Greyhound: Traveling with the dog
By Don Nadeau, on February 24, 2010, in Airfares, Travel
A Hungarian couple contacted me for help planning their first trip to the United States.
I’ve made a lot of suggestions below, but they and I would very much appreciate yours in the comments. Planning bus or rail trips can be great fun!
What the couple tentatively plans
With 60 days, but not very much money, our Hungarians have been looking at the 60-day Greyhound Discovery Pass (valid for both the U.S. and Canada) and at hostels. They plan to rent cars at several stops to access places such as Yellowstone National Park.
Their interests are typical—the “usual commonplace sights, while trying to experience the American atmosphere.” Other than their arrival point New York City, there are no must stops, such as family visits in the States.
They very much want to see as much as possible and if that means some nights traveling on the bus, so be it. Because they are well aware of the comfort limitations of Greyhound seating, the tentative itinerary has scattered these bus nights throughout their trip.
Provisional stops
The couple has tentatively chosen the following 52 nights in hostels, with the remaining nights on the bus. They arrive in New York City on May 19th and return home on July 18th.
New York City (5 nights hostel)
Niagara Falls (2)
Chicago (4)
Bozeman/Livingston (Yellowstone access) (3)
San Francisco (6)
Los Angeles (8)
Las Vegas (5)
Denver (3)
New Orleans (3)
Miami (7)
Washington, DC (3)
New York City (3)
Their concerns
Although not overly concerned about the long bus rides, the couple seems quite worried about making connections, especially during the night.
They have wisely added “padding” to their trip, extra time in some cities in case they are delayed a day here or there.
My suggestions
When giving advice, try to keep in mind that people vary. What’s best for you may not best for others. This couple has more energy and enthusiasm than money and we’ll run with that.
On the other hand, that doesn’t imply that we should not push them to budget a little extra when it will produce big results!
1. The Chicago and Miami stops are too long.
I love Chicago, but for a first trip to the U.S., a day and a half of sightseeing should do it, unless you have special interests. Plan two or three nights depending on your arrival and departure times.
Miami’s great too, even during the summer, but a week there in July, the off-season, when the ocean temperature seems to be the same as the hot humid air, seems terribly wrong, especially considering all the other choices you have to relax by a beach in North America.
In fact, consider skipping Florida altogether and visiting it instead during a future trip not in summer.
Also, if you plan to remain in the city, the Las Vegas stop is too long. Please see below.
2. If your trans-Atlantic tickets have not been booked,
I encourage you to arrive in one city and leave from another, for example, fly into New York City or Orlando and depart from Los Angeles. This often does not increase the airfare very much.
When booked in this way, you’ll save time by not backtracking through similar scenery in the middle of the U.S., which in turn gives more time to experience the best sights in depth, as well as to see more of them.
The exception is if you were to travel one-way through Canada and the other within the States.
3. If the international airline tickets are already set,
still consider flying in the States for a portion of your trip.
With a 60-day Greyhound pass costing $499 and a 30-day one $399, consider plunking that $100 difference per person toward buying one-way air tickets from NYC to Las Vegas, which may cost under $150 with tax in late May using airlines like JetBlue from New York/JFK or Southwest from New York/LGA.
In Vegas, a very cheap place to do this, you could rent a car, and then camp in the following national parks:
Zion (1 night)
Bryce Canyon (2)
North rim, Grand Canyon (1)
South rim (Grand Canyon Village), Grand Canyon (2)
Camping reservations are essential, as soon as possible, if you want to stay in popular national parks. Also, I encourage you to rent a national brand rental car, as these have service outside of Las Vegas if anything goes wrong.
Early summer brings nearly no rain to these national parks, which helps make camping such a wonderful way to experience the spirit of the Southwest.
Renting a car for a week seldom costs more than renting one for 5 days if booked in advance. Moreover, at a “big box” store like Target, you can buy a two-person tent, foam sleeping pad, light blanket, pillows, and a small plastic “ice chest” to store food surprisingly cheaply. You won’t need a camping stove on this short trip.
If you booked the car longer than a week, you could add many other wonderful places, such as an in-depth exploration of the Navajo and Hopi reservations, instead of the brief glimpse you’ll get on the above itinerary.
As for Las Vegas itself, I would plan two nights prior to your camping trip and one or perhaps two at the end. You do not need a car while in Vegas.
Also during this time that you are not using a Greyhound pass, you could buy a very cheap bus ticket (currently $33.00 on Greyhound) from Las Vegas to Hollywood (Los Angeles).
