# good idea? seeing America by greyhound **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929 "2009-02-08T16:25:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/21 "2009-02-09T00:45:00Z")
Drive, and make sure your route includes I-70 between Denver & Grand Junction, CO. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/22 "2009-02-09T01:15:27Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Drive, and make sure your route includes I-70 between Denver & Grand Junction, CO. I just looked at that in Google Earth. They’ve got StreetView the entire way. I want to go on a road trip this summer now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/23 "2009-02-09T01:25:48Z")
> [@What\_the\_deuce](#): > > Wow, not one vote for greyhound. Okay, sounds like driving it is. > > I see that rental cars often come with “unlimited mileage”. Hope they don’t mind a 5000+ mile round-trip. 😃 Or, maybe my parents (who are only a few hundred miles away) won’t mind if I borrow one of their cars for a while. > > Also, would someone be so kind as to point out the “must stop” parts of the country. My guess is this list would include the Grand Canyon, Los Angeles, Denver… If you do rent a car, make sure you know exactly where you can take it. Some won’t allow you to take the car out of state or out of the country unless you make special arrangements. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/24 "2009-02-09T01:28:50Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > They’ve got StreetView the entire way. They do? 🆒 I’ve always wanted to drive that route ever since I first read about its completion in some magazine, Smithsonian I think. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/25 "2009-02-09T01:42:57Z")
Buy a used motorhome, get a bike rack for the back. Low mileage, but gas is cheap now. See what you want at the pace you want. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/26 "2009-02-09T02:09:19Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > If you do rent a car, make sure you know exactly where you can take it. Some won’t allow you to take the car out of state or out of the country unless you make special arrangements. > > Robin I second this. I rented a car in California with ‘unlimited’ mileage. After I got it, I found out that I wasn’t allowed to take it out of state. Well the only reason I got it was to go up to Seattle. Guess who drove up anyway and prayed to god she didn’t get in an accident or get pulled over? :eek: The stress of worrying about that wasn’t worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/27 "2009-02-09T02:14:59Z")
I wonder if ANYONE will come in here and say “Take the bus”. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/28 "2009-02-09T02:45:11Z")
\*…Hmm, I seem to have re-posted instead of doing an edit somehow… ignore this… \* ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/29 "2009-02-09T02:46:13Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I wonder if ANYONE will come in here and say “Take the bus”. I’ll say it, but only in a somewhat more literal sense: if you can get away wth really _taking_ (commandeering) the bus. Like that movie Homer Simpson saw once, “The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down”. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/30 "2009-02-09T02:47:45Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > **Magiver** , if it’s any consolation, you’ve earned Heaven, having already experienced Hell. 😉 OK, that made me laugh out loud. I had a number of interesting adventures on the bus but the best one was in the desert. Our bus was full and the air conditioning wasn’t working so they announced another bus would be along if anyone wanted to get off. Only me, my buddy, and a young couple got off. The next bus that pulled up was EMPTY. The couple brought along a 12 pack and went to the back to party leaving the 2 of us up front (the driver was cool about the beer since there wasn’t anyone to complain). The short story is that I sat in the front seat drinking beer with my feet propped up and my arm out the window while traveling through the desert at night watching a really cool thunderstorm in the distance. Ahhhh good times… good times. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/31 "2009-02-09T03:24:45Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I wonder if ANYONE will come in here and say “Take the bus”. **CalMeacham** did. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/32 "2009-02-09T03:49:12Z")
I’ll be another dissenting opinion here. One memorable summer I took the Greyhound from Vancouver BC to St.John’s Newfoundland (of course there was a ferry in there too). I didn’t do it all at once - I would just buy a ticket to the next interesting sounding place that was east of where I was and then spend a couple days there until I was bored, then go back to the bus terminal and repeat. It was fun. I have ridden a few Greyhounds in the US and they seem very similar. Sure there were a few long sections in the western part of the country that got pretty old, but I liked it overall. You can look at the scenery more than if you are driving, and no worries about rental car agreements/parking/etc, plus it saved me tons of money over driving. It was very freeing to me - I just went wherever I wanted. Admittedly it took me about 6 weeks to get from one side of the country to the other, but I really took my time (yes I was young, unemployed, and without responsibility at the time). There were a few weirdos, but lots of interesting people, and I never ran into anyone I was actively afraid of - I’ve even been through Portage La Prairie on the 'Hound, the famous beheading capitol of Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/33 "2009-02-09T03:54:26Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Drive, and make sure your route includes I-70 between Denver & Grand Junction, CO. And _does not_ include I70 heading east out of Denver, i.e., to and through Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/34 "2009-02-09T04:42:35Z")
