Tour Buses - a Safe and Inexpensive Way to Travel and Visit Local Sites!

Many times, you may find yourself in an area that has numerous interesting and/or historical points that you would love to see, but find you are unable to get to all of them because of parking issues, time constraints, and general lack of knowledge regarding the surrounding areas.

A good solution is a one-day bus tour of the areas you are most interested in seeing. Local travel agencies are a good place to start when setting up a tour. Agencies usually offer daily bus trips to surrounding sites that include stops for shopping, lunch, and touring. They also have knowledgeable drivers and/or tour guides on board to answer any questions you may have. The newer buses have restroom facilities, and some even have the added service of beverages and snacks. Touring on a bus is a comfortable way to see the sites in a safe environment. There is no worry about wandering around strange towns and getting lost, and you do not have to deal with traffic issues like missing your exits or finding street parking.

National bus lines such as Greyhound (greyhound.com) offer intercity trips to local casinos, as well as trips from town to town making it easy to get out and see new places. Senior Citizen Organizations have daily trips, or even overnight trips to tourist areas and the fees are nominal. Larger cities, such as Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD and Atlantic City, N.J., (all on the east coast), have city run tour buses, as well as the city transit lines which sometime offer free "on and off day passes" allowing you to tour at your own pace, getting on and off when you want. This option is great in a city like Washington, D.C. because it allows you to take more time at the monuments, museums, or the Capitol building without having to keep up with a group.

On the west coast in an area like San Francisco, CA, there are tours available via bus, but you also can hop on a trolley to see different parts of the city such as China Town. The "Powell and Hyde" trolley will take you down to the piers where you can spend the day shopping, eating, and watching the sea lions! Again, the tour buses do allow set times for you to get off for lunch or shopping, but the option of hoping on and off as you desire can be fun.

As a basis for this article, this writer has taken the initiative of trying daily travel via Greyhound Bus Lines, (greyhound.com), as well as a number of city tours. I find this a convenient way to see multiple sites of interest in a day without the hassle of where to park, one-way streets, and lunchtime crowds. However, on the down side my pooch does not get to go along. Greyhound does not allow pets, (service animals are OK), but not my pooch, or yours. Local bus tours do not allow animals either, so be sure to make pet care arrangements in advance. Lodging that allows your animals to stay in the room during your absence is a good option.

Gambling junkets are great! (Usually, local travel agents or the casinos offer these). You are charged a fee of approximately $10 to $20 dollars for a day trip, but are given match money for gambling, free dinner passes, sometimes casino t-shirts, -- with the bonuses usually totaling more than your initial fees. Overnight bus trips to tourist areas such as (but not limited to) Branson, MO, Gatlinburg, TN, or Nashville, TN, include lodging, dinner and a show with the initial fee, which is a good deal compared to the hassles of driving it yourself.

Most cities have tour packages by bus that are of reasonable price, stress free and provide a tour guide. (Without a guide, one may miss important points of interest). The Internet is a valuable tool when beginning research for your next trip.

A little advanced planning will open up a complete new realm of traveling that just might become your favorite!