coordinator also stays on the ground. Tell us which you want on the quote.
Do all the coaches need to leave together?
No. Departures can be staggered by hotel or by wave. Fixed, published times work better than waiting for the last guest.
What if the list changes after the quote?
Tell us as soon as it does. A change of ten people can change the coach count, and we reissue the quote in writing.
Is there a PA on every coach?
Every 50-seater has a PA system for a host or guide. For other vehicles, ask us what is fitted.
How much does a multi-coach move cost?
Ask for a fixed written quote. It depends on the dates, the hotels and the hours, and we put it in writing before you accept.
A hundred names? Send the list.
Two questions now, a fixed price in your inbox shortly after.