This summer I found the train system in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia was rather limiting. So I got the train when I could and buses for the rest of time. I was traveling with my toddler son. We left Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, and got the overnight bus to Tallinn, capital of Estonia. I saved a night's accommodation and we got seats right at the front of the double decker coach. Do you travel by bus sometimes?
Have you traveled on any long bus journeys?
If so what were they like? Enjoyable? Boring?
where have you traveled by bus?
[question posted by maximax8]
responses and comments:
No i don't travel on long distance though bus .The longest journey i did was of two hour that too because of some problem in bus .I don't like long distance journeys.To be truthful for i feel insecure to go out to far places alone so i always go with my family.I have love going out with my family or friends but never alone and also never live in a single hotel room alone [akangirl]
I can see that you like the feeling of security traveling with your family. I am happy to travel on my own and stay in accommodation alone. I began with short journeys by bus of one to two hours then as I got traveling experience I went on some long bus trips. I took the overnight bus from Trieste to Dubrovnik and it was tiring and uncomfortable however I saved on the plane fare. happy [maximax8]
The longest bus trip I've been on was an 11-hours journey from my city (in the highlands of northern Philippines) to a lowland province in the Philippines. The region was controlled by the New People's Army (the communist rebels in the Philippines) and the bus driver rarely stopped for bathroom breaks especially in isolated areas well-known as "ambush sites". At around 2am in a deserted highway with no houses in sight, we were finally stopped by a blockade of heavily armed men - communist rebels. They "asked" (as if we had a choice) all the passengers for "donations" - food, bottled water, money - before they let the bus go on its way. [spoiledbrat802]
Oh, my goodness it was a good idea that you and your fellow passengers gave donations to the communist rebels. Of course you had no choice considering they had guns. The bus driver must have felt nervous traveling through known ambush sites. In a situation like that I feel that day time travel by bus would be best. I went to Guatemala and hit my money in five different places in case I got mugged. I heard in Tikal National Park that you bus had been stopped and the passengers were robbed at gun point. I have so far been lucky with my safety traveling by bus. Thanks for your fantastically exciting bu scary response. happy [maximax8]
the longest journey by bus i have undertaken was of 17 hours from Shimla to Jaipur alongwith my wife.It was pretty enjoyable and with good road throughtout the way not at all tiring.There was sufficient space as we had got the front seat.I have taken 14 hours journey also on some occasions but that 17 hour journey was a memorable one. [aakay4u]
The front seat is the best one in my opinion. Often there is extra space and a great view out of the front window. The scenery from Shimla to Jaipur most have been really scenic. Seventeen hours was a long trip and so I am pleased that it was enjoyable. happy [maximax8]
The only long bus trip i ever made was from Las Vegas Nevada to Ventura California. That took about 8 hours which was long enough for me. Other than that I take the bus to work every day. [missybear]
It's not to bad at 5.30am and it only takes about 40 minutes. [missybear]
I am not very fond of long busrides. I have been on quite a few that lasted for a few hours. Only one really long one that was over night. I went from Norway to Rimini in Italy. And back. I thought it was very boring. I did not think it was very comfortable either. My feet were like logs for days after. [teison2]
I agree with you on the train system in Estonia. When I was there I only travelled by train once, the rest of the time I travelled by bus. I don't know Latvia and Lithuania yet, but I plan on visiting those countries, too. Is the train situation similar to the one in Estonia? I have traveled on long bus journeys a couple of time. I have travelled from Denmark to Italy, from Denmark to Prague, from Denmark to Paris and from Denmark to Poland. I don't mind travelling by bus, I have done it alone and I have done it with some friends. I always bring a lot of books to read and lots of notebooks to write in so that I can wrtie about my experiences. [Porcospino]
not yet only one hour and half and if you count that a long bus travel thats what i had experiencehappy. [bombshell]
I tarvelled from Bangkok to Laos on a very difficult bus trip. After many hours, a few sleeping, I arrived at my destination to find my wallet had been stolen. A terrible experience. [mipen2006]
