I am considering traveling by Greyhound from Virginia Beach to Portland around May 8th to see sights, get rest and catch up on my reading, and I would like info and opinions from those who have traveled this way recently. They have apparently upgraded their buses the last couple of years(more room, wifi, and even some movies), so I don’t need horror stories from 10 to 30 years back, please.
How long will that take?
Four days or so.
Out of curiosity, what is the cost? My first/last time on a Greyhound Bus I traveled from Pittsburgh to Sacramento for $76 in 1976.
About $200.
I took a Greyhound for the first time in decades in August from the Port Authority Terminal in New York to Scranton PA to see my nephew and his family. I was pleasantly surprised. (I traveled a lot by Greyhound and Trailways in the 1960s and 1970s.) The seats were comfortable and it wasn’t crowded. The main problem was that we were an hour late each way because of traffic jams, especially leaving New York City. Overall, it was more comfortable and a better experience than flying is these days.
I took a Greyhound about a year ago for a relatively short inter-city trip. The return bus left a little late. I remember almost nothing else about the trip, which at least tells me it wasn’t horrifyingly unforgettable. I was busy reading.
Did it have wifi?
Technically it did, but as I recall I had problems accessing it.
Here’s a conversation on Quora about it.
The Greyhound Guru says it’s hit or miss.
Bring a book.
Pardon a stupid question, but what are the sleeping arrangements for a four day trip via bus? Do you just sack out in your seat?
Yep.
Not trying to hijack the thread, but you might keep an eye on Amtrak as your trip gets closer, they often have amazing sales. I’ve booked two trips, one at 40% off and one at 60% off.
Well, that certainly helps with the budget!
So, you don’t want to hear about babies being born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus, rollin’ down highway 41?
First one of you yahoos what breaks out into song gets a life sentence on a Trailways.
I used to do that when I took long distance buses regularly in the 1970s. My longest trip was several days, on an “unlimited” bus ticket, in 1974 from Boulder Colorado to San Antonio to New Orleans to Huntsville Alabama to Memphis to New York, for sightseeing and to see an old girlfriend. I could do it in my 20s but not today.
Truck stops have rent-a-shower; do bus stations? Are you in a depot long enough to take that option?
I’ve never seen a bus station with that option. If there is a building to enter at all, it will usually contain a few benches, a bathroom and maybe some overpriced vending machines with stale candy, crackers and gum.
Out of curiosity, are you planning on taking breaks along the way to see what there is to see? Or are you blasting straight through?
I’ll stop when the bus stops, and if it stops for more than 45 minutes I’ll grab a bite.