If you have enough time to spare whilst backpacking then hopping aboard an overnight bus can be full of interesting and ahem unforgettable experiences. It is one of the cheapest ways to get from A to B, a great chance to mingle with the locals and meet other backpackers heading in the same direction but it doesn’t come without its down sides.
Cramped seats, roads not touched since the stone age and hours upon hours of endless mind-numbing boredom sometimes make you wish you hadn’t been such a scrooge with your budget.
But you can get through it and even feel smug at how far you travelled on so little cash. Here’s how to survive the never ending road trip:
Plan in advance – Book your seat, not too near the toilet or the door for smell and safety reasons. Charge your ipod, phone and kindle before you board, take a pen and paper, pack of cards, flick through your guidebook and as I explained in this post make the most of this digital detox me time.
Lock up – I’m sure you already have a heavy duty padlock firmly attached to your backpack well make sure you use it! Put all your valuables in your smaller day pack that never leaves your side (sleep with it nestled against your body) and only put stinky clothes in the hold of the bus.
Stretch – Like a long haul flight you need to walk around and uncurl those limbs from time to time. Usually these long distance busses stop en route a fair few times, most likely at overpriced tourist stations where naff souvenirs and pricy food can be bought so instead use that time to stretch your legs rather than stock up on crap you don’t need.
Pack a picnic- Like I said the food stops are expensive and limited so it’s good to have a small bag of healthy snacks, drinks and sweet treats to keep you going.
Be early – There is nothing worse than rushing through a town you don’t know to get to the bus station on time. When I was in Chile I’d smugly booked my bus seat the day before, turned up with 15 minutes to spare only to realise the place I’d bought the tickets from wasn’t the place where the buses left from! Arrrgghhh!! Cue a panicked sweat dripping run with heavy backpack crushing my sunburnt shoulders to make it in the nick of time.
You get what you pay for – Some bus companies offer VIP seats where you get snacks, reclining leather seats and DVDs to watch. Others offer the cheap and dirty hard seats, no legroom and a box of squawking chickens next to you. Ask other backpackers or at your hostel for reputable firms and options.
Be flexible – As with a lot of backpacking you need to chillax and go with the flow. Sometimes buses run late, break down (which happened to me over the border from Peru to Bolivia) and unexpectedly stop for hours for no reason other than the driver wanted to go and chat with his friend. Take it all in your stride and enjoy the journey.
Can you add anything to this list?