I used to enjoy long distance bus travel. Once, I travelled by bus from Adelaide to Darwin, up through the centre of Australa. From memory, the trip took about two full days and nights. The bus made regular meal stops and drove through the night by swapping drivers at a couple of places. In those days, you could smoke on buses so, I was generally one of the few people sitting down the back in the smoking section. I found it an enjoyable way to travel and had some long conversations with interesting people. [Piscesmoon]
the only time i travel on the bus is when we have a school outing..the longest i think was 6hours by bus..that doesnt include the other travelling ive done before i got on the bus.. its rather uncomfortable coz it was a bumpy ride but it was never boring, imagine yourself with a bunch of rowdy collee kids sooo... my friend takes 4 hrs to get to school from where she lives and when she goes home, it takes her the same time or more.. [areej05]
I used to travel to my uncle home which is far away at a distance of 400 kms by bus and iused to enjoy . frankly telling i used to travel in my college bus for 2 hour to reach my college every day . happy mylotting [prasanna1990]
the longest bus ride was to new your and new jersery it took 1500 miles from where i live.the tour of new yotk was wonderful.i went through manhattan got to visit several stores i like shopping in new your city. [annjilena]
hi maximax...yep i had traveled so many times.but the most tiring and boring one happened on the 80's when i went to my father's hometown its my first time it was so far that i thought we were not be able to reach our destination plus the 90 degress cliffs we had passed ..i mean the terrain...and o promised to myself i will never go back to that place by bus again!! [vanities]
I am from Guangzhou. When I have a travel to Yangshuo, then usually I will go there by coach. It will spend a night and I will arrive there next morning. So it's OK. I love China [youless]
Hey Youless,now it's very easy to book the bargain air to Guilin even it's a hot travel place in China.For me,I like Guilin,especially Yangshuo a lot~If have time,I will drive there~`lol~` [tonytt2009]
Hello maximax. Before train became popular and available in my hometown in the middle nineties, I had to travel by bus or by plane. But ever since the availability of the train, I usually travel on a train for a long journey. But in the small town where I work, I usually travel to Hangzhou by bus, which is one-hour trip between. It is a bus that we call Express, meaning non-stop on the way, but all the way from the departure to the destination. Good day to you, friend. Happy traveling. [williamjisir]
Hey~Hangzhou?I think it's the city-express now available between Shanghai and Hangzhou,which is a express train.I'll be having a biz trip to Hangzhou next month`~lol`~rasprasp [tonytt2009]
Hi maximax,to be frankly,I prefer travel by self-drive/train/air than bus as I will feel a little bit boring during my time in the bus,narrow seat,limit fresh air and the tired legs after long journeys especially.Anyway,I did try last year when I was travelling in Australia.I booked the one way ticket from Port Macquarie to Gold Coast by the Greyhound bus,which spent us more that 8 hours.It's too tire I think! If have chance,I like to rent a car`~wow~ [tonytt2009]
Hi maximax8! The longest travel time I had on a bus was for 4-5 hours when we went to Baguio City here in the Philippines which is by the way the summer capital of our country. It is a city in the mountain where we would enjoy a cool climate; however, I really don't like long bus journeys because I tend to get bored and most of the time my butt ache from sitting so long. haha.. Happy New Year! Take care always..God Bless! lovelots..faith210 [faith210]
Hi maximax8! Yes, I have tried traveling on hours end in a bus. It was an eight-hour travel. It can actually be less than that. Probably, around 5 hours based on experience. I do not know but for some reasons the driver took different roads that caused us to travel for eight hours from one place to another which usually takes me a maximum of 5 hours to travel. I hated it! When some of the other passengers asked the driver why he was taking the longer routes, he just smiled but can't give them any answer. Urgh! [dolce_vita78]
I've taken a few really long bus trips in the U.S., and try to avoid them whenever possible. Being a tall person, buses are too cramped for me, and to spend half a day or so on one is physically uncomfortable, and the boredom is mind-numbing. I'd love to go to the Baltic countries some time, and a double decker bus sounds fun. I'm still not sure an overnight bus would be something I'd enjoy, though! [Idlewild]
The longest bus journey i took was like 8 years ago... when my maternal grandmother died... i accompanied my mother to her home province... and it took a 24 hour bus ride just to get there... the view was great but there was a time when the road was very bumpy... so i had a terrible back ache... but everything was worth it... [aseretdd]