I was curious as to whether these passes even still exist so I googled “greyhound 30 day bus pass” and the first hit is this blog, which suggests they do exist. Might make for some interesting reading. > **[Thirty Day Bus Pass](http://thirtydaybuspass.blogspot.com/)** > > Those who cross the sea change the sky not their spirits To **What the deuce?** : If you do undertake a trip by car, is there someone you could have along as a companion? It helps a LOT to have a spare driver, for those days where you just need to put 700 miles behind you by sundown. Plus it’s fun to share the sights. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/35 "2009-02-09T04:58:58Z")
Since everyone else has already explained the ambience, I will note another serious problem with bus travel, (that also affects (most) trains as well as planes): You only get to see a limited amount of one side of the highway. Seat backs tend to be high enough to block much of the view on the other side of the vehicle, (and even being in an aisle seat can restrict your view out your own side). If the bus is empty, you can shuttle back and forth from side to side, however, the busses are frequently nearly full. I will note that I took a few Greyhound rides that were actually quite pleasant–35 years ago. As planes got cheaper, Greyhound lost its “everyman” clientele. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/36 "2009-02-09T05:09:40Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > I’ll be another dissenting opinion here. One memorable summer I took the Greyhound from Vancouver BC to St.John’s Newfoundland (of course there was a ferry in there too). I didn’t do it all at once… And that made all the difference. You stopped, rested, and explored. My friend went straight through. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/37 "2009-02-09T08:04:36Z")
I think it has already been explained why taking a Greyhound cross country in the US is a method of transportation to be used only as a last resort. But not only in the USA. When I was young and stupid, a friend and I took a bus from Athens, Greece to Munich, Germany. I still get a nervous tic in my eye when I think about that trip. Half the bus was British, the other half was Irish, and just us two Americans in the back seats. At one point on the trip, the bus driver actually had to stop the bus to stop a brawl between the Brits and Irish, started when some Irish started singing some song that pissed off the Brits. In addition, the bus driver drove like a madman the entire trip, taking corners with the bus that at times had us all sliding from side to side on the bus. There were only two stops per day, and it that bus stunk like you could not believe. Come to think of it, I cannot recall anyone ever telling me about a good bus ride, other than the infamous “Magic Bus” from Amsterdam back in the old days. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/38 "2009-02-10T00:23:53Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I just looked at that in Google Earth. They’ve got StreetView the entire way. > > I want to go on a road trip this summer now. 🙂 Just wonderful. I can’t get Street View in any German or Dutch city I’m aware of, but I can get 900 miles of wheat, corn, and cows. Seriously though, if you really do want to use some kind of public transportation, at least consider Amtrak. It’s not really that much more expensive than the bus for just a seat, or wasn’t when I last looked. It’s when you book a place in a sleeping car that it becomes astronomically expensive, especially if you are traveling alone, since they only offer doubles and large rooms. San Francisco, of course, is the standout exception among Western cities with regard to public transit; although even there, there are places that you might want to go that are not in the City or along a BART line. Los Angeles does have one subway line and several light rail lines, and they do go to a few interesting places. But they don’t go to the beaches. And of course there are the buses, which are OK for short trips, but really suck hard for accomplishing crosstown journeys. For such a car crazy town there are surprisingly many trains to San Diego and back each day; you could do the San Diego Zoo as a day trip. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/39 "2009-02-10T02:17:01Z")
**An Gadai** wrote: > [@](#): > > CalMeacham did. Thank Og you noticed! Sometimes I think I really _am_ invisible! ---
**Author:** ![What\_the\_deuce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/71e660/32.png) [@What\_the\_deuce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the_deuce)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929/40 "2009-02-10T03:04:46Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **An Gadai** wrote: > > Thank Og you noticed! > > Sometimes I think I really _am_ invisible! Mr. Meacham, I didn’t forget about you. If everybody responded to everybody’s posts there would be a huge explosion of replies in every single thread. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-idea-seeing-america-by-greyhound/484929.md?page=3)