Grey Hound Bus Trip

I recently went by Greyhound bus from Winnipeg to Toronto return. Many of my friends thought I was nuts to go by bus. "It takes so long" they said. I was in hurry, so it did not matter to me how long it took. I relish road trips and its leisureliness. We are in such hurry these days.

Some things you should know about traveling by bus.

1. It is much cheaper than train or plain. The trick is to buy your ticket well in advance to benefit from the discounts. I traveled on a buddy pass where one person pays the full fare and the other pays 75 percent. You must buy your ticket 3 days in advance and must travel to and from your destination together. We could have gotten a cheaper fare if we had purchased our tickets at least 14 days in advance. We could have paid $203 each. As it turned out we paid about $250.00 each. You can also pay a couple of dollars extra to book a selected seating arrangement. Also if you travel on a weekend you have to pay an extra couple of dollars - don't ask me why.

2. The bus seats are quite uncomfortable around the neck. You can get stiff necked.

We purchased some neck braces for the return trip. The seats do not go back far enough so it is rather difficult to get comfortable to sleep. I think Greyhound ought to do something about its seats for those who have to travel long distances.

3. If you do not like to use the facilities on the bus, you can plan your washroom breaks to coincide with the stops. They stop at a restaurant about every 2-2 1/2 hours. I did not use the washroom on the bus once. It's too small and can get smelly after a while.

4. If you can travel in pairs. That way you know who is sitting next to you always. You do not want to end up sitting next to a sweaty or overly talkative person. If you travel alone, try and sit next to someone who is not going the length so that you would have some time to stretch out.

5. Keep an eye out when people leave and move over to their seat if you want to stretch out a bit. Having a seat to yourself for one segment of the journey where you can lie down a bit will make a difference.

6. If you have a head set, walk with it so that you do not have to buy one on the way for $3 in order to look at a movie.

7. Get in line about half hour before to ensure you get a good seat. I made the mistake once of getting in line late and the bus was already full. I did not get my preferred location.

Take the bus but put in a call to Greyhound and let them know that their seats are terrible and they should make some allowance for people to have a comfortable sleep in nicely reclined chairs.