Minibuses with a Driver for Small Groups in France
Tell us who is coming, where you would like to go and on which day. We pass your plan to a licensed partner operator with a minibus and driver free, and one quote comes back covering the whole outing.
A booking service, not a bus company
We arrange the trip; we don't run it. The minibus, midicar or coach, and its driver, come from partner operators with the right registrations and insurance. We find an operator that suits your group, have the day priced and stay with the booking until the last drop-off.
In France, a company carrying passengers for hire must hold a place on the official register of road passenger carriers, and a car with driver runs as a VTC under its own rules.
Made for eight to sixteen travellers
Smaller parties come first: a family marking a big birthday, guests at a wedding among the vines, a rugby club on tour, friends away for an EVJF or EVG weekend. A minibus carries up to 16 passengers besides the driver and keeps everyone in the same conversation.
Twenty of you? Two minibuses, or a midicar with 29 to 35 seats. Larger parties move up to a full-size coach of 49 to 57 seats, and a car with driver suits one to three guests.
Days that suit a minibus
Champagne is a favourite. From Reims it is about 28 km to the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay and about 27 km to Hautvillers, each roughly half an hour away, and some houses only welcome small groups. Near Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion is about 41 km out, around 45 minutes.
In the Loire Valley, Tours puts Villandry about 18 km away and Chenonceau about 34 km. In Normandy, Arromanches is about 12 km from Bayeux, with Omaha Beach roughly 30 minutes away and Utah Beach about 50.
Weddings, reunions and EVJF weekends
For a wedding, send the times you know, from hotel pickups to the ride home at the end of the night. Waiting between runs is part of the price, so a late finish is planned from the start. A car for the couple is a VTC, which must be booked ahead.
Family reunions and visiting teams work the same way: list every stop in order and it is quoted as one trip.
Rules of the road in France
Several French cities run low-emission zones (ZFE), and a minibus or coach driving into one needs a Crit'Air sticker. Within the A86 ring around Paris, a coach rated Crit'Air 3 or worse, or carrying no sticker, is kept out from eight in the morning until eight at night, weekends included. These rules may change, so the sticker is checked against each city's rule before you travel.
Long days are shaped by EU drivers' hours: 9 hours at the wheel is the usual daily ceiling, with a pause of three-quarters of an hour once four and a half hours have been driven. Between November and March, vehicles in mountain areas such as Annecy and Chamonix must carry chains or run on winter tyres.
How the price is set
There is no price list: the date, the hours, the distance and the vehicle all change the figure, so every trip gets its own quote. Cancellation terms vary with the operator and the vehicle and are written on the quote. No payment is taken before you say yes.
Your questions, answered
Is the minibus yours?
No. It belongs to a partner operator, which also employs your driver. We set up the booking and remain your contact.
Can a day out cross into Monaco, Switzerland or Italy?
Yes, as a day trip from a French base: Monaco from Nice, Geneva from Annecy, Courmayeur from Chamonix through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, which closes for maintenance at times.
More places to explore
More days out you can book with us
- Small-group transport for team days and company trips
- School trips with a driver, from class outings to residential visits
- Getting your team to the match, kit and all
- Wedding transport for your guests and for the two of you
- Vineyard days by minibus, with a driver so everyone can taste
- Day trips at your own pace, in a minibus with a driver
- From the ship to the day you planned
- Accessible transport for the whole group
Plan your day out
Send the date, how many are coming and the places you'd love to see. One quote comes back for you to accept or decline.
Request a quote or call 35227647770