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Original poster

Experience of greyhound buses in USA

55 replies

sillyshirts · 15/03/2023 19:31

We're planning a USA trip and would like to get greyhound buses between major cities, but I'm a bit alarmed by the horrific trip advisor reviews! Anyone used them and what was your experience?

OP posts:
Sandra1984 · 15/03/2023 19:38

I travelled from New York to Washington last July and the bus broke down half way through the trip, we were stranded for 3 hours with no AC in the middle of nowhere (wheat fields), after that a new bus arrived and the rest of the journey was spent sitting next to a very obese woman reading the bible and eating French fries with ketchup. Not a fun experience. Plane tickets are very cheap so I would recommend flying or taking a train (the trains haven’t changed since the days of the far west so that was another quite interesting experience that I will not repeat). Buy a plane ticket.

Pinotpleasure · 15/03/2023 19:56

@sillyshirts -

Absolutely avoid Greyhound buses! They are used by the very poorest of people and you may have to endure hours of being seated near (possibly smelly) passengers high on drugs (especially opioids), drunk, have mental disorders or hustlers harassing you for money. You would need to keep a keen eye on your purse/wallet and luggage.

OTOH you could do one of the many scenic rail trips on Amtrak and there are even sleeper cars. You can travel coast to coast or take the ‘California Zephyr’ route which is supposedly one of the world’s greatest train journeys. Check out the route map and detailed information on

www.seat61.com

Also see: www.Amtrak.com

There are a few budget airlines too such as Southwest Airlines, Spirit and I think the nicest one is JetBlue.

Enjoy your trip!

dietcokelime · 15/03/2023 20:00

Pinotpleasure · 15/03/2023 19:56

@sillyshirts -

Absolutely avoid Greyhound buses! They are used by the very poorest of people and you may have to endure hours of being seated near (possibly smelly) passengers high on drugs (especially opioids), drunk, have mental disorders or hustlers harassing you for money. You would need to keep a keen eye on your purse/wallet and luggage.

OTOH you could do one of the many scenic rail trips on Amtrak and there are even sleeper cars. You can travel coast to coast or take the ‘California Zephyr’ route which is supposedly one of the world’s greatest train journeys. Check out the route map and detailed information on

www.seat61.com

Also see: www.Amtrak.com

There are a few budget airlines too such as Southwest Airlines, Spirit and I think the nicest one is JetBlue.

Enjoy your trip!

clutches pearls

Oh my god not poor people!!

Flying is much easier OP, better facilities and less disruption 😊

Barleysugar86 · 15/03/2023 20:05

If you drive I think making a road trip out of it might be more pleasant (and gives you a great chance to explore things along the way).

Flying can be difficult as I found the weight allowance for the main flights was a lot more than the domestic ones, so I was constantly paying for excess luggage.

I've used other coaches - Greyhound aren't the only operators- and they were fine. We did New York to Washington, it was pretty comfortable, no unruly passengers. Think the company was Tiger coaches or similar, it left from Chinatown in New York.

NooNakedJacuzziness · 15/03/2023 20:17

Read The Great American Bus Ride by Irma Kurtz - she goes across America only using Greyhound buses, it's a great read. You might pick up some tips OP!

ShirleyPhallus · 15/03/2023 20:19

A man got beheaded on one once. So that’s nice.

They’re ok but if you could drive yourself and make a road trip of it that’s likely to be more fun.

Original poster
sillyshirts · 15/03/2023 20:22

Thanks all, looking at Amtrak now. Driving not possible unfortunately!

OP posts:
ZebraKid71 · 15/03/2023 20:23

I grew up in the states and there is a huge stigma attached to them. Whilst i was at uni I did a 2 month road trip through 30 states using greyhound buses and had the best time - it was due to my student life and finances we chose greyhound though, as an adult i would definitely hire a car instead. I wouldnt do it alone but with someone else it can be a lot of fun - you meet some very interesting people. Not dissimilar to national express coaches, only thing I'd be wary of is some of the stations are in quite dodgy areas so be careful about what time you are booking - i got a 1am bus from a very questionable town in South Carolina and it was quite scary.

Original poster
sillyshirts · 15/03/2023 20:23

Have looked at flights but really fancy doing it by land.

OP posts:
ZebraKid71 · 15/03/2023 20:24

Also worth adding, public transport in a lot of American cities is pretty terrible - as a generalisation, the states isn't an ideal place to be without a car.

Bobbybobbins · 15/03/2023 20:26

We did a four week tour on greyhound buses as students (over 20 years ago now though!) and loved it. Met some interesting people including Amish, a guy who claimed he was a set designer for Jurassic park (!), some Native American people.

