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Restrictions are starting to ease across Australia and people are being encouraged to travel again. We are especially encouraged to go outback and support struggling tourist operators and attractions. Articles about great places to do self-drive road trips are appearing in the travel liftouts and on TV travel shows.

But what if you don’t have access to a car or don’t want to head off on a long road trip by yourself?

Group coach tours are still the safest and best way to do long distance travel, but may look different to previous years.

What can you expect on a coach tour in the Covid era?

Contact Tracing

You will be required to provide your name and contact details to a passenger manifest that will be kept for contract tracing by the state health authorities if necessary. It won’t be used for any other purpose.

You may also be required to check in to each attraction and restaurant by electronic means. If you don’t have a mobile phone, we can help check you in.

Cleaner Coaches

Whilst coach cleaning has always been done prior to and during a tour, the cleaning regime will be stepped up. Disinfectant will be used more frequently on high contact areas like grabrails, seat headrests, seatbelts, overhead storage areas, air vents and toilets. The floor will be mopped more often with disinfectant.

The coach will have been fogged using a disinfectant fogging machine before your tour. It is fogged again between groups. This disinfects all soft surfaces like cloth upholstered seats and curtains as well as the hard surfaces.

Orderly Boarding

You may be asked to board and disembark the coach in a sequence so that crowding in the aisles is minimised. You will be asked to use hand sanitiser as you enter the coach. You may be handed a wipe to wipe down your seatbelt and armrests before you leave. You will be asked to minimise any movement on the coach, once seated and not to switch seats during the journey.

Vehicle Design

The coach itself is a low risk environment. Passengers don’t sit face-to-face and the high-backed seats act as a barrier. In addition, the air conditioning is constantly filtering the air.

Coach seats on Blue Bus Tours are also far more spacious than most car seats or airline seats so you are not likely to be jammed up against the person beside you. If you prefer your personal space, we have single seats available as well.

Cancellations Due to Covid Restrictions

What happens if a Covid lockdown or border closure stops the tour from going ahead as planned? If we are unable to proceed due to government restrictions on travel, we will try to postpone the tour to another date. If the alternate date is not suitable for you, we will offer tour credit for tour pre-payments made to be used on any other available Blue Bus Tour. Alternatively, we will refund your tour payments less reasonable administrative expenses incurred. Repayments are also contingent on our ability to recover funds paid to third party suppliers. 

We recommend comprehensive Travel Insurance is taken out upon booking.

We are Good To Go!

We want to assure you that we are committed to looking after you when you travel. We are excited about getting back into travelling and escaping the city for the wide open spaces of the Australian Outback.

We look forward to welcoming you on a Blue Bus Tour!