Thanks to The United States’ combination of lackluster train infrastructure and miserable flying experience, there often simply aren’t great choices to get places.

Is the Greyhound bus our savior? No, absolutely not. Yet, despite the Greyhound’s reputation as as a last resort option, I’ve taken it several times (not as a last resort!) over the last few years.

Anaheim, CA —> San Diego, CA

Montreal QC —> Burlington, VT

Chicago, IL —> Louisville, KY

New York —> Philadelphia

Yes, this is in complete opposite parts of the country and in the Midwest across an all-day, long distance affair. This article is my guide to surviving and thriving on the Greyhound Bus. That includes, how stacks up against flying, driving, and taking the training. It’s your guide to having (dare I say) an enjoyable Greyhound Bus travel day.

I’ll be covering the worst of the worst (the bathroom at the station in Indianapolis), and the best of the best, like how I got to see my favorite band in Philedelphia and be back home in New York by midnight.

Here are 16 tips For Your NExt Greyhound Bus Trip

These are from hard-earned gritty first-hand experience.

I will do my best to explain exactly what it’s like to ride a Greyhound Bus, and how to make the most of what’s probably not an ideal travel situation.

Before we get into the tips, let’s explore some background on what the Greyhound is and how it works. Then I’ll go through a full real-world example on my 7-hour bus trip from Chicago to Louisville.

Some History of The Greyhound

The Greyhound has been around for a long time. If you paid attention in high school history class, you may remember that the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights movement took Greyhound buses down south to protest racial segregation. I actually went to Montgomery, Alabama, where the Greyhound bus station is now the Freedom Rides museum. (I’m sad to report, my friends and I rented a car to get there.)

The Greyhound Declined As Air Travel and Car Ownership Rose

Much like the history of passenger rail in the US, as highways got built and commercial flying exploded, many people stopped taking the bus.

They started either taking their own car, or for longer distances, they flew. This means the Greyhound and bus went from a common form of intercity travel to a last resort.

In 1980, Greyhound ridership total 54 million. By 1999, it was 26 million. Today, according to their website, it serves around 16 million people.

The Greyhound Buses Serve The Underserved

I believe bus service like the Greyhound is key to connecting people in rural parts of the nation to major cities.

In particular, those who can’t afford or don’t want to use cars can rely on the Greyhound as another option for getting between cities. Bear in mind, car ownership costs an average of $1000/month in the US. It talk about the burdens of car-dependency in this article on the hidden costs of cars.

However, Stations and Service Have Declined

Like the airline industry, the buses are deregulated, meaning there’s little subsidy or incentive for the buses to go to routes that aren’t profitable.

Unlike the airline industry, which received billions in our tax money over the pandemic, the intercity buses got little support. They have abandoned many of the less profitable routes.

For example, recently Jackson, Mississippi lost service (this is another important Civil Rights station, and I saw it with my own eyes shortly before it closed.) Shortly after, so did Little Rock, Arkansas.

For more on this I recommend this article on Greyhound Bus infrastructure.

Still Greyhound is Often The “Best” Option

I say “best” because it might be the only option. Or it may be by far the least expensive. Or the timing may be the most convenient. All of these may make it the best choice for you. I’ve used it for all of these reasons.

Despite its reputation, it’s a completely viable means of travel. I’ve taken it to save $100 over a flight (Chicago to Louisville.) I’ve taken it because it was literally the only reasonably priced option (Anaheim to San Diego.) I’ve taken it because it was the only one that left after a concert in Philly ended at 10:30pm (Philadelphia to New York.)

Here are my tips to make your Greyhound trip better.

Is The Greyhound Safe?

“Don’t take the Greyhound!” you may hear for your own safety.

There’s a lot to unpack here.

Yes, Greyhound stations are underfunded, dirty, and just not that comfortable.

Yes, there are often homeless people hanging around the stations, probably because the Greyhound is one of the few open buildings and our society often makes it hard for the homeless to find places to sleep with dignity.

Yes, you may be there late at night.

All of these factors mean you should have your wits about you, as you always should when traveling. It means that while I’ve never found them unsafe, your mileage may vary.

Avoid unnecessary confrontation, get to the station, which often you need to show your ticket to enter, don’t flash excessive wealth like a nice watch, and keep you belongings near you.

