I took a break from city life and Europe’s constant cloud of secondhand smoke in the German countryside last week. My latest Workaway involved tending to a garden at what used to be a prince's hunting home along the Lahn River. The picture above shows the gorgeous view from the house’s balcony.
Hiking is the most popular past time in Germany, and miles (well, kilometers) of trails wind through the land surrounding the house. Forests and fresh air were a nice break from weeks of jumping from city to city, but today I’m back on board a FlixBus, a coach bus company serving most of Europe (among other places).
I love road trips, and I'd choose traveling by land over flying almost all the time. The scenery, avoiding jet lag and checking bags, and affordability make it worth it to me. In Europe, I've found a bus ticket is usually less than half the cost of a train ticket (even though I resolved not to let money dictate my life in my last blog), and the travel time isn't that much longer.
I've been using GoEuro to compare modes of travel, and FlixBus is always the cheapest and most convenient bus service. It does have its issues, though, so here's my list of nine things to help you prepare for your FlixBus trip:
1. Bring water and snacks because your bus might not stop. And if it does, it might be at a hardware store instead of a food court. In my experience, the 6+ hour day buses stop for breaks, but the overnight ones do not. It seems to be up to the bus driver where, when and how long to stop. One driver announced a half-hour break at a rest stop with several restaurant options, while another gave us 10 minutes in an abandoned parking lot. The overnight bus driver said you could buy snacks and drinks on the buses. I only saw two dusty bags of chips in the windshield, so play it safe and just bring your own food and drinks.
2. A bag for your food and drinks does not count as hand luggage. Each FlixBus ticket includes one carry-on bag and one bag stowed under the bus. A laptop case and a purse count as two items, but I brought a backpack plus a bag with food and water on board with me and didn't hear any complaints. So use that to your advantage if you need a lot of stuff with you.
3. You can't get to your bag under the bus during the trip. At least not in my experience, but I also never asked because...
4. There is no guarantee the driver will speak English. Coach bus screams school group or tourist to me, so my expectation was there would be frequent breaks and clear instructions about what was going on in more than one language, naturally English being one of them. Turns out FlixBus is more of a shuttle service, and the drivers may or may not speak a language other than their mother tongue. Announcements about breaks or what was going on when the bus got pulled over by the police were only made in the native language, which was confusing to say the least. I stayed close to the bus in France to avoid getting left behind because (also a good thing to know), more often than not in my experience, the bus just leaves without confirming if the number of passengers is the same as before it stopped. Make friends with someone on the bus who can speak the language to avoid getting left behind and wake you up when you need to put your seat belt on when the bus gets pulled over. Also, download the Google Translate app and the appropriate language file to communicate without using WiFi or data because...
5. There is also no guarantee the WiFi and outlets on the bus will work. The WiFi was spotty at best for me. FlixBus has a sign-in that only allows you to use it for so long, though I haven't figured out how this is calculated because I'd sign in. It wouldn't work. Try again. Wouldn't work. I'd try again hours later, and it would tell me I reached the data limit for the day. Other times, I could use the Wi-Fi for nearly the entire trip with no problems. So basically make sure you do what you need to do first and then go on to download podcasts or scroll through Instagram. BUT before you get stuck in that battery-draining trap, make sure the outlet by your seat works.
6. Plus: There are bathrooms on the bus. Minus: That's what the bus smells like. Just going to put it bluntly, most are disgusting, but they're there when your driver refuses to stop. Make sure to wear shoes while you're in there.
7. 50% chance the bus will leave or arrive late. And late means by more than a half hour. I did have several leave exactly on time, so I think all you need is the 15 minutes early they recommend or the two minutes early if you're speed walking from a food stand to the bus stop due to item one.
8. Eight hours on the bus is enough. The trips longer than eight hours get pretty miserable, especially if you have one of the drivers who doesn't like to stop or who gives you a disappointing look when you put your feet on the empty seat next to you to change your sitting position. I also had a hard time sleeping on the overnight bus because of the uncomfortable seats. But if you can sleep through anything, choose this option over a long day trip.
9. It's actually a great (and affordable) way to see Europe. Despite all the first-world problems listed above, I preferred traveling by land over flying. Looking out the window at the changing landscapes inspires more positive thoughts than the back of an airplane seat. The bus is more than half the price of the train in many cases, so it's a great way to save some money if you have the extra time to travel. My tickets averaged about 20 euros each, and I only booked them a few days in advance. P.S. For an amount typically less than a euro, you can offset your bus trip’s carbon footprint. FlixBus donates the money to these environmental advocacy agencies.
What's your best or worst FlixBus experience? Let me know in the comments below, and see where the FlixBuses take me on my Instagram.