RyushiBlade on 27/8/2007 at 01:38
Faced with a particular dilemma, I prefer going directly to the faceless mass of strangers that is TTLG for advice. Every one of you is, I hope, experienced in one thing or another, even if that thing happens to be just living the trivialities of life. It's one of those trivial matters I'd like advice on.
I'm considering taking Greyhound up to Montreal. From St. Louis, it takes about 26 hours and travels 1200 miles. The cheapest price, if bought in advance, is $108 round trip. You can't tell me that's not a nice deal. $108 for 2400 miles? That's less than a nickel a mile.
Anyway, I've heard a lot of bad things about Greyhound. The buses smell like pee, service is less than subpar, and it generally isn't a good company to be bussing with. Though they are the only one that can take me over the Canadian border, AFAIK.
What do you guys think? Should I stick with Greyhound? Are there better services available going to Canada? Is the $600 price tag of a flight worth it?
I could probably get used to the smell of pee.
BrokenArts on 27/8/2007 at 01:46
Unless you have time to kill, and just don't care, and money is your main concern, go for it. I took some trips on Greyhound when I was a kid, and a teenager, I wouldn't touch them with a 10ft poll now.
Only 26 hours, eeek. That is one long ride, and you heard right, smelly, cramped, no thanks.
Check around for flights, when are you leaving exactly? Check around the 21 day mark before your flight, prices change, they can be cheaper.
To me, I'd rather pay the price, then put up with that crap, just depends on what you want. For me, time is of the essence, I don't have time to waste. My time is valuable to me.
The old saying, you get what you pay for.
jtr7 on 27/8/2007 at 01:52
Is crossing the Canadian border a major factor? Passport issues?
Breakdowns are a reality. An acquaintance of mine was on a bus that broke down, waited an hour for a replacement, the replacement broke down, waited. I hope you can keep yourself entertained all the hours you will be awake. I managed to avoid ever having to use the toilet at the back during my handful of trips, and didn't have a freak sitting next to me. A bus driver in a hurry in a city is no fun if you have little to hold onto during turns or going over uneven roads.
To be fair, there are those who've had safe and sane bus rides, but....
RyushiBlade on 27/8/2007 at 02:17
My girlfriend is in Canada. To visit Montreal, I kind of have to cross the border. My UK Passport is in great shape for it, though! I've got a laptop and a DS, too. I generally travel lightly. Keeping myself entertained isn't a problem, really.
I don't have a job, so money is sort of an issue. If Greyhound is THAT bad, I could be forced to go another, more expensive route. But really I'm looking for a way to Montreal for less than $400. I couldn't find any trains going to Montreal either, strangely enough. Atleast not for the days I need. (Dec 26 to January 12)
Gingerbread Man on 27/8/2007 at 02:44
I once took a Greyhound from Sudbury, Ontario to Vancouver. think it was a 5-day trip, and we only stopped for fuel / minor eats. They swapped out drivers constantly, I think I had to change buses once, but otherwise it was a "sleep-in-yer-seat" kinda deal.
Now, that's about 2000 miles. So you're not in for that sort of ordeal... but I'll tell you, based on my own extensive experience with long-trip buses (oh god the Toronto - Ottawa corridor for years), you'll have a better time on the plane.
Unless you want an adventure. Which is why I took a Greyhound from Sudbury to Van City in the first place.
And the trains are retardedly slow / expensive. If I had any concrete advice it would be "anything but the trains" -- you'll pay more than bus (though less than plane) and it'll be suckier than the plane (though marginally better than the bus)
Once again, a completely unhelpful post by GBM :D
BrokenArts on 27/8/2007 at 02:46
Nothing wrong at all by saving some money. Money is an issue for you, we've been there, as long as you prepare, bring your toys, like you mentioned to keep yourself entertained, that will help, and you can try to sleep too.
Be sure to check on the passport issue, if you're ok with everything, go for it. Just be sure to get your P's and Q's all lined up, tickets etc. Go Greyhound! And have a good trip!
TBE on 27/8/2007 at 03:15
I once took a greyhound bus from Columbus, Ohio to Fayetteville, North Carolina. I had to stand up from Columbus to Bluefield, West Virginia because they overbooked the bus, and I really scheduled the last possible bus for my schedule. When I did get a seat, it was next to a stinky dude with dreadlocks.
Best advice is to get there early, find someone clean looking that will be on the same bus, and make a pact to sit next to each other so you both have a safety net of no one stinky next to you. Maybe find someone you would click with, and suggest you guys can share music along the trip or something. Bring one of those splitter things so you can plug two headsets into your iPod or whatever. You want an ally on this long bus trip. It's not the worst thing ever, but being next to someone that stinks is bad for that long.
edit - Oh yeah, I had some chick trying to hit on me the whole time, and then she ended up making out with the dreadlock dude. You'll find all types on the bus.
Malygris on 27/8/2007 at 05:25
What about renting a car?
LesserFollies on 27/8/2007 at 15:49
I've taken a lot of 8-hour-plus road trips on Greyhound in my life. They were usually surreal, intense, nighttime journeys in which I ended up getting to know the person seated closest to me, sharing lifestories, discussing really personal stuff, bonding and swearing to keep in touch and never doing so. I seem to have gotten lucky and didn't end up with any creeps. I enjoyed them, but you have to have a lot of patience and a tolerance for discomfort. It's something everyone should do at least once.
demagogue on 27/8/2007 at 16:04
I took a Greyhound from Dallas to Washington DC, a similar kind of distance. It stops just often enough for you to get up and walk around. I don't think I would ever have set foot in Knoxville except for that trip. And you do get some pretty cool conversation with the people around you. I can agree it's worth doing once for the experience. I like trains better, but all and all it wasn't bad at all, and you can't beat the price.
One thing: I carried my laptop in my backpack, thinking I could do some stuff on it on the ride, and I remember at one point deciding not to take it out because someone might see it. I could sort of feel the eyes on what I was carrying. At some point you have to fall asleep and I just didn't trust that someone wouldn't pull it out of my backpack or even pull my whole backpack away. The people around me were basically good people, and I never felt nervous about anything at any point; I just didn't want to raise the temptation if I didn't have to. I felt more comfortable pretending I wasn't carrying anything valuable and gave that impression whenever conversation drifted into anything that might give a hint about that kind of thing. Fortunately, there was good conversation for the whole trip so there wasn't really any need to use it anyway.
