No Stupid Questions

Can you do trains instead? Having ridden thousands of miles in busses I can tell you it gets extremely cramped and uncomfortable, and this gets worse the longer you're on it. Sleeper trains in the US and Canada are really nice. Not sure about Europe.

No. I took a bus from NYC back to California and it fucking suuuuuucked! Take a train or a plane instead.

Travelling 1600km by bus is... urgh, a bit painful. Even if you get a nice bus, where you can comfortably sleep, with plenty stops, lacking annoying loud people, you'll probably feel glad once you hop off. Doubly true when returning home.

If you're still doing it: a book, a fully charged phone and/or laptop (remember earplugs!), comfy clothes makes it more bearable. Don't assume the person next seat wants to chitchat, or can chitchat about interesting topics.

It's a good idea to have a water bottle and something to snack on, even if you can stop midway to buy food. My go-to snack was nutrient bars - they take almost no space, they're discreet¹ and filling enough.

so I assume young people and public facing employees at the bus exchanges to speak some of it…

Don't assume; look for that info. Preferably on a city level if possible/available, but if you can't find it at least on country level.

Also take in mind that plenty people don't feel morally obligated to shift languages based on outsiders' convenience, even if they do speak it².

1. A big "fuck you" to the muppet on a 600km bus travel that I did, who decided to eat pork rinds while in the bus. That "CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH" was aggravating.
2. I've seen this two times. In two different countries. I've seen the opposite too, people going the extra length to help you out, so don't take it as a general rule, just keep it in mind.

2 hours by bus is already pushing it. I couldn't image 36

Travelling from NL to Poland by touring bus sucks so bad IMO; it's cramped, it shakes and vibrates so much, it often doesn't smell great, there's one tiny toilet for everyone and it isn't clean by the end anymore, and if there's an airco it probably won't work. If I'd known, I'd just visit Poland a season later and save money for an airplane ticket, instead.

The one I've been in you could bring food and consume it in the bus, they also made a few stops at tankstations where you could buy snacks and drinks just so you could consume them in the bus.

IMO, trains and planes are better; they travel calmer, are more comfortable, and cleaner, too. At least from my sample size of 1 bus, 2 international trains and a dozen or so airplane rides (mostly to other continents).

Planes are more stressful checking in and out, but you can bring much more baggage and it's usually cheap to do so. Trains have a fraction of the environmental impact. That's what I base my decision on, busses are out of question for me.

EDIT I forgot the bus took far longer than it had to, I don't recall the exact delay but a train would've never done that, and with a plane the delay would be me spending time on a nice(r) airport

I traveled 730ish miles by bus, and I wouldn't recommend it. You can bring food on busses. I strongly recommend making sure you have a change of socks and maybe slippers. In every other way, prepare like you might be getting on a plane.

I took a ~1200 mile bus trip about 20 years ago; it had multiple layovers and took about 36 hours total so it sounds very similar to the trip you're taking. Frankly I would not do it again. This is from a trip up the east coast of the US so my experience might not apply in the country you're going to.

I’d have to wait between 3 and 5 hours to board the next bus. Optimist me says great! I could go sightseeing, but with a large and heavy backpack this might not be a good idea…

If you're using bus terminals in big cities, don't expect to be able to get anywhere interesting and back again in that time. Large bus terminals are crowded (basically like a small airport) and sprawling and you'll likely be fairly overwhelmed just trying to get to where you need to go to. They're also generally not located in the middle of metropolitan areas; you'd most likely need to take a taxi to get to wherever you wanted to sight-see. It would not be a pleasant experience. If you're considering this, check a map of the area around the terminal first and see if it's even an option; don't just wing it, and plan to need more time when getting back to the terminal than you think you should, especially if it's a non-English speaking country.

Then there’s food, which at bus stations or in tourists areas is neither good nor cheap no matter where you are, personal hygiene, pickpocketing… I’d be traveling solo.

Expect to pay more than you otherwise would. Consider bringing food with you if you're concerned about that. The only real hygiene option is the sink in the bathroom in the terminal; you'll probably just be throwing on some deodorant and hoping for the best.

are travelers allowed to eat in the bus? Am I allowed to bring my own food?

Yes, and yes, at least for the US-based busses I've ridden on. They're pretty chill. Don't expect to have a tray table or anything, though; don't bring messy things. Something like a bagged sandwich, or snack items, though, should be fine.

The busses themselves were fairly comfortable, much moreso than a plane - the seats are well cushioned, you have room to move around. The ride itself was not bad. However, the layovers are killer. None of the legs of the trip were long enough to really sleep, either during them or between them. It's hard to sleep on a bus (for me, anyway) - they're not the smoothest rides, and it ended up being a bunch of short, unsatisfying naps rather than any real sleep. Sleeping at the terminals didn't seem wise. I was a bit stressed about either missing my connection or someone nicking my stuff, though, so that added stress definitely made the trip worse than it could have been. I felt pretty awful by the time I reached my destination and just could not wait to be off that bus. Thirty six hours is a lot longer in practice than it sounds like when you're planning things.

