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Has anyone here taken long rides on Greyhound?

ieani

ieani

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 3, 2006
827
0
the states for now
I am debating a 15-16 hour bus ride to Atlanta, GA and then another one back again 5 days later. I am going to visit a friend of college. I want to fly but a $166 bus ticket is much more affordable than a $496 plane ticket. I also wanted to drive but I dont think my car could handle the 11 hour drive. Has anyone else taken lengthy rides on greyhound? Are they tolerable or maybe even fun? I am just terribly bored this summer, working a lot and have found myself with 5 days off and nothing to do. I would normally not hesitate on such a trip but I recently spent around $700 on a partly-sponsored service trip to Honduras I am going on in Sept. and am also debating if this is really an expense I cannot live without.
 
I can barely stand 4 hours on a plane. My absolute favorite way of long distance travel is the train. At least you can walk a bit so it's not as confining. Is there an Amtrak you can hop on to? If not, load up your iPod, take lots of reading material, and pray you are sitting next some one interesting, cute, and chatty or dull and quiet.
 
When we came back from Italy US Airways thought New York was sufficiently close enough to Toronto that they had completed their job of getting 12 High School students "safely home". We were thus forced to either buy plane tickets or take the Greyhound. We chose Greyhound. I can't remember but I think it's an 11 hour ride plus the 2 to get from TO to where we actually live. It was neither fun nor exciting but then, we'd already been in the same clothes for some 50 odd hours so YMMV.

One interesting note, the seat-mates in the seat in front of my Aunt (who was one of the chaperones) met on the bus and fellated (is that the right term?) and then got off at different stops...
 
Go Amtrak

Love the Train instead of the Bus. Took a trip NY to CA about 3 days but it was great. People were nice and liked to talk made the trip fun.
 
If you can, I would second Amtrak as a great (but not always cheap or timely) way to travel.

My only trip on greyhound was short (4 hours) and uneventful, you should be able to get thru a 15 hours trip, just keep reminding yourself 'it's the bus'
 
I took Greyhound between New York and Washington, DC countless times. It's cheap, and it's only about 5 hours.

I wouldn't take the bus across the country though. I'd just take a plane (and it's not THAT much more expensive than the bus or the train).
 
balofagus said:
One interesting note, the seat-mates in the seat in front of my Aunt (who was one of the chaperones) met on the bus and fellated (is that the right term?) and then got off at different stops...
Click to expand...

That's nasty.
 
FDX said:
Love the Train instead of the Bus. Took a trip NY to CA about 3 days but it was great. People were nice and liked to talk made the trip fun.
Click to expand...

i took a train ride from anaheim to san diego once. it's about a 90 mile bus ride, and it was hell. go train if you can, but i don't know how much of a savings you can get over a plane ticket. but the train is definitely more comfortable, and you can get up and stretch your legs if you need.
 
I don't mind the bus.

It's great if you're poor and looking to travel.

I've never had problems, and found it to be just like airplanes just a little longer in duration.

Buses also make frequent stops where you'll neeed to transfer just like airports, but it's generally a lot easier since buses are smaller and not as many people use them. You'll probably get 5 or so transfers in a 15 hour ride.

Transfers usually only take 15 minutes, but it's enough time to walk around a bit.

I actually perfer the seating on buses to airplanes. The seats tend to be bigger and allow more room for your knees. Don't forget something to read though. Using lappy is unadvisable, because it'll make you a target of theft.
 
I do 9 hours between Edinburgh and London all the time, it's not so bad, I just overnight it.
 
FDX said:
Love the Train instead of the Bus. Took a trip NY to CA about 3 days but it was great. People were nice and liked to talk made the trip fun.
Click to expand...

I've been from NY to Chicago and Chicago to SF on the train. It was great to start with but after a day or so it got quite boring...:eek:
 
ravenvii said:
I wouldn't take the bus across the country though. I'd just take a plane (and it's not THAT much more expensive than the bus or the train).
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Looking at the prices the OP gave us, it seems to be enough money to make a difference.



If the train is available for a comparable price as the bus, then take the train. If not, then take the bus. Nobody is suggesting that the bus is the optimal way to travel. However, beggars can't be choosers. If you really want to go, then go. Try taking an overnight bus.

I have never taken a Greyhound bus for 16 hours, but I've been on a bus (from another company) for around 16 hours (in Europe), and with the semi-frequent stops, it was tolerable. I have also taken an 11 bus ride from Sydney to Melbourne (only $60 for students!!!), and that was an over-night trip. Buses seem to be more comfortable in Japan, though.

They get more legroom despite being shorter. :eek:
 
I've taken the Greyhound from Los Angeles, CA to El Paso, TX a few times. Hated it every time. It's been a few years but I remember how much I hate the bus. Trip was about 20 hours. You can't put the seat back enough to sleep well. The bus stops a few times so you can eat and stretch. Very boring.
 
greyhound1.jpg


Where do you put your luggage? :confused: :p
 
While not on Greyhound, I have done a long coach trip. UK to Italy.

It's not a good idea for a fully grown adult. We were on the bus for 24 hours (the same time it took us to fly from Uk to Australia) and it's just tooooo much.
 
Ok so looks like the bus ride really isnt worth it. Id be better off saving the money for school and just seeing my friend in two months back at school. I checked Amtrak before amtrak and it was around a $100 more and from what I have read more likely to be very late, which would be bad since I am on a tight schedule for my return trip. And now it is sold out, so looks like the trip will be canceled(not that it was ever set in the first place).
 
ieani said:
and from what I have read more likely to be very late, which would be bad since I am on a tight schedule for my return trip.
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yep, that's the number one problem with Amtrak, you have to plan for delays if you need to be somewhere on time, like a wedding.
 
Back in the days, I did New York > Seattle > Los Angeles > Miami on a Greyhound bus. I think that's about 8000 miles.

At the time it was a lot of fun (if not pretty boring in parts!), and I got to see lots of obscure places in the US that the plane would have missed. If you want to get out and see stuff, it's a great way (and so is the train).
 
I did Atlanta-NYC-Atlanta twice when I was a student on Greyhound and what bothered me the most was the smell in the coach after a few hours ride. When you cram 50 people in such confined space, it gets really stuffy and uncomfortable.

Also, some of the people on the bus and at the bus station (especially in Atlanta) are really scary... :eek:

Otherwise, I found the seats comfortable.
 
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