Posted by illepic on January 9, 2012 at 4:44am
I'd like to start the discussion about getting a bus together to take people to Denver for DrupalCon Denver March 19-23, 2012. I, unfortunately, won't be able to arrange the bus and logistics myself and am looking for volunteers to help.
Someone sanity-check me on this, but there was a lot of enthusiasm for a charter bus to Denver with wifi. At what price does this become silly? Has anyone ever taken a charter bus this distance?
Any feedback you have that can help us make better decisions is appreciated.
Comments
Sent an inquiry to coach
Sent an inquiry to coach america about pricing -- just to help get the conversation started. Not taking on any actual responsibility as I will be out of the country for 3 weeks, but hoping this can be the start. Will update as i hear back from them.
It's possible. I went on a
It's possible. I went on a high school band trip that traversed into Vancouver BC via charter bus back in 2002.
Quick Estimate
So the quick estimate is that it will be around 10,000. Not including a second driver and hotel rooms for both drivers while in Denver. Without the second driver we would have to stop for the night halfway there. Bus holds 50 passengers, brings the cost to around 200 per person.
I't probably worth checking
It's probably worth checking into Green Tortoise as well: http://www.greentortoise.com/charter-quote-request.php I'll fill out the form during user group if no one gets to it first.
I sent i a request for an
I sent i a request for an estimate from Green Tortoise. I am curious about whether people are really contemplating a 20+ hour trip without an overnight.
A 20 hour trip is pretty
A 20 hour trip is pretty brutal. Let's see what kind of enthusiasm we can drum up at user group on Wednesday. 50 people is quite a few people :(
Green Tortoise info
Here's the initial response from Green Tortoise. I'm not making any recommendation here ... just trying to add choices.
Prices are not per person, but rather based on the number of miles and how many drivers your itinerary will require. The basic prices are from $1,600-$1,800 per day (for the bus, 1 or 2 drivers and fuel), but a lot of it depends on the details of your itinerary; the higher mileage trips with fewer days usually need two drivers. Meals, camping/park entrance fees and driver tips are in addition to the basic price (with meals usually being $5 per person per meal and driver tip being about $40 per driver per day). When you have a more specific idea of what you would like your trip to include and your dates--this is important because we need to check availability since we would need to make it fit with our regularly scheduled adventure trip schedule--you should fill out an online charter request with your details at: http://www.greentortoise.com/bus.charters.html, if you haven't done so already.
Generally, we are pretty busy with charter work in the spring (May and June) and to reserve a bus you would need to put down a non-refundable deposit. Also at this time, we usually have a 7 day minimum, but that should not discourage you from checking in with us because you never know how the schedule might work out. We may have a bus in your area just when you want it!
For your information, buses hold up to 34 people and all of our coaches are classic, custom designed Green Tortoise sleeper coaches without seats. (This video shows the bus interior: http://www.greentortoise.com/about-tour-video.html)
Hope this helps get your started. Please let us know if you need more information or would like to receive a quote for your custom adventure.
Drupalconvoy
what about renting 10 minivans instead?