I've never done this and would never do it, for all the reasons people have already described.

I would, however, choose a 6-hour train over a 2-hour flight, as long as I traveled in (European) first/business class with a seat reservation.

There is almost no amount of money that could convince me to travel 36 hours by bus if I could instead spend 5-6 hours going through airports and only one flight. If I literally didn't have the money to fly, I would spend all my energy figuring out how not to go at all.

I agree that this is a bad idea. Bus travel sucks. It has basically all of the downsides of air travel with basically none of the upsides, minus cost obviously. Without knowing what countries you're going to be going through it's harder to say. Bus stations in my experience can be difficult to navigate in my language, in a language I don't know I'd be even more concerned. Usually you can eat food, but like airplanes try to be considerate about what you have. Avoid fish, common allergens, smelly food, etc.

Finally consider that over those 36 hours you're going to have to either bring food, or buy it, you're losing time wherever you're transit, and are at the mercy of the bus time tables instead of waiting on a single flight

You don't speak the local language; are you looking to learn, to try to connect with the locals? An extended bus trip can provide that. If you're just trying to get from one place to another, personally, I'd take the plane.

Edit: did cross-county USA twice by bus: NYC to SF, and a few years later LA to Philly. It was an interesting experience. I'm glad I did those trips, and I'll by happy to not ever have to do them again.

I went from Atlanta Georgia to Detroit Michigan once. It was supposed to be 14 hours. It was 28. I didn't sleep at all during the trip and crashed for half the day afterwards.

I vowed never to take Greyhound long distance again and never did.

I traveled a thousand miles by bus but it was direct with only one "rest" stop and it was also overnight. Went to sleep on my way out of one city, woke up on my way into another.

I've also done longer trips with multiple stops and changing busses. I brought a book. It was fine.

When you've got less money and more time, it's a good option to have.

It really depends on the kind of buses I think.

I did a lot of traveling in South America and it was a great way to see different countries. A lot of the buses were pretty luxurious with 180 degree reclining seats, meals and bus attendants to give your blankets and things. You could rest comfortably during the night trips. I also met some interesting people along the way. Some trips were horrible too, but at least I have the stories.

I probably wouldn't do it in the US. Don't know about other countries.

Can you actually extend the trip and stay at some hotels/hostels or something along the way? If the buses are comfortable, and you have the time and budget, i think it would be great to visit three different countries, enjoy the foods and sites, meet people along the way, and have that time by yourself to do whatever you want.

Took a 24h bus ride once, definitely would not recommend.

I have a friend who's taken the bus cross country a few times. He just loads up his laptop with movies, books and games and catches up on his "me time."

Although, having layovers in a country where I don't speak the language would definitely be a deal breaker for me.

These days all those closed containers are virus spreaders so better to fly and get less exposure time. Wear an N95 either way.

In the old days I did some long bus and train trips and it wasn't so bad unless there were noisy or otherwise annoying people on board. Basically bring a long book to read, sleep when you can, and enjoy the scenery when there is something to look at. A travel pillow can be a help, and also warm clothes or a blanket. On international trains (EU) you can meet interesting people too.

So this a video about a young couple traveling across the United States on Greyhound.

https://youtu.be/fTpt4tMnDT0

That being said, the only reasons to pick a bus over a plane is due to cost or the inability to drive.

The two times I've done it were overnight trips, leaving at about 9 and getting in about 7am. They were fine I suppose, I listened to music for a while then had a sleep. It was cheaper than a flight and as I lived nowhere near an airport was probably not much longer.

I haven't tried going that far in one run. But I've used buses fairly often to get to other cities.

changing buses 2 times in 2 different non English speaking countries

That alone would make me not want to do it, unless you were in a country like Japan or the Netherlands with decent pubic transit and quality google maps support.

are travelers allowed to eat in the bus? Am I allowed to bring my own food?

You're not supposed to eat meals on the bus. It doesn't stop it from happening. It depends on the temperament of the driver. But don't do it, the other passengers don't wanna be suffering w/e smell on a long trip. But you can pack food and eat it at rest points. (if your route has them)

but did you ever do something like this? Any regrets?

My first time in a major city, I was too scared to ride the subway. So I took the city buses everywhere, I regret that. Changing buses in the rain, and discovering my ticket was non-transferable was a huge drag.

Just know if you do, the local scammers know the stops and will try shenanigans. Don't fall for the guy having a heart attack trick like I did. Pay attention to how the locals and fellow travelers are behaving.