600 miles in greyhound. not more than that. greyhound sucks! [bitzur83]
I agree. greyhound is not for human, its really for dogs but they are using for human. i don't know why? [iliconum]
Hi There! Yup, the means of travel here in the Philippines mostly are buses and planes. When I was in college, we went to "Baguio". Getting there was like 10 hours since we did a lot of stopovers or so... First we went to Subic then stayed for few hours, we had our lunch there then we went to buy some chocolates... then at dinner time, we have to stay in some beach... for few hours again, then off to "Baguio". I was so tired but then happy for the trip though I wish I don't have to travel through bus for long hours... sometimes, it makes me uncomfty... lolz. but overall, it was FUN! So, to answer your question" Do you travel by bus sometimes? Yes I do travel through bus everyday since I can only get to my work by hopping into the bus... it will only take 45 minutes to an hour to get there... Have you traveled on any long bus journeys? Yep, many times already especially when we have to go to our province. Thanks for the discussion!Happy mylotting and happy holidays! Cheers! [jesbellaine]
when i was doing my college,i was 12 hours travel away from my parents.so every weekend i used to get a bus from my college in the night and reach my place in the early morning.but in the bus they put movies.i watch movies while i have a long journey to avoid boring.it would not be boring for me.because i used to travel with my friends.we used to travel as a gang especially long trip.so i enjoyed travelling all the time. i used to get down in all stoppings ,had fresh air for few minutes,had hot coffee in the cafeteria located nearby the roadside.that was really fun and good. [socialworker]
A travel by bus from Manila to Baguio (5 hours I think). Then Baguio to Sagada (7 hours). The bus traveled through narrow curving roads on the side of mountains. At the other edge of a road there is a couple of hundred feet drop. With some landslides to go through along the way. But you are rewarded with a beautiful scenery that you won't see anywhere else. [temujin143]
Here in the usa I have traveled many times on the bus as we lived in Louisiana and my family was in Ohio. That is a difference of just short of a 1000 miles. Bus riding here is not very enjoyable as it is crowded and long. The seats are uncomfortable, some times some will get off and you can have both seats to your self and lay down and sleep some. It is a 34 hour trip back home. There are so many riding the bus anymore because of the cost of flying is just to expensive. [bdugas]
I for one always enjoyed travelling- bus ,train or air. my longest bus journey so far has been 36hrs. Something I honestly enjoyed a lot. and my longest journey by train so far has been a 5days/4nights journey from the East India to the Southern tip of India... [threeontwelve]
yes,i have travel on long distance by bus,the largest travel by bus for me spend one whole day.it is difficult for me to say the feeling,enjoyable?boring?because that is my job,at that time,in country small town,no other better choice,only take bus for moving,i feel so tired................... [machel2008]
I've not traveled on long bus journeys on my own. When I go on holidays, I usually either hire a car and drive, or follow a conducted tour. I have taken trains on quite a number of occasions, but they are not really long journeys. If you count sitting on an overland tour coach as traveling by bus, then yes, twice I have taken long trips when on holiday, once in Europe (overland across many countries in central Europe) and once in US from Los Angeles to San Francisco, stopping at places like San Diego, Las Vegas, Fresno, Yosemite, etc. Long journeys can be quite boring sometimes, especially if the scenery does not change much and the weather is hot. [lexus54]
Yes,I traveled on long bus journey three years ago.I was traveling with my girlfriend who had become my wife.we left ShenZhen,a big city of China,and spent eighteen hours arrived in KaiFeng,an ancient city of HeNan province.The boring travel bacome exalting because my girlfriend. [Fanqi00005]
i like to travel by super luxury buses ;not by ordinary buses. [chvenki]
yes, last time i travelled through bus on a long journey was to agra! it was quite long back. At that time, there was no train available for going to agra.. the journey was a nice experience, the bus used to stop at dhabas in the way, we had fun.. the only problem was the uncomfortable seats!! it was a night journey, and we all were uncomfortable n dint sleep properly.. [jakes9]