Longest trip we did was 3 days and nights straight through from New York to Las Vegas. My ankles were swollen after that!!!

LividNC · 15/03/2023 20:26

I did Amtrak and planes. California Zephyr was AMAZING experience. Do it.

side note: I had a greyhound ticket from LA to Vegas. Heard such bad stories that I bought a plane ticket and got there guaranteed in like an hour. Bit sad I never tried it but the idea of breaking down in the desert was too much.

Dotcheck · 15/03/2023 20:30

Pinotpleasure · 15/03/2023 19:56

@sillyshirts -

Absolutely avoid Greyhound buses! They are used by the very poorest of people and you may have to endure hours of being seated near (possibly smelly) passengers high on drugs (especially opioids), drunk, have mental disorders or hustlers harassing you for money. You would need to keep a keen eye on your purse/wallet and luggage.

OTOH you could do one of the many scenic rail trips on Amtrak and there are even sleeper cars. You can travel coast to coast or take the ‘California Zephyr’ route which is supposedly one of the world’s greatest train journeys. Check out the route map and detailed information on

www.seat61.com

Also see: www.Amtrak.com

There are a few budget airlines too such as Southwest Airlines, Spirit and I think the nicest one is JetBlue.

Enjoy your trip!

Poor people!?!!
<<<<shudder>>>>

Pip1402 · 15/03/2023 20:33

I've been on a couple of megabuses in Texas and they were fine.

user1494050295 · 15/03/2023 20:33

I did mega bus nyc to Philly and then dc. That was fine going there. V cheap and really nice passengers. A great journey. Coming back this really fat guy sat next to me as his stomachs spilled over the arm rest on to my part of the seat. Grim. Would still use mega bus.

hopeishere · 15/03/2023 20:34

I did Amtrak - Chicago to Seattle and then LA to Boston. Amazing. I only had a set but you can get sleeper carriages and there is a sit down restaurant and a sort of buffet car for grilled cheese and fries and stuff. Highly recommend.

Xrays · 15/03/2023 20:36

I’ve done a Greyhound bus to Atlanta and it was fine. No more rough than a double decked bus in south london. But then that’s pretty rough I guess 🤷‍♀️😆

FettleOfKish · 15/03/2023 20:41

Years and YEARS ago but did San Francisco to LA, totally fine, comfortable, cheap, did the job.

Did LA to Vegas a few days later. Totally different ball game (although we felt safe always as female travellers). Coach full of 'characters' and oddballs heading for the bright lights of Vegas. The guy behind us in a full 3 piece suit and sliders with minging dirty feet. Kept answering the phone and having conversations but he didn't have a phone, he just chatted into his hand, held like you'd mime a phone.

We broke down too, middle of the desert. 3 or 4 hours waiting for another coach to arrive to carry on. Couldn't see anything but desert for miles around, but suit & sliders man wandered off and came back 10 minutes later with a Maccy Ds.

On the upside, arriving into Vegas by road unexpectedly after dark was a great experience to see the horizon start to light up ahead of us and get brighter and brighter until we hit the strip. Great Times.

In retrospect I'd say some routes are better than others, and maybe we could have guessed that in advance Grin

Sarahcoggles · 15/03/2023 20:45

Watch trek trendy the YouTube channel, he does some great train reviews!

FettleOfKish · 15/03/2023 20:45

Ha @LividNC I read your post after I'd written mine Grin

I lived your nightmare for you GrinGrin

Teacoaster · 15/03/2023 20:47

I've travelled a lot by myself around the world. I spent some hours on a Greyhound bus, Montreal to New York. Was fine. Stopped at border control for a bit. Free WiFi on the bus. My seat next to me was empty but I don't remember feeling worried or anxious. This was back in 2011 and I was but a young girl of 24... But I'd use it again.

Using the Metro in LA on the other hand... Our carriage ended up a bloody mess after two guys had a fight. Luck of the draw.

Westfacing · 15/03/2023 20:49

I've done LA to San Diego return, a relatively short trip and scenic so not bad, but wouldn't do any longer. Amtrak much better for longer distances.

purplecorkheart · 15/03/2023 20:52

Take a look on youtube. There are some good accounts of the pros and cons of both greyhound and Amtrak. Also they give handy tips.

Breezycheesetrees · 15/03/2023 20:54

Haven't been to the US recently, but about 12 years ago I travelled between NYC/Pittsburg/DC on Megabus and that was fab.

LollipopViolet · 15/03/2023 20:55

I did Boston to NYC on the Bolt bus in 2015 - Greyhound was cheaper but my US friends (I worked at a summer camp) advised that Greyhound stops were usually in slightly iffy neighborhoods so not the best for me as a woman travelling alone.

It was cool to take the bus though, we had a real mix of people on board.