Some stations aren’t really stations, which means at night they may not be safe.

It’s an even tougher situation because the places that don’t have real stations are probably the places with the most safety concerns.

I’ve never had an unsafe encounter. I’m quiet. I keep my head down. I dress in casual street clothes. From my vantage point, it’s just been other people who like me, just wanted to get to their destination on the buses.

However, I recommend you do research on the stations you’re going to beforehand.

I also want to address that the question “Is the Greyhound safe” itself is tinged with implicit racial bias. On my Greyhound bus that left from Chicago, the bus was 80% plus black. In California from Anaheim to San Diego, it was 80% plus hispanic. Is it unsafe, or is our society used to seeing poor minorities as “others” and therefore not safe to be around? Is it unsafe, or do we see lower income people as those we can’t trust? This isn’t the whole story, but it is worth addressing how these unconscious biases affect our perception of places like public bus stations.

Tips for Booking a Greyhound Bus Trip

1) Explore Other Bus Options

“Greyhound has become generic for bus travel,” says Robert Gabrick, author of Going The Greyhound Way. “Like Kleenex for tissues.” This is a quote from an excellent article by Mental Floss on The History of The Greyhound. Yet, while it’s often the most recognizable option, it’s not the only game in many towns.

For example, MegaBus is another big nationwide brand and Trailways is right beyond it. These will give a similar experience.

Beyond that, you may have more luck finding the service you need with various regional bus companies.

For example, I’ve taken the Dartmouth Coach bus from just outside Vermont (where I’m from) to Boston. This serves the Dartmouth area with frequent buses to Boston and New York.

It’s a more frequent and better service for a similar price than the Greyhound, which only passes from Boston to Burlington, VT once a day.

I also take the Vamoose Bus when going from NYC (where I went to school) to visit my cousin in Bethesda, Maryland, since it goes right to Bethesda instead of to DC. I’ve even chosen that over the more comfortable Amtrak.

With that said, if you choose another company, a lot of these tips will stay the same because bus travel is bus travel.

The stations they stop at will likely be the same. Or they will be curbside pickup. The time it takes will likely be the same. And the comfort can vary, but there’s a minimum baseline of comfort.

2) Booking Extras: Not Necessary

Once you find your route, you can choose a few seat options. All of the buses I’ve been on are 2×2 seating. I can’t imagine there would be any other setup.

I’ve never found a reason to select a seat. There’s no business class exit row seats that have more legroom like trains and planes.

The travel neighbor-free option is interesting. Personally I don’t mind having a neighbor too much. I’ve never upgraded to it, but here’s some of the calculation to keep in mind.

If you’re going from major hub to major hub and it’s a relatively short distance, you may have a neighbor. From Philly to New York, or New York to Boston, if you want both seats, go for it.

If you’re going a long distance to a non-major city, you likely won’t have a neighbor, so there’s no point in buying the extra. For example, I went from Chicago to Louisville. It was a long ride and was never more than half full. This was a 10:30am bus too.

I’m sure you can research the typical capacities for your particular route before deciding. With that said, having a neighbor isn’t really a big deal unless you’re going overnight and want to sleep.

Is Baggage Included?

You can put a bag underneath the bus, so unless you have more than one big suitcase, there’s no reason to buy bags either. If you’re on the Greyhound with two big bags, bless your soul.

The Carbon Offset: Greenwashing or Worldsaving?

I’ll talk more about the environment later, but by taking the bus you’re already reducing your emissions a lot compared to driving or flying.

They do have a carbon offset option. Now, our whole carbon offset system is arguably doing more harm than good, as so many carbon offsets don’t do anything and are a greenwashing money grab.

For a great overview of this, which this Jon Oliver episode.

So you can get it if you want (I sometimes do, it depends on how cynical I’m feeling), but don’t feel too good about yourself for doing so.

3) Get The Ticket on Your Apple Wallet

Greyhound may be a dinosaur, but you can get your ticket on Apple Wallet. This is the easiest way to not be fumbling for your ticket in your email inbox before you board.

Tips To Prepare For Your Greyhound Trip

Snacks? Fresh drinking water? What else? As the saying goes, failing to prepare is planning to fail.

