Should You Get a Private Transfer?
Should You Get a Private Transfer?
Avoid the Coach Chaos and Arrive Like a Legend.
You’ve landed. You’ve survived the flight. You’re dreaming of the hotel pool, that first icy cocktail, maybe even a cheeky nap.
But then you remember: the coach transfer.
The Coach Transfer: A Slow-Motion Nightmare
You pile onto a coach with 120 strangers. It's 34°C. Someone’s already cracked open a sweaty tuna sandwich. The driver’s got a list longer than your arm and plans to stop at every single hotel in the entire country, including the one you’re not staying at.
It’s like playing airport bingo: "Next stop, Hotel Nobody Booked!"
You arrived in your country of choice but now you’re now touring it… one hotel lobby at a time.
Enter: The Private Transfer
Private transfers are the unsung heroes of the holiday game. If you can afford it, and trust me, they don’t cost as much as you’d think and they’re worth their weight in airport hash browns.
Straight out the terminal, no faff, no queues.
No stopping at hotels you can’t pronounce.
No strangers asking where you're from before you’ve even blinked.
You get to your resort like a boss, not like a broken shell of a human who’s just spent two hours trapped in a moving oven.
And lets not mention how important you feel seeing your name on the board that your driver is holding. Nothing in life will make you feel more famous than that. Trust me.
A Note on the Driving Experience...
Now. A little heads up.
The roads? Wild. The drivers? Wilder.
Every five minutes, your private transfer will get aggressively cut off by a 45-year-old man on a 1972 motorbike wearing flip-flops and no helmet, balancing a crate of chickens and texting at the same time.
Your driver will slam the horn, mutter something, and shrug like this is just a regular Tuesday.
Be prepared to clench a little. You’re not in danger, you’re just in a real-life episode of Fast & Furious: Holiday Edition.
Just smile, pretend you’re on a rollercoaster, and try not to scream “THEY DRIVE LIKE ABSOLUTE MANIACS OVER HERE!” every time it happens (although you’ll want to).
When to Go Private
If your coach transfer is listed as 90 minutes or more, book the private. Seriously. Even if it’s your first time abroad, don’t waste two hours sweating in silence behind someone called Barry from Wigan who insists that Shirley from “The Red Lion” on the main street makes the world’s best Paella.
Don’t Forget to Tell Your Operator!
Here’s where I messed up:
In Jamaica, we booked a private transfer… but forgot to tell the travel company.
At the hotel, chatting to a lovely couple who mentioned that their coach was delayed for over an hour because of “some couple who just vanished.”
We agreed “what a pair of selfish bastards they were and how we would never do such a thing” That couple was us. Whoops.
So, be a legend and make sure to let your travel operator know if you’ve gone private. Don’t keep a coach full of holiday-hungry tourists roasting in a car park wondering where you are.
The Final Word
Private transfers = smooth, easy, and surprisingly affordable.
Coach transfers = time-consuming, sweaty, and full of regret.
If you’ve got the budget, go private.
If not, no shame — just pack snacks, deep breaths, and a decent playlist.