And then for the DC to NYC portion of the trip, you could also buy a separate cheap ticket (easily under $20 per person on a bus line like Megabus.com).
In this way, you would only need a one-month Greyhound pass, with just some $100 in other transportation expenses not counting the Las Vegas car rental and fuel, which you may have planned to rent for five days anyway.
4. If not wanting to rent a car in Vegas,
I would add Flagstaff to the bus itinerary—Los Angeles/Hollywood-Flagstaff-Las Vegas-Denver.
You’ll find convenient to Greyhound hostels in Flagstaff that offer discount tours to the best views of the Grand Canyon and other sights. See Open Road Tours for typical sightseeing opportunities at regular prices.
5. I would arrive in Hollywood,
instead of Greyhound’s downtown Los Angeles terminal, which is in a terrible skid road area.
Stay a few nights in the western portion of a Hollywood (not to be confused with the city of West Hollywood) for easy access to Universal Studios, etc. and then several more at the the Santa Monica Hostel above a nice beach.
6. Between Los Angeles and San Francisco,
I’d add two nights (as well as one more if you cut your Miami time) in Santa Barbara, perhaps America’s most uplifting and beautiful larger urban environment. It’s simply a joy to visit.
There’s a hostel near the beach and main shopping area for cheap accommodation. (Although the hostel sits adjacent to railway tracks, trains seldom run late at night.)
7. If you will visit Florida,
save Disney for Florida. Cut a couple of nights in LA or elsewhere and add an Orlando stop on the way to or from Miami.
8. Seriously consider visiting Banff National Park
in the Canadian Rockies, instead of Yellowstone. It’s much easier to access and offers inexpensive hostels.
In my opinion, the Greyhound route from Niagara Falls and Toronto to Banff through Canada offers much more beauty than the Niagara Falls to Yellowstone via Chicago one.
This route also gives you the chance to visit fine cities like Portland, Oregon, perhaps the most progressive very large city in the U.S., and Vancouver, Canada. (The Jericho Beach hostel makes a fine stop there.)
Nevertheless, both Banff and Yellowstone offer something precious not generally available in Europe, vast natural areas with no human imprint. You won’t be disappointed with either choice.
9. Be sure to consider scenery
when deciding on what buses and routes to use.
For example for one day I checked, you could leave Las Vegas for Denver at 1:40 a.m., 5:35 a.m., or 3:30 p.m.
However, just the 1:40 a.m. departure permits you to see the heart of the Colorado Rockies during the day.
By the way, consider adding a one-night stop in Glenwood Springs, CO on the way to Denver.
Within an easy walk of Greyhound, you’ll find a hostel I really enjoyed and most importantly perhaps the most awesome hot spring spa in North America, the Glenwood Springs Spa, whose huge swimming pool and warm soaking pools won’t cost you a fortune, as long as you don’t book individual treatments.
10a. Oh, you asked about safe and convenient connections,
didn’t you? Three points then. These apply to bus, rail, and airline travel.
My advice: Think outside of the box. Don’t settle for the choices that Greyhound gives you. With your passes, you do not have to be concerned with the most direct routes.
For example, the connections Greyhound suggests from Livingstone to San Francisco are grim. On the other hand, it’s easy to travel from Livingston to Seattle without connecting on two departures per day.
From Seattle, you can easily connect to San Francisco at decent times.
If you do this, I suggest connecting in Seattle to Portland, with a stay of two nights.
Perhaps the most progressive city in America with an outstanding quality of life, Portland offers sights like its famous rose garden in Washington Park and hiking in Forest Park easily accessible from the city center.
10b. Safe connections are either long ones
OR ONES with convenient alternatives if you miss the first bus.
For instance, if miss the first connecting bus to Portland in Seattle, there are alternatives. You won’t have to wait 12 to 24 hours for the next connection.
On the other hand, there’s just one bus per day from Toronto heading toward Banff National Park.
In that case, if you were connecting from Niagara Falls, you would want to allow extra connecting time by not taking the last available bus to Toronto to connect.
In Toronto, the Greyhound terminal is in a fantastic location, within a few minutes walk of Chinatown, where you could relax over dinner while waiting for your connecting bus.
10c. At some stations, Greyhound offers reservations for a $5.00 fee.
Use this to assure a seat on the departure you want.
I hope that these suggestions and the ones readers may give are helpful to you and that you enjoy every moment of your time in North America. I had fun thinking about this trip!