4) Bring Snacks, and a Meal If You Want

You can (and likely should) bring food on the Greyhound bus. On long Greyhound bus trips, the bus will usually stop at a gas station. But it’s still a good idea to bring some healthy snacks because middle-America gas stations range aren’t known for their wide variety of healthy meals.

My go-to’s include a protein bar and fruit like an apple.

5) Bring a Full Wattle Bottle, And Maybe Canned Water

Here’s the best advice I’ll give you all day: don’t drink the tap water at the Indianapolis Greyhound station.

I brought a full water bottle, but at our stop in Indianapolis I needed a refill. They had one of the fancy filtered water bottle fillers, and it still tasted like swamp water.

So bring a full water bottle, and maybe a canned water too. Or boxed water if that’s your thing. I try to avoid single-use plastic, and I hope you do too.

I thought I’d be able to fill up my metal water bottle, but I didn’t account for the fact that we’d be going through cities of varying quality of tap water.

This is more important than the snacks, as dehydration and motion sickness go hand in hand.

6) Charge Your Stuff Beforehand

The Greyhound buses pride themselves on having outlets. I’ve been on four, and three of the four had working outlets.

Based on my market research, there’s a 25% chance the chargers won’t work. So charge your stuff beforehand and don’t count on the charging points working.

7) Bring a Travel Pillow

I also recommend bringing a travel pillow and earplugs. You’ll see how the travel pillow performs a dual-function later on.

8) Bring Caffeine (Optional)

Oh, caffeine. What a wonderful drug. A long bus trip and no caffeine don’t go together. I also messed up in this regard. I wish I’d gotten something caffeinated to go before I left Chicago

Getting to The Station and Boarding Experience Tips

The Greyhound stations are much dirtier and less pleasant than the buses. Once you’re on the bus, it’s like any other bus ride.

So the station may be the hardest part of your journey.

Sometimes, the stations are fine. For example, in Anaheim, it was the same as the Amtrak station and lots of other public buses. In New York, it’s at Port Authority, so you know what you’re getting into with a huge bus terminal.

Other times, the stations aren’t in the best areas.

In fact, they often aren’t because Greyhound serves rural and low-income areas. For example, the Louisville station was… well it was rough. And not a station, but a parking lot.

When I got to my friend’s apartment in Louisville he told me, “I was watching your location when you got off because you were in a part of town I don’t go to.”

Here are some tips for the station and boarding experience.

Other times, like Chicago, it was one of the only buildings open most of the day, which means homeless people con

1) When You Get Near The Station, Move With Confidence

Greyhound bus stations are often one of the only public buildings open most of the day, which means people without somewhere else to sleep or hangout will congregate.

Now, these people are just living their lives, trying to get some spare change for food. It’s a shame that the richest country in the world doesn’t support these people more.

With that said, I’m not going to solve homelessness or systemic inequality before boarding the Greyhound, so my recommendation is to move with confidence from the entrance to the station’s ticket-only area.

Big stations like this have a separate area for those with tickets. So once you’re in, it’s just you and other passengers.

2) Don’t Get There Too Early

Another problem with the Greyhound stations is they’re just underfunded. They’re not nice.

The stall in Chicago’s bathroom had no lock. The seats in Chicago were literally metal. The vending machines didn’t take credit card.

All of this means there’s no good reason to be there longer than you have to.

On their website, Greyhound recommends getting to the bus 30-45 minutes before the bus leaves.

Now, please don’t miss your bus, but 10-20 minutes is plenty. The stations just aren’t nice. Almost anywhere else you could hang out before the bus departs is better.

3) You Don’t Need to Rush to Board

I don’t know why people do this on any form of transit. In all cases when what bus was boarding was super clear, and we all got on the same bus anyway. The only reason to try and get near the front is if you’re on a busy route and want a window seat.

Do The Greyhound Stations Have Outlets and Wifi?

At the Chicago station, the wifi didn’t work. They did have tables and working outlets though. I took my computer out and worked for a few minutes, but it wasn’t ideal. Again, see tip #2.

Onboard The Greyhound Tips

Once on the bus, I’ve always found the Greyhound to be like any other bus. It’s a bus. It’ll get you there. It has always been clean and well-maintained for me.

1) Setting Up Your Work Environment

I work virtually, so for me if I’m on a bus for seven hours, that means I’m going to do my whole work day there. Here’s my work setup.