WOW you travel so much, i wish i could travel so many places somedaylol anyways back to the discussion i travelled twice for more than 600km to meet my sister in bus as there were no train tickets available.. i was bored to death, i couldn't move freely around like in train and also i couldn't enjoy scenary outside coz i was travelling at night.. [hitejam89]
yes i have travelled a lot long journey by bus. the last time that i travelled was 600 km journey by bus,from bhubaneswar to sambalpur.thats was a wonderful experience too.journey by bus in winter is something much more special than other days. when it is freezing cold outside and you are cozy around with other people inside. then also the light music in the bus makes your night sleep more relaxing than your bed room cot.i left bbsr at 10 pm at night with bus has few more small stopages in the city as soon as the bus left city it was its wheel on fire.the dreezling air outside can make your bone chill but thank god to the heater inside which kept me warm throughout the night.at around 1 am we stopped at a place fora cup of tea and snaks which is not though a very apprpriate time.then again the bus left and the passengers soon went to sleep. those who didnt sleep either they prefered to stare at the trees and the mountains that came along our path and some put their MP3 players to listen to some good music while in cushioned chair.in the morning around 8 am i reached my destination. and thank god to the bus driver who reached our bus to a very safety place. [sunil_008]
Well i reside in saudi arabia and my city always remain very warm throughout the year. So once i had to go to Dammam city which is in eastern saudi arabia from my city Jeddah which is the western corner of the country to visit my sister. I have opted to go by a bus because it was cheaper. But the journey was too long . It took me 20 hours with a few stops on the way. It was the longest journey i have ever done on a buss and i was alone. There was no one i knew along. The whole time i was listening to music and nothing else. Although it was boring but i enjoyed the weather because it was really cold on the way and my city is always warm. It was a good journey because i have seen alot of things on the way. Like alot of huge mountains and i saw huge deserts with only sand around the road. I mean it was unexplainable. Because till your eyes can experience there was only sand and all desert. It was good to see all that i was bit bored. [rizzu87]
I traveled from Sydney to Cannes by bus. It takes 3 days non stop. I took a backpackers bus that allowed me to get off and on anywhere I wanted. I broke it up into two months. It was wonderful. I got a chance to see the whole east coast of Australia. [TheCatLady]
I would usually travel on bus when I am coming home during school breaks. It takes from 4 to 6 hours sometimes. It much cheaper for me to ride the bus than the train. I get used to it after sometimes but I sleep through move of the trip. I bring music, food and something to read to make the trip enjoyable. [mishastar]
We took a Globus bus tour of several European countries a few years ago. I found that it was a nice trip but would have liked to spend more time in each place. The whole trip was too rushed leaving us only one or two hours to spend in each city along the way. I recommend Helsinki. I took the boat from there across to Tallinn and spend two days in that city. It's really there nice isn't it? From Helsinki we took the train north to Tampere, about a two hour ride in a modern train and quite reasonable in price. Hope to visit Copenhagen for a week next summer. [PlantBuddy]
Hi maximax, I only have traveled a long journey on a bus and it was very long time ago when I got to my aunt house at Brazil and I went with my mother and it was the most bored thing that I ever done! I will never travel again on a bus to that place ever! On a plane maybe but not right now. lol [Anchopy]
The bus trips I've been on have all been tours. [6precious102]
Well, my only bus journeys (other than high school Basketball trips to other towns) were a few 3hr rides to and from Beaverton and Eugene, Oregon. All of which were on Greyhound. These were very inexpensive trips, no more than 20 bucks one way. And let me tell you that's about the only reason why I did them. As a college student, trecking it back and forth from home to school, I needed the most cost efficient way possible. These busses were dirty and cramped. Not the most exciting journeys either. For fun once, when I went back to visit, I flew into Portland and caught the train down. Thinking that was gonna be an experience I shelled out the 80 bucks (round trip) and to my disappointment it wasn't the experience I was hoping for. But in all honesty I'm glad I did it, a little notch on my belt I guess you could say. I met a bunch of people, some I could have done without but it's always exciting to get out of your comfort zone and try new things. I hope to do it again some day but maybe on a train with a bit higher standards and shell out for the good seats. As for your trips, I hope one day I'll get to stamp my passport and experience a few rides myself! Thanx for the discussion [kaui_808]
