First Bus vs Away Resorts
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
First Bus
Plan your bus journeys, track buses in real-time, and purchase digital tickets. Save favorite routes and stops for quick access. Manage your account and payments securely for a convenient travel experience.
- Journey planning
- Live bus tracking
- Digital ticket purchasing
- Save favorite stops
- Departure board
- Gifting tickets
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Plan your journey, track your bus, and travel with confidence using the First Bus app. With real-time updates, mobile tickets, and personalised tools, getting around by bus has never been easier. Bus travellers can buy, gift, and activate digital bus tickets, manage secure payments, and save favourite locations, stops, and services for quicker access. The app also supports account management, consent management, while providing access to help and support features. Whether you’re commuting, exploring, or travelling occasionally, the app helps you stay in control from door to door. Planning your journey Find the best routes using locations, stops, or service numbers. View routes, timings, and stop information to plan trips that suit you. Live Bus tracking See your bus in real time on an interactive map and get more accurate arrival estimates. This feature helps reduce waiting uncertainty, improves journey planning, and enables users to make informed travel decisions by knowing exactly where their bus is at any moment. Departure Board Check upcoming services for either your stop or route, with clear timings and filtering (such as First Bus only) options. The time and dates can also be easily adjusted for future travel plans. Favourites Save your most-used stops, locations, and bus services for quick access every time you travel. Buying Buy, gift, and activate digital tickets directly in the app with a variety of filters. Secure payments and instant access mean no paper tickets needed. Tickets appear instantly ready to use in your account. Gifting Send tickets to friends or family quickly and easily. During the ticket buying flow, users can choose to gift a ticket instead of using it themselves, enter recipient details, and complete the purchase securely. Activating Tickets Activate your ticket in the First Bus app when you’re ready to travel. Once activated, it clearly shows its status and validity, making it quick and easy to present when boarding the bus. Account and Payments The First Bus app lets users securely manage their account and payment details in one place. Users can sign up, sign in, and reset their password if needed, as well as view and update their personal information and account settings. They can also choose to delete their account if required. Within the app, users can manage saved payment cards, set a default payment method, and remove cards at any time. All payment information is handled securely, helping ensure a smooth, safe, and convenient ticket purchasing experience. Preferences Choose your region, set walking distance preferences, and manage consent and notifications. Help and support Access FAQs , contacts and support resources in our dedicated help centre.
Away Resorts
Enhance your holiday experience with this park companion app. Discover activities, book entertainment, order food, and explore local attractions. Owners can manage their accounts, and all users can easily get in touch for assistance.
- Discover park activities and entertainment
- Book activities and reserve tables
- Order food and drink online
- View park facilities and opening times
- Explore local attractions and services
- Navigate with an interactive park map
- Manage owner accounts and balances
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2026 STANDOUT PLATFORM AT THE UK DIGITAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS The Away Resorts app is the perfect companion for holidaymakers and holiday home owners. Sign-in with your Away Resorts booking or owner reference number to explore and discover your Away Resorts. We have some fantastic activities and entertainment to keep every family member grinning from ear to ear. Think of this app as your ‘park buddy’ helping you make the most of your stay. - New & Improved User experience - A new app, which puts the user first. With a new UI and layout, it will make finding what you are looking for easier than ever. - What's on - Find out whats on during your holiday or stay on park, including activities you can book on the app, guest acts and entertainment. - Food & Drink - View food menus, order food and drink online and reserve a table online* - Park Facilities - Browse and view what facilities are available for you during your stay and when they are open. - Explore the area - View local attractions for days out and visits, or find local services such as shops, taxis and more. - Park Map with GPS - Find your way around the park, with a park map. Highlighting your accommodation and facilities around the park. - Owners Account - Owners can view/pay their balance, purchase services and see important documents - Get In Touch - Problems with your accommodation? Get in touch easily to let us know so we can fix it as soon as we can. *Selected parks only
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Away Resorts at none against First Bus's shown. Away Resorts also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and review sentiment (35% vs 23%). First Bus's advantage is ratings volume (2.2K vs 3) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, rating, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for First Bus against 4.7 for Away Resorts. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: First Bus has 2.2K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 23% of First Bus's written reviews are positive against 35% of Away Resorts's.
First Bus ships an update every 9 days, Away Resorts every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | First Bus | Away Resorts |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2.2K ratings) — better | 4.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 22.5% of reviews | 35.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.2K — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 149 MB | 144 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | FirstGroup Plc | Away Resorts |
Customer experience
First Bus
Away Resorts
User reviews
First Bus
From 2.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful for planning journeys
- 🚀 Accurate live bus tracking
- 💡 Ability to save favorite stops
- 👍 Convenient ticket purchasing
Room to improve
- 🐛 Unreliable bus arrival times
- 🐛 Buses disappearing from the app
- 🐛 Technical issues and app crashes
- 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive interface
- 🤔 Lack of service updates and notifications
Away Resorts
From 3 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful for navigation within the park
- 👍 Staff are friendly and helpful
- 👍 Caravans are clean and comfortable
- 👍 Good entertainment options
- 👍 Nice environment and community
Room to improve
- 🐛 App frequently crashes
- 🐛 Cannot book anything on the app
- 🐛 App is slow and not user-friendly
- 🐛 Login issues and errors
- 🐛 Poor Wi-Fi connectivity
Bugs and requests
First Bus
Reported bugs
3 issues- App pausing music playback
- Inconsistent bus tracking and location data
- Inability to purchase certain ticket types
Requested features
4 requests- Offline ticket access
- Improved journey planning with timetables
- Service change notifications
- Simpler and more user-friendly interface
Away Resorts
Reported bugs
13 issues- App keeps crashing
- Cannot book anything
- Login issues
- App is slow and clunky
- App redirects to web page for booking
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Bookings not showing under 'my bookings'
- Cannot access server when paying for activities
- App crashes when trying to book an activity
- App crashes when clicking on 'Details & booking'
- Ordering through the app is not working
- Recurring error message when trying to pay for activity bookings
- None of the activities loaded on the app
- App keeps asking for reviews
Requested features
7 requests- Add St Helen's to the app
- Add menus for Aubrey's restaurant
- Improve owners' side of the app with live lodge diary
- Make more activities and restaurants bookable through the app
- Ensure all menus are updated
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Improve Wi-Fi coverage
- Provide clearer information about activity locations and facilities
In-app purchases
First Bus
No in-app purchases
Away Resorts
No in-app purchases