There are no tray tables on Greyhounds, which means using the travel pillow as a lap desk is absolutely key. I told you the travel pillow would come in handy.

Greyhound prides themselves on having wifi, so it has always worked. In fact, on my last trip, the “Greyhound Bus” wifi wasn’t working, so they had installed a different wifi. That’s commitment.

With outlets, they’re not as committed. I have a 75% success rate with outlets on my Greyhound trips.

Don’t schedule video calls while you’ll be on the Greyhound. The wifi works for browsing, but it’s not video call quality. I did join one big group call where I wouldn’t have to talk on a long trip, but I joined without video.

2) Frequent Bathroom Trips For Your Health

Yes, Greyhound buses have bathrooms. In all of my experiences they’ve been perfectly clean. They are a porta-potty setup though. There’s no running water, so you’re stuck with hand sanitizer.

I like to get up and feign a trip to the bathroom frequently. This applies to the train and flying as well, but I just feel better when I get up. It keeps my energy up, helps my legs feel less stiff once I get off, and

The former athlete in me can’t help wanting to move a bit. I think we could all move a bit more.

On buses they tell you to sit down when you pee. Obviously, I don’t do this. So guys, aim well.

Sleeping In The Aisle Seat?

I always put my travel pillow on the seat in front of me and put my forehead on it. That’s if you don’t have a full row to yourself, of course.

How to Recline The Greyhound Seat

You can also recline back, but as a courtesy I only do this if nobody is sitting behind me. I’m a small person, so there’s no need for me to do it.

3) Enjoy The Views?

The Greyhound is not famous for its views, not like the Amtrak at least.

My impression of Indiana is that there’s not much to see even in the slightest, but look at this beautiful sunset pulling into Louisville!

I don’t have pictures, but I also some some beatiful foliage on my bus from Montreal to Burlington, Vermont.

4) Take Advantage of Rest Stops

The Greyhound buses stop a lot. This is for a few reasons. First of all, they know people want to stop and use the bathroom and get food. Second, the bus needs gas anyway. Third, the drivers legally need certain rests and to switch drivers.

So if you’re on the Greyhound for a while, you will stop at a rest area.

In Indiana, I had a great rest stop experience. I even found a salad.

Get some food, move your legs, maybe get some caffeine. This is good for rest stops but sometimes you pause at other Greyhound stations, which suck.

Don’t drink the tap water there and don’t count on clean bathrooms.

5) Have a Plan When You Get to Your Destination

Remember, the stations are the shammiest part of the Greyhound experience. So when you get near your final stop, have a plan. When I got to Louisville, it was getting dark out, and the station was in a strange parking lot. This was not ideal. So I walked right to my bus stop about a few blocks away.

I’ve been at a lot of bus stops around the United States, and Louisville was among the shammiest.

Greyhound Bus vs Flying: A Breakdown

Okay David, this sounds like a lot. Should I just fly? What about taking the Amtrak? We’ll get to the train later. Let’s start with a flight vs bus comparison.

The Shorter The Flight, The More Likely a Bus is Better

Flying sucks. There’s no doubt about that. Getting there early, TSA, crammed seats, paying for wifi and a carry-on bag.

It’s not a good experience. It’s cool if you’re going across an ocean, but short flights suck.

For any flight under two hours, I always look at other options. That’s because in this range, you can look at trains and buses and they may take less time overall when you factor all the extra crap that flying entails.

So I’m not making the case for the Greyhound cross country. I’m not doing an NYC –> Greyhound rides.

But for the bus rides that are two to eight hours, it can compete.

Flying vs Greyhound Cost and Time Comparison

Louisville boasted no Amtrak stop, so my choice was between renting a car (gross), flying, and the Greyhound.

At my time of booking, the cheapest flight was $121. My Greyhound was a total $50.57. So for 70 bucks, Greyhound had the advantage. Plus, getting to the Greyhound station was much easier (a 15-minute ride on transit) than getting to the airport (an hour on transit.) Plus, I wanted to write this article. So the Greyhound won.

Note, if buy further in advance, the flight may be cheaper, but even with just an overhead carry-on and handbag, the minimum looks $89 for this flight. Of course, if you’re checking bags, it’s more.

Yes, the 7-hour Greyhound versus a 90-minute flight may seem like a big difference, but when you factor in the extra time at TSA and the extra time getting two and from airports, you’re about four hours versus seven.

