West Country coach tour operator Bakers Dolphin has invested £1 million in two new luxury gold coaches, enabling them to offer hundreds of extra holidays in 2026.

It means the company now has seven state-of-the-art luxury Irizar coaches taking people from the South West on tours of Europe and the UK.

The new coaches will be piloting a new on-board entertainment system featuring Bakers Dolphin personalised content, including films, TV shows, music, live radio and more.

Travellers can bring their own tablet device or be supplied with one on board with 48 films and 48 TV episodes available as well as WIFI access. The system will be used on some Christmas tours this year and then rolled out on to other Gold Coaches for next summer.

Amanda Harrington, Sales and Marketing Director, said: “We first launched the Gold Coach Service in 2008, taking less passengers in greater comfort and with more legroom than in a traditional coach.

“Although the Gold Coach tours were slightly more expensive they have proved hugely popular as people love the comfort; the fact they have a little on-board bistro where people can have a coffee or tea and a host serving them.

“The new coaches are even more luxurious with improved coffee machines and wi-fi, even more comfortable seats and charging ports for mobiles and tablets. We will be upgrading the other Gold Coaches for the summer.”

Bakers Dolphin, based in Weston-super-Mare, has been in business since 1889, starting with horses and carriages and progressing through motorised charabancs, always introducing the latest in comfortable travel.

The business has a fleet of 75 coaches, with those in its familiar blue and yellow livery used for day tours and shorter distance UK holidays and the Gold Coaches for longer-distance travel, European tours and luxury short journeys.

The new coaches were introduced to loyal Bakers Dolphin customers at its 31st annual customer reunion weekend when 120 people spent the weekend in Stratford-upon-Avon with entertainment and a trip on the Pullman Shakespeare Express.

Customer feedback at the event is being used by the business for perfecting holidays for next year with the new coaches being used for the first time for pre-Christmas tours.

For more information visit Bakers Dolphin - Experts in coach travel since 1889