With my challenge to travel continental Europe only by ground transportation, long distance coach rides were one of the options. Here are 4 stories from this year.
7h: Munich to Milan (Flixbus)
We left on time an about 1.5h into the trip, the driver stopped for a toilet break. After 15 min we were all back on the bus and headed south. As we neared the boarder, a police car ordered us to follow them. Asked how many passengers he had, the Italian driver answered and confirmed all were on board. Only to be corrected. The police told the driver he forgot one passenger at the rest area and another police car would deliver him soon. While we were waiting, the police used the time to check IDs.
15h (real 16h): Munich to Sarajevo/ Sarajevo to Munich (Flixbus/ Globus)
My longest bus travel so far. I arrived at the bus stop and there were 3 buses next to each other going to Sarajevo. Main differences: quality of the bus and operating company under the umbrella of Flixbus. Unfortunately, I had the worst bus and all seats were occupied. We stopped every 2-3 h for a rest room and snack break. Long waiting times at the borders of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina: 50+ people get off, IDs/ passports are checked, we hop back on, drive across the border and repeat on the other side. We made good progress till then. In Bosnia, we stopped everywhere to let passengers disembark. Two stops before the end we had to switch buses which did not seem logical. Most annoying about the trip was the high number of smokers (about 30) who inhaled 2-3 cigarettes at every stop and then exhaled smoker’s breath into the bus.
16h (real nearly 18h): Bordeaux to Lisbon (Flixbus/ IberoCoach)
Supposed to be a direct connection, I arrived at the bus stop and found out my name was on a list of a different bus and I would have to change. After 3-4h into the trip, passengers started to rebel as the driver said we should all use the onboard toilet and he would not stop for a toilet and snack break. After more protests he stopped at the mediocre place for just 10 minutes.
Somewhere in Spain we stopped, got tickets for our next bus and a voucher for a croissant and a hot drink. 15 min later I sat on the next bus heading in direction of Portugal. Couple of hours later at a break I came across my booked bus but still could not find out why I am on a different one. Finally about 100 minutes later than planned, I arrived in Lisbon.
24h: Lisbon to Paris (Blablabus)
Arriving at Lisbon Oriente bus station, I saw a lot of Flix buses (green), RedeExpress (blue) and local/ regional buses in yellow. To find my BlablaBus took asking around and waiting. I found some other travelers also waiting for the same bus and they guarded my luggage while I went to find a bathroom. Underneath the bus station, there is a big hall and people were sleeping here with several blankets and their suitcases. Not sure if they were travellers, refugees or homeless. One of them directed me to the next toilet.
When I returned the bus arrived - a MAN Lion’s Coach that had seen already some trips (some cracks in the windshield, not clean anymore in the corners). BlablaBus sent me an email with my seat number - 6A - only there was no such number in the bus - 6C&D were across from the middle exit. In the end, I found a double seat in the second row where I stayed the whole trip. The drivers were nice and helped me with the crutches.
Although a longer the trip then from Bordeaux to Lisbon, we stopped less often - only in Madrid, San Sebastian, Bayonne and Bordeaux. We stopped three times for meal and bathroom breaks plus twice the police came aboard to make a passport check, first the Spanish, later the French. All in all this trip was more pleasant and we arrived nearly on time.
Top 7 tips for Bus Travel
#1 Choose a direct connection - the less stops, the better
#2 Have toilet paper/ tissues in your pockets (the bus stops are not always adequately outfitted)
#3 Bring food & water
#4 Bring a neck pillow, a pillow below your lower back and a blanket
#5 Have your charging cable and plug ready
#6 Use earphones
#7 Reserve a seat (sometimes you can even reserve a free seat next to you)