You Can’t Work on Short Flights

For me, I factor in how much of that time I’ll be able to work. On the bus, I could’ve worked the whole time, but realistically I worked 4-5 of those 7 hours.

On a flight that’s less than two hours, you get to broken work sessions after security for 30 minutes and the 30 minutes when the plane was at altitude.

Just remember your travel pillow and to charge your stuff so you can comfortably work on the bus.

Flying vs Greyhound Environment Comparison

If you fly, it’s likely to biggest contributor to CO2 emissions. I’ve written about this a lot. Flying is really terrible for the environment.

A bus obviously has emissions too, but per person it’s so much less than per person on a plane.

According to one study on CO2 emissions of transit, it’s 84% less than flying and 70% less than taking your own car.

It’s not as green as most rail, but overall is still the better environmental choice.

Knowing this, I’ve begun to fly less and less, and choose trains or buses wherever reasonable over flying. Death to short flights! For more on this idea, check out this article on 12 rail routes we should build to eliminate flights.

To sum up the bus vs flying argument, you usually pay less, but it takes longer. You can work on it. The stations suck, but it still beats TSA. Besides that, the bus is not a bad experience. It makes sense over short flights.

Amtrak vs Greyhound Bus

There’s not a doubt that the Amtrak is a better experience. The Amtrak is a smoother ride. It’s more comfortable. They have a cafe car. It’s better for the environment.

There’s every reason to choose Amtrak. All else equal, get on the train.

But, there are a few situations where the Greyhound makes more sense.

Outside the Northeast, Amtrak Has limited Service

There are lots of cross-country Amtrak’s, but most of them are once a day and often at strange hours because they’re long-distance trains. So the Amtrak options are limited.

Louisville doesn’t have an Amtrak. What a tragedy for a city that has lots of walkable areas, and at least in my impression, is pretty easy to get around on the buses.

So my only non-plane option was the Greyhound.

The Amtrak Often Costs More, Especially in The Northeast Corridor

So outside the northeast it hardly exists, and in the northeast corridor it’s expensive because it’s pretty good and normal and better than flying and driving.

The Amtrak’s most profitable area is the northeast corridor, specifically the trains that connect Boston to Washington, passing through New York and Philadelphia.

I’ve found the prices on them to be ridiculous on certain days. That’s partially why I ended up on a Greyhound to Philly instead of the Amtrak.

The Greyhound Last-Minute is usually cheaper

The Amtrak can be reasonable if you book out far enough ahead of time. (This might not age well, as they’re always changing their pricing algorithm.) But the Greyhound last minute is usually around the same price as if you bought in advance.

More Frequent Service or Better Hours: Sometimes The Case

Even places where the long-distance Amtrak trains go, they’re almost all once-a-day trains. That means if you live in Cleveland, there’s a high chance your Amtrak departs in the middle of the night.

On the Greyhound, you may have a few more options and better hours.

That’s not always the case, though. Check the Greyhound and Amtrak schedules for your target cities.

We Need Better Mass Transit, Including Buses

As I wrote about in my article on 5 big ideas to fight climate change, we fundamentally as a society need to move away from car-dependency. It’s inefficient, it’s costly for taxpayers, it’s just costly, period.

It means we walk less than ever and are completely dependent on fossil fuels. We need more rail. We need more public transit within cities.

Buses stand out because we already have the infrastructure for them. We have all these roads shooting across the country.

We need to build better transit to make car use and short flights foolish.

If you’re inspired to live car-free, check out my article on tips to live in the U.S. without a car.

Wrapping Up: Enjoy The Journey!

I sort of romanticized my 7-hour Greyhound Bus. I felt like Jack Kerouac a little bit, On The Road in the middle of America in places I’d never thought I see.

There’s something beautiful to exploring this country by bus or train that you just don’t get in a plane. I felt like I see all sides of the US, from Indiana to San Diego.

It’s really not that bad.

Let Me Know How Your Greyhound Trip Goes

Offer me some tips I should add to this article.

More on Mass Transit Excursions

One of my favorite parts about traveling lately has been trying different modes of transit and writing about it.

Check out my review of the Florida Brightline high-ish speed train.

Or, if you’re into cross-country travel, read about my experience in a private room on an overnight Amtrak train.