Last summer I've got to spend my vacation treat with our father from abroad. He came to stay for two weeks and decided to go to our province. We're with my two brothers, as well. The travel took us for 12 hours. Good thing the bus was well ventilated. Well, it was kind of fun, yeah. [johneehs]
Well; the longest I travelled in a bus was for 10 Hours from a place in Hills to New Delhi . [sweety_81]
Many years ago I was stuck on a bus with chickens and other wild animals for 36 hours going from one end of Mexico to another. Horrible bus, no restrooms, burning during the day and freezing at night, one bus driver with a kid next to him to load and unload luggage, so when it was about 3:00 in the morning and I was freezing, so of course I was awake, I thought the bus driver was going to drive off of the mountainous, curvy road because he was in definite need of sleep! At that point I didn't really care if he did or not, at least I knew if he did the hell I was in would be over! So needless to say I will never in my life do that again and NO...it was not a very pleasant experience...not to mention starving to death because the stops were far and few between and generally in the middle of nowhere so there was no food to buy even if you were stopped! Sounds like you had a better experience though...at least I hope you did and of course we both lived to tell about it...barely!! Happy 2009! [sagesunicorn]
I always travel in the bus for long journey. Mostly from Kursk to Moscow. It depends if the bus driver drive it fast or not though. In average it takes 9 to 10 hours to reach the destination. It is most of the time fine if we travel at night we will fall asleep anyway. But it is nice when it is day time too, as we can see the view from the bus, is pretty cool too. Once I travelled from Prague to Germany using bus. I forgot how long though. But I stayed in the bus overnight. That was really cool though, I love the view and landscape when we almost reach Germany. It was totally imspiring and beautiful. [lovesummer]
The longest journey I've travelled on Bus was a dreadful 5 hours journey.... It was the first as well as the LAST TIME on such a journey and such a bus.... The moment I board the bus, I was faced with a messy bus (Messed resulted from passengers who just alighted), they didn't bother to check and clean up the bus! I went to my seat and at the back of the seat infront of mine was some oily left over food in a filthy looking plastic bag and a can of soft drink with spill overs on the sides of the can... I was SO DISTRUBED by what I saw!! Furthermore, the gap in between the seats was narrow and those junks were so close to me! I was furious but I was too tired to argue, I just moved those trash with some tissue paper to the empty seat next to mine. I swore to myself I'll NEVER EVER take a bus from that company anymore... the service is just so horribly BAD! [readminenow]
Well, from the UK down to Spain and and on another occaison, to Italy, south of Rome. Both pretty tedious and tiring. I've also travelled from Ulyanovsk on the Volga to Yoshkar - Ola, which is about 1000 miles further north. I don't actually know what the distance, but it took all day. It was pretty worrying trip as well as I was on my own, and I hardly spoke a word of Russian. I'd been seen on to the bus by some Russian friends, and I was being met at the other end so that was OK. [jwfarrimond]
The only time I have traveled some distance on a bus that was not just within a city was a trip I took years ago to Colorado. It was several hours, and was somewhat boring. I would like to travel across the country in a bus, just for the experience. We travel some, but roadtrip in our vehicle. My spouse has told me about bus encounters in other countries. People tell me that have double decker busses here, though I have never seen them. [UtopianIdealist]
I guess that my longest bus ride was a tie of two trips 1 from upstate ny to boston massachusettes and the other from the same place to new york city. both trips were right around 5 hours each way. [Modestah]
I haven't take long time bus journeys,but tomorow i'll have.Maybe after that i will know how it feel. [sally1025]
I once travelled from Perth, Western Australia to Brisbane, Queensland by bus and the route was via the coastline so it was loooooooong! lol. All in all it was over 100 hours sitting in a coach. There is absolutely no way on earth that I will do that again. Sure the scenery was great and all, but even that started to get a bit monotonous after a while. I would have no issues doing it around Europe or somewhere similar as they are short stints. But very long periods like I did are a nightmare. sad [James72]